According to a 2012 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, more than one third of Americans still believe that sexual orientation can be changed. This study was brought to light recently when New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie signed a ban on gay conversion therapy.

This study is a sobering reminder to how far America still has to go in LGBT acceptance and understanding. As a country we are hearing all the wonderful news about states adopting same-sex marriage rights, but still in 2013 only slightly over half of all Americans believe that sexual orientation cannot be changed.

While 36% of Americans still believe that sexual orientation can still be changed, this is an improvement from 10 years ago where 42% believed that orientation could be changed.

Over the past decade the percentage of white evangelical Protestants and black Protestants who consider homosexuality sinful has remained relatively stable, according to Pew Research Center studies. Among white evangelical Protestants, 78 percent still consider homosexual activity a sin, as do 79 percent of black Protestants. The percentage of black Protestants opposed to homosexual behavior actually rose slightly during the last 10 years.