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Weekly Churchgoers Only Faith Group Without Majority Approving Marijuana Legalization

Weekly churchgoers in the U.S. were the only faith group without a majority of respondents favoring the legalization of marijuana, according to a Gallup report published in mid-November.

While 68% of all U.S. adults say marijuana should be legal in the U.S., weekly churchgoers (46%) and political conservatives (49%) were the only other demographic groups featured in the survey without majority support.

Among the religious demographic groups, respondents with no religious preference had the highest level of support for marijuana’s legalization at 89%, followed by those who seldom or never attend church (78%), those who attend nearly weekly or monthly (61%), Protestants (60%) and Catholics (60%).

Liberals (84%) were more likely than moderates (74%) or conservatives (49%), while Democrats (81%) were more likely than Independents (70%) or Republicans (51%) to support the legalization of marijuana.

Support for legalization decreased with age: 18-29-year-olds (79%), 30-49-year-olds (73%), 50-64-year-olds (63%) and 65-plus (53%).

“While majorities of most major subgroups are in favor of legalizing marijuana, there are a few holdouts – namely, political conservatives and regular churchgoers,” the report said. “Small segments of the population (in particular, older conservatives) are still disinclined to think marijuana use should be legal. However, younger conservatives and younger moderates are more inclined than their older counterparts to think cannabis should be legal.”

The full report is available here. The topline results, noting an overall margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, is available here.

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