When do supporters of same-sex marriage act for social change? How emphasizing human rights or the future of society influences activism in religious and non-religious people

The majority of the Australian public support same sex marriage, however this has not yet translated into political change. This may be because the prevailing messages used to promote same-sex marriage do not address the concerns that motivate people to act. Currently, the dominant way of framing same-sex marriage in public debates has focused on human rights, especially equality, but many religious people and groups appear unmotivated by this message. An alternative frame is that legalising same sex marriage will contribute to a more tolerant and caring society. This frame is proposed to increase intentions to engage in actions supporting same-sex marriage, especially for religious people as creating an “ideal” society is an important goal for religion. Supporters of same-sex marriage (N = 182) were placed in one of three conditions. Two conditions read a vignette which stated that legalising same sex marriage would either: (i) promote a more tolerant and caring future society (Future society); (ii) recognise human rights (Human rights); or (iii) a control condition where they reflected on their own views (Control). Non-religious participants showed similar intentions to engage in political activism in support of same-sex marriage across all conditions. However, religious participants showed significantly greater intentions to act in the future of society condition compared to the control, with no difference between the human rights and control conditions. These results indicate that a more effective way to encourage religious people to act in accordance with their views is to highlight how legalising same-sex marriage would contribute towards a more tolerant and caring society