Americans are finding more behaviors or social issues “morally acceptable” than they have in the past, but men and women still differ on several issues, notably those related to sex and relationships. Pornography is the most divisive, with 43% of men finding it morally acceptable versus 25% of women. Notable […] Read more »
Five Things We’ve Learned About Americans and Moral Values
Norms surrounding behaviors relating to sexual behavior and reproduction have been shifting in the U.S. in recent years. … We at Gallup have reported on these shifts in a series of stories, and various news outlets and commentators have given their opinions on what these shifts may mean as the […] Read more »
Majority in U.S. Still Say Moral Values Getting Worse
Most Americans (72%) continue to believe the state of moral values in the U.S. is “getting worse,” while 22% say it is “getting better.” Large majorities have said the state of moral values in the U.S. is declining since Gallup started asking this question annually in 2002. CONT. Justin McCarthy, […] Read more »
Once Taboo, Some Behaviors Now More Acceptable in U.S.
While a select few actions remain deeply taboo for much of the country, there has been an increasing shift to moral acceptability for some of these over time. Such actions include suicide (which 19% of Americans call “morally acceptable”), polygamy (16%) and cloning humans (15%). On the other hand, “married […] Read more »
Approval of Out-of-Wedlock Births Growing
Sixty-one percent of Americans say having a baby outside of marriage is morally acceptable, a new high by one percentage point and the third straight year that roughly six in 10 Americans have sanctioned this once frowned-upon behavior. In 2002, when Gallup first asked the question, more Americans said having […] Read more »
Americans Continue to Shift Left on Key Moral Issues
Americans are more likely now than in the early 2000s to find a variety of behaviors morally acceptable, including gay and lesbian relations, having a baby outside of marriage and sex between an unmarried man and woman. Moral acceptability of many of these issues is now at a record-high level. […] Read more »