April Dawn Breeden, left, and longtime partner Crystal Peairs are married by the Rev. Katie Hotze-Wilton at St. Louis City Hall on Wednesday, November 5. A Missouri judge on November 5 overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriages and ordered registrars to start issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples. More than 30 states and the District of Columbia allow marriage for same-sex couples. 
Rachael Beierle, left, and Boise City Council President Maryanne Jordan, center, laugh at a joke during Amber Beierle's wedding vows Wednesday, October 15, at City Hall in Boise, Idaho. With Boise Mayor Dave Bieter out of town, Jordan officiated the wedding as acting mayor. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court found that same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and neighboring Nevada were unconstitutional. 
Chad Biggs, left, and his fiance, Chris Creech, say their wedding vows in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, October 10, after a federal judge ruled that same-sex marriage can begin there. 
Joshua Gunter, right, and Bryan Shields attend a rally in Las Vegas to celebrate an appeals court ruling that overturned Nevada's same-sex marriage ban on Tuesday, October 7. 
From left, plaintiffs Moudi Sbeity; his partner, Derek Kitchen; Kody Partridge; and Partridge's wife, Laurie Wood, celebrate after a news conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, October 6. The U.S. Supreme Court had just cleared the way for legal same-sex marriages in five more states -- Virginia, Utah, Nevada, Indiana and Wisconsin. 
Abbi Huber, left, and Talia Frolkis exit the City County Building in Madison, Wisconsin, after applying for a marriage license on October 6. 
Rob MacPherson, right, and his husband, Steven Stolen, hug during a news conference at the American Civil Liberties Union in Indianapolis on October 6. 
Mary Bishop, second from left, and Sharon Baldwin, right, celebrate with family and friends following their wedding ceremony on the courthouse steps in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 6. 
Jennifer Melsop, left, and Erika Turner kiss after they were married in front of the Arlington County Courthouse in Arlington, Virginia, on October 6. 
Pastor Carol Hill from Epworth United Methodist Church speaks during a marriage-equality ceremony at the Kathy Osterman Beach in Chicago on Sunday, June 1. June 1 marked the first day that all of Illinois' 102 counties could begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 
William Roletter, left, and Paul Rowe, right, press close to each other after having their photo taken with their newly acquired marriage certificate Wednesday, May 21, at City Hall in Philadelphia. 
Julie Engbloom, left, and Laurie Brown embrace after they were wed in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, May 19. A federal judge struck down the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. 
Jennifer Rambo, right, kisses her partner, Kristin Seaton, after their marriage ceremony in front of the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on Saturday, May 10. Rambo and Seaton were the first same-sex couple to be granted a marriage license in Eureka Springs after a judge overturned Amendment 83, which banned same-sex marriage in Arkansas. 
Same-sex couples get their marriage licenses at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, Michigan, on Saturday, March 22, a day after a federal judge overturned Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. 
Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, left, and Stephen Justesen acknowledge the crowd after being married in Salt Lake City on Friday, December 20. A federal judge struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it conflicted with the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Many Utah counties began issuing marriage licenses before the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court temporarily blocked enforcement of the lower court ruling until the constitutional questions were fully resolved. 
Plaintiffs Laurie Wood, left, and Kody Partridge, center, walk with attorney Peggy Tomsic on Wednesday, December 4, after a judge heard arguments challenging Utah's same-sex marriage ban. 
Hawaiian Gov. Neil Abercrombie, left, and former Sen. Avery Chumbley celebrate with a copy of the Star-Advertiser after Abercrombie signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii on Wednesday, November 13. 
Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker officiates a wedding ceremony for Joseph Panessidi and Orville Bell at City Hall in October 2013. The state Supreme Court denied the state's request to prevent same-sex marriages temporarily, clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry. 
A couple celebrates at San Francisco City Hall upon hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage in June 2013. The high court cleared the way for same-sex couples in California to resume marrying after dismissing an appeal on Proposition 8 on jurisdictional grounds. The court also struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. 
At the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in May 2013. 
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell holds up legislation in May 2013 allowing same-sex couples to wed in the state. 
Rhode Island state Sen. Donna Nesselbush, right, embraces a supporter after the Marriage Equality Act was signed into law at the statehouse in Providence in May 2013. 
Jamous Lizotte, right, and Steven Jones pose for photos while waiting for a marriage license in Portland, Maine, in December 2012. 
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, shakes hands with Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller after signing a same-sex marriage bill in March 2012. The law was challenged, but voters approved marriage equality in a November 2012 referendum. 
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire celebrates after signing marriage-equality legislation into law on February 13, 2012. Voters there approved same-sex marriage in November 2012. 
Phyllis Siegel, right, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office on July 24, 2011, the first day New York's Marriage Equality Act went into effect. 
In 2010, television reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital. Same-sex marriage became legal in Washington in March 2010. 
Olin Burkhart, left, and Carl Burkhart kiss on the steps of the New Hampshire Capitol in January 2010 after the state's law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect. 
Maine state Sen. Dennis Damon, left, hands Gov. John Baldacci the bill that the state Senate passed in May 2009 to affirm the right of same-sex couples to marry. 
Amy Klein-Matheny, left, and her wife, Jennifer, exchange vows in Iowa after same-sex couples were allowed to marry there with a court ruling in April 2009. 
