Reasons Why Podcast

Support for transgender rights has increased [https://www.prri.org/research/broad-support-for-lgbt-rights/] in recent years, but the path from overall support to legal action has not been as seamless. A 2019 survey by PRRI [https://www.prri.org/research/americas-growing-support-for-transgender-rights/] found that 62% of Americans said they have become more supportive of transgender rights in the last five years. Majorities of every major religious group additionally reported that they had become more supportive of transgender rights over the last five years, including evangelicals.Ahead of Pride Month, we’re doing something a little different on the podcast this week. This episode will feature an interview from 2019 with Melissa Rogers, author and expert on religion in American public life, about the then-new PRRI survey on LGBT nondiscrimination protections. We explored what the report of 1,100 Americans told us about where the nation stood on LGBT equality, the issue of religiously based service refusals, and the gap in support between LGBT rights and legal action.

Over the course of Donald Trump’s presidency, pundits and pollsters have wondered aloud about what could rupture the president’s support among his key constituency groups. A recent survey released by PRRI suggests that the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could be a factor.On the podcast this week, we talk with PRRI Public Fellow and Emory University Associate Professor Andra Gillespie about this new survey on Trump’s favorability and explore where his numbers stand across key demographics. We also talk about coronavirus, how government response has influenced perceptions of the president, and how the politics of coronavirus are playing throughout the country and Gillespie’s home state of Georgia.

As COVID-19 continues to radically transform much of American public life, a debate has emerged about what it could mean for religious pluralism in the United States. On the podcast this week, we’ll talk with Interfaith Youth Core president Eboo Patel and discuss whether this crisis will unite the country or amplify old tensions, as Patel and host Robert P. Jones have different analyses on this fundamental question. We’ll also reflect on the findings of a recent PRRI survey on the coronavirus and attitudes on whether religious gatherings should be exempt from social distancing restrictions.

As the nation continues to feel the impact of the coronavirus, preventative measures such as social distancing are being practiced across the country to help contain the spread. On the inaugural episode of PRRI’s Reasons Why Podcast, we talk with PRRI Research Director Natalie Jackson, Ph.D. about our latest survey [https://www.prri.org/research/as-coronavirus-cases-rise-most-americans-say-they-are-likely-to-avoid-a-range-of-group-activities/] on the virus and changes in American social behaviors as a result. We discuss what the survey tells us about how the nation is dealing with the virus, and how religious affiliation, political partisanship, as well as attitudes about the president impact how people are reacting to it.