Mississippi businesses and state employees are now able to deny services to same-sex couples by citing religious beliefs, after a federal appeals court in Mississippi lifted an injunction Thursday.

Using findings from the new PRRI American Values Atlas, we are able to see where Mississippi residents stand on religiously based service refusals of gay and lesbian people—and how race and religion impact these views.

While Mississippi residents are less likely than the general public to oppose service refusals of gay and lesbian people on religious grounds, a majority of Mississippians still stand in opposition: 52 percent oppose allowing small business owners to refuse to provide products or services to gay or lesbian people, if doing so would violate their religious beliefs.

White and black Mississippians offer contrasting views. While nearly seven in ten (69 percent) black Mississippi residents oppose service refusals, white residents are slightly more likely to support (48 percent) such a policy than oppose it (41 percent).

Religious affiliation greatly impacts attitudes on this issue. Read more via PRRI