Public attitudes about emergent issues in LGBTQ rights: Conversion therapy and religious refusals

Abstract

Following legal recognition of marriages for same-sex couples, new topics have emerged in debates over LGBT rights. While numerous studies of public opinion about gay and transgender rights have been examined, some emergent issues remain underexamined. Two prominent issues are conversion therapy and denials of service based on religious beliefs in a variety of settings. These areas of LGBT rights are dynamic, with some states recently banning conversion therapy on minors, the Trump Administration’s guidance on denials of service by health professionals, and some states funding adoption and foster agencies that refuse to provide services to same-sex couples and LGBT adults. In this study, we assess factors associated with public attitudes on these issues. While we find patterns that are consistent with previous studies, we also find inconsistencies when examining the effects of age, race, partisanship, educational attainment, and interpersonal contact. We further find that being a parent moderates the effects of interpersonal contact. Sometimes the moderated contact effects are large and positive but other times contact effects are negative. The contact effect depends on the particular type of contact such as with LGB people, transgender people, or knowing parents who have a transgender child.