Pope Francis made news recently by voicing his support for same-sex civil unions — legal arrangements that give gay and lesbian couples many of the same rights as married opposite-sex couples. Around the world, Catholics vary in their support for same-sex marriage and their acceptance of homosexuality in general, according to Pew Research Center surveys conducted in recent years. The Center does not have recent survey data on views about civil unions. Same-sex marriage became legal across the U.
In Western Europe, large majorities of Catholics said in that they support legal same-sex marriage. The data in this analysis comes from four different Pew Research Center surveys. The views of Catholics in Western Europe about same-sex marriage come from a phone survey of 15 countries conducted from April to August The total sample size of Catholics across these countries was 10, The views of Catholics in Central and Eastern Europe about same-sex marriage come from a survey conducted from June to July through face-to-face interviews in 18 countries.
The total sample size of Catholics across these countries was 6, The views of Catholics in the United States about same-sex marriage come from a phone survey conducted March 20 to 25, The sample size in this survey was Catholics. Responses about whether society should be accepting of homosexuality came from a global survey conducted from May 13 to Aug. The total sample size of Catholics across these countries was 10, of 24, respondents. Same-sex marriage is legal in most of the Western European countries surveyed.
On the other hand, in almost all of the Central and Eastern European countries surveyed by the Center in and , most Catholics oppose same-sex marriage. Most nations in Central and Eastern Europe do not allow legal same-sex unions of any kind. While the survey covered 34 countries, samples of Catholics were large enough to analyze in 22 of those countries. In the Americas, majorities of Catholics in several countries said society should be accepting of homosexuality.
In Eastern Europe, acceptance was weaker, with roughly half or fewer of Catholics saying that homosexuality should be accepted by society in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania.
