About half of LGBTQ Americans, or 54%, consult astrology or a horoscope at least yearly, which is about twice the portion of U.S. adults overall, at 28%, according to a new report.
The report, published by Pew Research Center on Wednesday, is based on a nationally representative survey of 9,593 U.S. adults conducted last year.
LGBTQ adults were also three times as likely to consult tarot cards than non-LGBTQ adults (33% vs. 9%), and four times as likely to say they rely “at least a little” on what they learn from astrology and tarot to make major life decisions (21% vs. 5%), the survey found.
LGBTQ women were more likely than LGBTQ men to consult astrology and tarot at least once a year, at 63% and 40%, respectively.
Younger U.S. women, generally, were more likely to report believing in and consulting astrology, the report found. Nearly half (43%) of younger women, those ages 18 to 49, said they believe in astrology and consult astrology, compared with 27% of women 50 and older, 20% of men ages 18 to 49, and 15% of men 50 or older.
The results might not surprise some members of the queer community, whose interest in astrology has been well-documented on social media and in dozens of books and articles. In fact, Netflix on Wednesday released the full cast of the upcoming second season of “The Ultimatum: Queer Love,” a popular reality show about queer couples in which one member of the couple has given the other an ultimatum to get married, and each cast member’s personal information includes their astrological sign.
Pew Research Center noted in its report that “there is limited academic research on the topic” of why LGBTQ people are more interested in astrology, but that “media publications focused on LGBTQ+ issues have described the prevalence of New Age practices in the LGBTQ+ community.” Some queer people who grew up in unsupportive religious communities have also written about how astrology provided them with a daily practice similar to religion.
Some religious adults were more likely to consult astrology, the report found. Those who were among the most likely to say they consult it at least annually were Hispanic Catholics (39%), Black Protestants (33%) and adults who say their religion is “nothing in particular” (35%).
White evangelicals and atheists were among the groups most likely to say they never consult astrology, horoscopes, tarot cards or fortune tellers, the report found.
