Young People Born Between 1980 and 1991 See Nothing Wrong With Two Men Marrying Each Other

Six in 10 American "Millennials" - those born between 1980 and 1991 - see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married. But men, African-Americans and Southerners are least comfortable among their peers with same-sex marriage, and for the most part Christian Millennials oppose it.

These are the findings from a LifeWay Research study for an upcoming book by Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, and son Jess Rainer titled "The Millennials: Connecting to America's Largest Generation." The book is based on a wide-ranging August 2009 survey of 1,200 Millennials in the United States.

Millennials are divided in their response to the question, "How much would you agree or disagree with the statement: I see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married." Forty percent agree strongly; 21 percent agree somewhat; 15 percent disagree somewhat; and 24 percent disagree strongly.

Key differences exist by location, gender, race and religion. For example, nearly half of Millennials in the Northeast and the West strongly agree there is nothing wrong with same-sex marriage, compared with fewer than 1 in 3 Southerners.

Women are far more accepting of same-sex marriage than men. Sixty-eight percent of female Millennials agree there is nothing wrong with same-sex marriage (49 percent strongly), while 55 percent of males feel the same way (32 percent strongly).

African-Americans are more strongly opposed to marriage between members of the same gender than Hispanics and Asians, according to the study. Fifty-three percent of African-Americans disagree with the statement (32 percent strongly), while 33 percent of Hispanics and 36 percent of Asians disagree (19 percent strongly).

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