A new Gallup poll released this month indicates that American support for legal same-sex marriage has declined from recent record highs.
The survey, conducted May 1–17, 2026, marks the continued decline of support since the 2022–2023 peak (71% → 69% in 2024 → 68% in 2025 → 65% in 2026).
Gallup reported that 65% of U.S. adults now say same-sex marriage should be legally valid. Support for “gay or lesbian relations” as morally acceptable also edged lower.
The decline is driven primarily by shifting views among Republicans. The report stated the following:
“Most of the recent changes in LGBTQ+ attitudes have occurred among Republicans. For example, in 2021 and 2022, 55% of Republicans said they favored legal same-sex marriage, but today, the figure is 37%.”
Gallup has tracked this question since 1996, when just 27% supported same-sex marriage. Support rose steadily through the 2010s, peaking above 70% in recent years before the current downturn.
The poll also measured broader attitudes on “LGBTQ+” issues. Support for “transgender” athletes competing on teams matching their birth sex remains low, and views on other related policies show similar partisan divides.
This marks the first sustained pause in the long upward trend since Gallup began asking the question.
Gallup conducts this annual values and beliefs survey each May, releasing results in June. The survey included 1,000+ adults and carries a margin of error of ±4 percentage points.
Americans Prioritizing Traditional Values
The recent Gallup data show family remains the top personal value for Americans.
In the 2025 Gallup-Aspen Ideas American Values Index, 49% of U.S. adults named family as one of their three most important values — far ahead of any other choice. Freedom, health, integrity, and faith followed, each selected by 26% to 30% of adults.
Among weekly religious service attendees, faith ranks even higher than family as a top value.
Gallup also reports a notable rise in religiosity among young men, as The Dallas Express previously reported. In 2024–2025 data, 42% of men under 30 said religion is “very important” to them — up sharply from 28% in 2022–2023. This has reversed the previous gender gap, with young men now more likely than young women to view religion as very important.
A Pew Research Center survey from May 2026 found that 37% of Americans say religion is gaining influence in American life — the highest share since 2002.
