MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- The latest MTSU Poll continues to show the strong influence Evangelical Christians exert on a wide range of controversial social issues in Tennessee.
The latest poll by the Middle Tennessee State Survey Group was conducted in late January and involved 600 randomly selected Tennesseans. The poll has an error margin of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
The poll reveals that a solid 64 percent majority of state residents oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally. On the issue of legalizing marijuana, 57 percent believe it should remain illegal.
Dr. Ken Blake is the MTSU Poll director.
“The big predictor in Tennessee is religiosity. It’s Evangelical Christians who are most likely to be opposed to legalizing marijuana for any reason, including medical use, and evangelicals who are also opposed to allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally.”
Blake says Tennesseans do buck evangelical trends on the medical marijuana issue, with nearly two-thirds of respondents saying it should be legally dispensed for medical purposes.