"It is easy to hate and fear something we don't know," she said. "Once we get to know LGBTIQ people, once we learn that our friends, family members, neighbors, leaders, idols and so on are also LGBTIQ people, the myths naturally start to fall away, leading to more awareness and acceptance."
The survey analysis found that the U.S. has the third-largest divide between religiously affiliated and unaffiliated opinions on homosexuality. 66 percent of religious Americans say homosexuality is acceptable, while 88 percent of nonbelievers say the same. The survey additionally found that those that are religiously unaffiliated view gender roles in the family differently, finding a relationship where both partners work and take care of the household more satisfying on average than religious people did.
Furthermore, the results showed that religiously unaffiliated people in most countries are more likely to align with the political left. This difference is especially pronounced in Spain, the U.S., and Canada. At the same time, the U.S. has the largest proportion among all countries of religious respondents who identify as liberal (left).
However, these trends are not universal. In some countries, such as Mexico, religiously unaffiliated people were less likely to be accepting of homosexuality. In Sweden as well, both groups were about as likely to be accepting of homosexuality. In Argentina and Mexico, unaffiliated adults and affiliated adults are equally likely of being part of the political left.
