POLL: Religious Liberty Trumps LGBT Rights — Sometimes

Religious rights should trump LGBT rights when the two come into conflict, say a majority of respondents to a new poll, although fewer take this stance when it's a direct question of businesses turning LGBT customers away.

The Associated Press-GfK poll shows 56 percent saying it's more important for the government to protect religious rights than LGBT rights, with 40 percent saying the opposite, the AP reports.

"But fewer Americans -- just 40 percent -- think most business owners should be allowed to refuse service to gays and lesbians on religious grounds," the AP reports. "That finding goes to the heart of the significant political fallout over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics charged was intended to allow businesses discriminate against gays and lesbians."

A larger portion of respondents, 52 percent, thought wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples. That percentage declined, however, since a February poll, which found 57 percent in favor of allowing such refusals.

There was "a distinct split between Republicans and Democrats on the issue," the AP notes. "Most Democrats opposed any such discrimination by businesses; most Republicans thought businesses should have the right to refuse service, whether generally or for wedding matters."

The poll also found just under half of respondents favoring marriage equality for their states, with 30 percent opposed. As to whether the U.S. Supreme Court should rule for nationwide marriage equality, 50 percent said it should, 48 said it shouldn't. Some other recent polls have found support for marriage equality to be as high as 60 percent.

The AP-GfK poll had 1,077 respondents and was conducted online from last Thursday through Tuesday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.