Americans across the age spectrum are in broad agreement on the morality of a variety of societal issues, and older Americans’ views on several once taboo matters related to sexuality — such as premarital sex and gay relations — have significantly evolved. Nevertheless, young adults are far more accepting of […] Read more »
Americans’ Outlook for Moral Values Still Pessimistic
Most Americans are still highly pessimistic about the direction in which moral values in the United States are headed. Seventy-two percent say moral values in the country as a whole are getting worse, essentially unchanged from 73% last year, but improved from more than 80% in 2006 through 2008. Twenty […] Read more »
Record-High Say Gay, Lesbian Relations Morally OK
Americans’ views toward a number of moral issues have shifted significantly since 2001. Their acceptance of gay and lesbian relations has increased the most, up 19 percentage points in the past 12 years — to a record high of 59% today. Americans’ tolerance toward having a baby outside of marriage […] Read more »
Scientists agree on climate change. So why doesn’t everyone else?
Here’s a finding that shouldn’t be all that surprising: Since 1991, roughly 97 percent of all published scientific papers that take a position on the question agree that humans are warming the planet. That stat comes from this extensive new survey led by John Cook and Dana Nuccitelli, who run […] Read more »
Optimism in an Era of Growing Inequality and Economic Difficulty
Despite an extended period of economic difficulty, Pew Research Center pollsters Andrew Kohut and Michael Dimock show that Americans’ core values and beliefs about economic opportunity, and the nation’s economic outlook, remain largely optimistic and unchanged. There is also little evidence that economic class is becoming a greater factor in […] Read more »
Mark Sanford’s political redemption
When he left office two years ago, it seemed unlikely that Mark Sanford’s future would hold another successful bid for elected office. Since 2009, when the former governor of South Carolina admitted that his absences from the state to allegedly hike the Appalachian Trail were, in fact, trips to Argentina […] Read more »