States with more Catholics more favor gay rights – by Cathy Lynn Grossman - USA TODAY

Want to predict which state might move next to legalize same-sex marriage? You might count Catholics. The higher their percentage of the population, the more likely the state is to... support gay rights.

This counter-intuitive finding is brought to you with a tip of two hats -- mine to Mark Silk at Spiritual Politics and his to Robbie Jones who led Silk to a new study soon by be published by two Columbia University political scientists. Read complete article and more by Cathy Lynn Grossman - USA TODAY

Catholics, same-sex marriage...and the GOP

by Mark Silk, prop. – Spiritual Politics

In response to my recent postings (here and here) on the correlation between Catholic presence and support for same-sex marriage (SSM), I've received an interesting (yet unpublished) paper from Darren Sherkat of Southern Illinois and some colleagues conjuring via regression analysis with a number of factors involved in the politics of the issue over the past two decades. The money finding is that whereas just about everyone was in the same place on SSM in 1988 (Democrats and Republicans, Catholics and Protestants), now opposition has become locked into GOP identity. Read Complete article and more by Mark Silk, prop. – Spiritual Politics