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The national debate over an Indiana religious-liberties law seen as anti-gay has drawn the entire field of Republican presidential contenders into the divisive culture wars, which badly damaged Mitt Romney in 2012 and which GOP leaders eagerly sought to avoid for 2016.

Most top Republican presidential hopefuls this week have moved in lock step, and without pause, to support Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, and his Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which has prompted protests and national calls for boycotts by major corporations. Republican legislators in Arkansas approved a similar measure Tuesday that Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, is expected to sign.

The agreement among the likely GOP candidates illustrates the enduring power of social conservatives in early primary states such as Iowa and South Carolina, which will help determine who emerges as the party's nominee next year.

But the position puts the Republican field out of step with a growing national consensus on gay rights, handing Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democrats a way to portray Republicans as intolerant and insensitive. Some Republicans also fear that Indiana is only the first in a series of brush fires that could engulf the party as it struggles to adapt to the nation's rapidly changing demographics and social mores.

At a news conference Tuesday, Pence a potential long-shot presidential candidate himself strongly defended the Indiana statute, which grants individuals and businesses legal grounds to defend themselves against claims of discrimination. But he also said the state would "fix" the law to make clear that it does not give license to businesses to deny services to anyone.

Pence insisted that it was never the law's intent to allow discrimination "I abhor discrimination," he said repeatedly although he acknowledged that negative perceptions have taken a rapid toll on Indiana's reputation and economic development.

After Pence signed the law Thursday, corporate executives nationwide as well as the White House and likely Democratic presidential candidates Clinton and Martin O'Malley issued sharp condemnations.

But former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other GOP presidential hopefuls did not waver in their support of Pence and what they consider a necessary state measure to safeguard religious liberty. The positions are in keeping with the views of social conservatives, who enjoy an outsize influence in the Republican presidential nominating contest.

"This is another case where the Iowa caucus beckons," veteran GOP strategist John Weaver said. "Politically, it's a difficult issue for a general election. After watching the Romney campaign in 2012, a lot of people said, 'Do no harm to your general-election chances while trying to win the nomination.' Having said that, you have to win the nomination first."

As Steve Deace, a conservative talk-radio host in Iowa, put it: "This is the first litmus test of the race. Everyone in the party is watching to see how the candidates respond. For evangelicals, this is the fundamental front of culture issues."

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Indiana law draws Republican White House hopefuls into the culture wars