Why are Catholics more liberal on sam-sex marriage?

[tallguy23]

According to a new poll, over 60% of American Catholics support same-sex marriage. Why do you think Catholics are so much more supportive of gay marriage/rights compared to Protestants?

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/04/american-catholics-back-popes-downplaying-of-contentious-social-issues/?sr=fb100613catholicissues330p

[Torie]

For one thing, although Catholic doctrine describes gay attractions as "disordered," it does not characterize those attractions as a sin.  Just the sexual act outside marriage is a sin. So if the attraction is not a sin, there does seem a rather compelling case to give gays a chance to have "unsinful" sex, rather than lock the door, so it is either a matter of being celibate, or being a sinner. Most adults understand that being celibate for life is a total non starter for most people. Just a guess by me.

[TDAS04]

It is a good question, considering that the Roman Catholic Church itself is not exactly supportive.  I think there are at least a few reasons why Catholics think for themselves on this issue more than Protestants, though.

1)  The Catholic Church does place a greater emphasis on social justice/human rights than conservative Protestant denominations.  Many Catholics may just find condemnations of homosexuality
inconsistent with the overall message of compassion.

2) In the US, Catholics are heavily concentrated in urban areas, especially on the East Coast.  These areas received the most immigrants, and became used to diversity earlier.  Rural America is more heavily Protestant.

3) Non-religious Catholics are more likely to identify as Catholic, while secular people with Protestant heritage are more likely to label themselves as unaffiliated.  This may skew the results.

This may not be the entire answer, but I think these reasons are part of the answer.  

[DC Al Fine]

It is a good question, considering that the Roman Catholic Church itself is not exactly supportive.  I think there are at least a few reasons why Catholics think for themselves on this issue more than Protestants, though.

1)  The Catholic Church does place a greater emphasis on social justice/human rights than conservative Protestant denominations.  Many Catholics may just find condemnations of homosexuality
inconsistent with the overall message of compassion.

2) In the US, Catholics are heavily concentrated in urban areas, especially on the East Coast.  These areas received the most immigrants, and became used to diversity earlier.  Rural America is more heavily Protestant.

3) Non-religious Catholics are more likely to identify as Catholic, while secular people with Protestant heritage are more likely to label themselves as unaffiliated.  This may skew the results.

This may not be the entire answer, but I think these reasons are part of the answer.  

I think that's the big one. It'd be interesting to get a survey of the "bums in pews" and see how different Catholics and Evangelicals really are.

[7,052,770]

2 reasons:

The most Catholic states are in the liberal Northeast, where people are just liberal anyway.
Catholics are used to ignoring the silly dogmas like birth control anyway, so why not one more?

[TJ in Oregon]

One other reason is that the Catholic Church basically ignored homosexuality altogether until about 2010 when the bishops suddenly realized it was an actual political issue they'd have to address, whereas Evangelicals have been talking about it for years.

[Sol]

Probably Catholics would oppose SSM without Latinos.

[Lambsbread]

I for one do not approve of marrying only sexually active individuals named Sam.

[TNF]

American Catholics are perhaps the most liberal Catholics in the world, likely owing to being used as a punching-bag by the WASP overclass from the foundation of the country until the 1960s.