This article focuses on five research questions: 1) Has support for same-sex marriage reached permanent majority status? 2) What factors influence attitudes toward same-sex marriage? 3) Have the factors influencing attitudes toward same-sex marriage changed over time? 4) Is the change in attitude largely the result of demographic changes in population composition or does it reflect attitudinal change across population groups? 5) Do attitudes toward the origins of homosexuality and direct experience with gays and lesbians have a significant impact on attitudes? The data for this analysis come from 41 surveys with more than 57 thousand respondents conducted by the National Opinion Research Center and the Pew Research Center (1988-2013). The current research suggests that support for same-sex marriage increased steadily from 1988 to 2013 and reached majority status in June 2011, despite the culture wars from 2003 to 2010. The factors that influenced attitudes in the period from 1988 to 2013 remained remarkably stable. In general, Southerners, rural residents, Protestants (especially born-again), Catholics, those with more church attendance, those 65 and over, married individuals, and African-Americans had lower levels of support for same-sex marriage. Women, those with college degrees, those with high income, Democrats, and liberals all had higher levels of support. The conflict over same-sex marriage has increasingly become characterized by differences in religious intensity, partisanship, and ideology. Moreover, the increases occurred across red, battleground, and blue states and across two major population groupings, although the rates of increase were slower in red states and among Protestants. This suggests that attitude change on same-sex marriage reflected a paradigm shift that affected all demographic, economic, religious, and political groups in American society, although change was slower among Protestants and conservatives and across red states. The belief that homosexuality is genetic and having close relationships with gays and lesbians has expanded significantly support for same-sex marriage. Attitudes about the origins of homosexuality are closely linked to ideology, religiosity, and lifestyle
