Are people born gay or lesbian?

WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner) -- The Pew Research Center released findings on March 6 confirming the ideological split among Americans between the competing ideas that homosexuality is "the way some choose to live" and people are "born gay or lesbian."

Pew reported the percentage of Americans who believe people are born gay or lesbian doubled from 20 percent to 41 percent in 30 years.

Meanwhile, 42 percent of Americans say being gay or lesbian was a life choice.

Fewer than eight percent attributed being gay to a person's upbringing while nine percent declined to respond.

Those who were in an academic environment longer were more apt to say that gays and lesbians were born with same-sex attraction. Research showed the idea was widely held among 58 percent of individuals with postgraduate degrees. By comparison, only 35 percent of those with a high school education attributed being gay to nature.

Decades of research show there are no genetic links to sexual identity, but the American Psychological Association claims "most people experience little or no sense of choice" about it.