Marriage and the family as a union between a man and a woman are irreplaceable pillars of society, according respectively to 86% and 95% of the Italians, even though 61% believes that in the coming years same-sex unions should be recognized. These are just some of the findings of the research "Where have we come with marriage" effectuated by the Lorien Research Institute for the Novae Terrae Foundation. These responses are only apparently contradictory; in fact, the analysis of other parameters, for example the answers concerning the education of children living in same-sex couples, clearly shows that the traditional family continues to be the reference.
 
Only 4% of the respondents did not agree that the family should be considered "much more than just a love relationship between two adults because it also regards the responsibility for the children," and only 7% of them "strongly disagree" with the assertion that the "family, composed of a man and a woman, and based on marriage," is "the basic element for the growth and development of society and the Country."
Marriage has a divine origin according to 66% of the Italians while 84% consider the parents important in personality development of their children. The answers related to children living in same-sex couples are characterized by concern: 46% fear that their results in school will be worse, 41% that they may be victims of "sexual abuse", while 53% expressed "no worry at all" about this hypothesis. Finally, 80% agree with the penalties provided by Scalfarotto Law against homophobia.