<p>bclintonk,</p>
<p>If many of the ones “among those whose education level is high school or less” are actually high school students, then that 46% may be significantly inflated. </p>
<p>While I agree religion plays a huge role for those who are truly religious, only small fraction of the population are really religious. Once you carve out the evangelicals and self-proclaimed atheists that comprise a small fraction of the population, it’s dificult to tell the rest, regardless of how they label themselves partly because they label themselves loosely. When I was liviing in So Cal, I didn’t even know a single person that regularly went to Church yet many people said they believe in God, whatever that means.</p>
<p>In the US, 3/4 of the population identify themselves as “Christians”; that’s not counting the ones that are Muslims, Buddists, etc. It’s therefore difficult to define how religion is an important factor when 80% of the people are affiliated with some form of religion.</p>
<p>Using your numbers, 53% of Californians favor same-sex marriage yet 56% of “mainline Protestants” favor. I honestly don’t know what “mainline Protestants” mean exactly. I highly doubt religion plays much role in their view. As a former evangelical that no longer goes to church regularly, I probably call myself “mainline Protestant” too.</p>