Opposition to gay relationships in Northern Ireland falls dramatically
The percentage of people opposed to gay relationships in Northern Ireland has dropped from three quarters to a quarter over a period of just 25 years.
The NI Life and Times Survey looked at the views of 1,200 people on a range of issues, including whether they agreed with same-sex relationships.
The percentage of those who said gay relationships were “always wrong”, fell from 76% in 1989 to 28% in 2012.
In the 2012 survey, those in favour of gay relationships were younger people, women and Catholics.
The latest survey also however, found that a third of Northern Irish people disapproved of gay adoption, and were opposed to lesbians being offered fertility treatment.
A quarter of respondents did not believe that a lesbian or gay parent, or parents with a child constituted a family.
74% of respondents who said they had no religion said they supported same-sex marriage, while 66% of Catholics said they were in favour, and only 45% of Protestants.
The survey was carried out by ARK, which is run by Queen’s University Belfast, and the University of Ulster.
