Catholics Support Gay Marriage More than Americans as a Whole

A recent poll from Quinnipiac University found that a majority of Catholics now support same-sex marriage.

 ABC News reports highlights from the study, including that 54% of Catholics support marriage equality. That's higher than the national percentage of Americans supporting marriage equality, coming in at 47%, according to the poll.

The Quinnipac poll also found that Hispanics are the demographic most supportive of marriage equality. "63% of self-identified Hispanics are in favor of gay marriage, compared to just 32% percent of blacks and 48% of whites," reports ABC  News.

Quinnipiac has established a track record for studies finding more support for marriage equality. In December, the university conducted a similar study among white Catholics, who were less supportive than Catholics as a whole.

The poll also delved into what people think about the Church, and the role it takes surrounding contentious issues like marriage equality and contraception, leading to one possible conclusion that American Catholics want the next pope to uncover more modern practices for the Church, according to the poll.

Quinnipac also discovered that a majority of American Catholics believe the Vatican has struck an acceptable balance in terms of the control it exercises over the American Catholic Church, and that the Church is generally moving in the right direction. However, that number has dwindled to just over 50% in recent years due to widespread sex abuse allegations made against clergymembers.

The poll comes at an opportune time, as the Supreme Court prepares to take on the so-called Defense Against Marriage Act, with support for overturning the act coming from the likes of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.