Michael Miller, left, and Ross Zachs marry on the West Hartford Town Hall steps after same-sex marriages became legal in Connecticut on November 12, 2008. 
Lara Ramsey, left, and her partner of eight years, Jane Lohmann, play with their 7-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann. The two wed in 2004 after Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was the first state to do so.
- Evangelical leaders aren't listing opposition to gay marriage as their top priority
- They're instead more focused on protecting religious liberties
- GOP is largely ignoring the issue
Washington (CNN) -- Evangelical leaders are taking a step back from their decades-long fight against gay marriage, softening their tone and recalibrating their goals.
In recent interviews with about a half-dozen prominent evangelicals, no one listed opposition to gay marriage as their top priority. The leaders said they're more focused on protecting religious liberties as same-sex marriage becomes legal in a growing number of states.
"Is it time to differentiate between religious ceremony and civil ceremony?" Jim Daly, the president of Focus on the Family, said in an interview with CNN. "Civil ceremony to the Christian community is no different than getting your car registered."
The shifting attitude comes as the Supreme Court could take up gay marriage as early as next year. Meanwhile, Republicans, who will take full control of Congress in January, are largely ignoring the issue -- just like most of the leading potential GOP contenders for the 2016 presidential nomination.
"There is a recognition that while the fight should not be given up on upholding the several thousand-year-old definition of marriage, the courts are probably very quickly going to undo that," said Erick Erickson, a conservative pundit and editor of RedState.com. "Behind the scenes, a lot of evangelical leaders inside and outside of politics are laying the groundwork for religious liberty and conscience protections."
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Court upholds same-sex marriage bans The new stance could have big implications for Republicans heading into the 2016 presidential election. Evangelicals are an influential bloc of the party and if the community eases its opposition to same-sex marriage, that could make it easier for candidates to do the same. The party is under pressure to expand its appeal to young people and minorities and an openness to gay marriage could help that effort.
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Of course, there's still plenty of opposition to same-sex marriage among Republicans. And the issue is a big fundraising motivator for the party and its allies.
Vincent Harris, a 26-year-old digital strategist who's worked for evangelical favorites like Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee said social issues including gay marriage "remain very potent to the Republican electorate."
'Joke notion'
Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, dismissed talk of an evangelical shift as a "joke notion."
"People are still charged up about this," Brown said. "There's not been enough standing up for marriage especially in the wake of what is essentially a constitutional crisis."
Daly, whose daily Focus on the Family radio broadcast reach more than 2.9 million listeners weekly, is nowhere close to endorsing same-sex unions and insists that the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. isn't a "fait accompli." But his vision for the evangelical movement is focused on reaching out to, rather than attacking or rejecting, other segments of society—what he calls taking a "gracious attitude."
He frequently mentioned his "friends in the gay rights community."
One of those friends is Ted Trimpa, a prominent gay activist and Democratic strategist. The two struck up an unlikely friendship after Daly reached out to Trimpa's office about two years ago to team up and fight child trafficking in their home state of Colorado.
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Clinton challenged on gay marriage They see their bond as an example of where the dialogue is heading, through Trimpa said "people faint when they see us together."
'Common ground'
"With Jim, it's a new day," Trimpa said. "The reality of it is gays aren't going away and evangelicals aren't going away so we're figuring out common ground."
Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, is also advocating for a more open approach and has called for Christians to "love your gay and lesbian neighbors."
"If we don't recognize (the culture shift), we're clueless as to what is happening," Moore said in an interview.
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Matthew Vines, meanwhile, is an openly gay evangelical who recently published a book attempting to debunk Biblical interpretations that define homosexuality as a sin. He went to a conference sponsored by Moore's group in October and was surprised that even his staunchest critics constructively interacted with him. He said he would have been "completely ignored" at the convention five years ago.
"There's definitely a coming divide between evangelicals, but it's not public yet," Vines said. "Over the next year in particular, people will start to show their true colors."
Generational divide
About 43% of white evangelical millennials support same-sex marriage, according to a 2014 Public Religion Research Institute poll, while 7 in 10 white evangelicals overall oppose same-sex marriage. The generational split is even more pronounced among the GOP: nearly two-thirds of Republicans under 30 favor same sex marriage compared to 39% of all Republicans, according to the Pew Research Center survey.
GOP leaders are eyeing those polls closely and in the last two years, four Republican senators have announced their support for same-sex marriage. This year, the GOP fielded two openly gay Republican candidates for Congress -- though neither won.
Some, like Republican strategist and LGBT activist Margaret Hoover, say the party is changing too slowly and needs to put its opposition to gay marriage to rest.
"I think the fact that the majority of Republicans don't support same sex marriage or LGBT freedom is detrimental to reaching out and connecting to a new generation of voters," said Hoover, who is also a CNN political commentator.
Hoover runs the American Unity PAC, which spent more than $4 million in the 2014 cycle to support pro-gay marriage and LGBT rights Republican candidates, according to the group's pre-election Federal Elections Commission filing.
The GOP could see at least one pro-gay marriage presidential candidate in the 2016 elections if Sen. Rob Portman -- who has a gay son and endorsed same-sex marriage in 2013 -- decides to seek the party's nomination.
"When Mitt Romney was the nominee of the party, could you have imagined that there could be a Republican nominee the next time around who is in favor of same-sex marriage? Even I couldn't have imagined that," Hoover said.
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