Nearly 1 in 3 British people believe being gay is a choice
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A third of British people believe that homosexuality is a choice, new research suggests.
A poll by YouGov found that 31 percent of people from the UK believe homosexuality is a choice, despite scientific evidence suggesting otherwise.
Around half (49%) said people were born gay or lesbian and 17 percent weren’t sure one way or the other.
Three percent think people become gay based on how they are raised.
A similar study in the United States three years ago found that two-fifths of respondents believed people were born gay.
37 percent thought it was a choice.
By age, those under 25 were the most likely to believe that people were born gay (59 percent).
50 percent of 25-49 year-olds thought the same, dropping to 45 percent for over 50s.
Surprisingly, more 50-64 year-olds think being gay is a choice than those over 65.
When considering political party support, UKIP voters were the most likely to consider homosexuality a choice, followed by Conservative voters.
Labour and Lib Dem voters were the least likely to think that being gay is a choice on 25 and 26 percent respectively.
YouGov also found that more women agreed people were born gay (54 percent) compared to men (43 percent).
Another recent survey found that half of young people don’t identify as straight.
Last year, a study found that less than half of 13-20 year-olds said they were straight.