The only constant in life is change, it has been said, and we are seeing that maxim exemplified by changes in the normative structure surrounding sexual behavior and marriage in American society. Gallup’s latest update shows a continuing increase in the public’s agreement on the moral acceptability of a series of behaviors relating to sex and marriage. Americans, in short, are becoming more tolerant in their views of what is and is not acceptable. The causes of these shifts are not precisely determinable, but to the degree they represent a shift in actual behavior, these changes could be harbingers of cultural transformations that affect the U.S. economy and population wellbeing. CONTINUED
Frank Newport, Gallup