Shift in American Moral Acceptance

Americans have become less accepting of several issues long at the center of controversy, with notable declines in approval over the past year. Declines touch on issues such as birth control, having children outside of marriage, gambling, teenage sex, and animal cloning. This marks a shift away from years of gradual liberalization.

The findings come from Gallup’s Values and Beliefs poll conducted May 1–17. This survey, which has tracked U.S. attitudes toward a wide range of behaviors annually since 2001, included 1,001 adults from across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Sharpest Declines in Moral Acceptance

Five of the 20 behaviors measured saw statistically significant drops in moral acceptability compared to last year, with each falling between 6 and 9 percentage points. Birth control, while still viewed as permissible by 83% of respondents, recorded one of the largest declines, reaching a record low after years of stability.

Gambling approval fell to 57% from 63%, marking another historic low. Cloning animals, now approved by only 27%, dropped from 34%. Having a child outside of marriage now stands at 58%, down 9 points from last year. Lastly, teenage sex approval dropped from 41% to 35%.

What Do Americans Accept?

Despite recent declines in some areas, large majorities of Americans still accept several behaviors. Birth control and divorce both have high acceptance rates at 83% and 74% respectively. A majority also supports sex between unmarried adults (65%) and gay or lesbian relationships (62%).

Other acceptable behaviors include medical research using embryonic stem cells (59%), buying animal fur clothing (57%), and gambling (57%). The death penalty is viewed as acceptable by slightly over half of respondents (52%). In 2024, the number of executions in the U.S. rose to 47 from 25 the previous year.

Controversial issues show more divided opinions. For abortion, 49% find it acceptable, while 41% do not. Opinions on doctor-assisted suicide and medical testing on animals are nearly evenly split.

Behaviors Widely Rejected

Many Americans reject certain behaviors outright. Only 7% agree with extramarital affairs, making them the most offensive behavior in the poll. Cloning humans and polygamy have low acceptance rates, at 9% and 19%, respectively.

Partisan Divides

Political affiliation heavily influences moral judgments. Democrats generally accept identity, sexuality, and medical autonomy issues more than Republicans. Republicans are more permissive of punitive measures like the death penalty. Significant gaps appear in acceptance of abortion, gender transition, and gay relations.

The most notable difference is in abortion views, with 73% of Democrats and 18% of Republicans finding it acceptable—a 55-point gap. Gender transition acceptance shows a similar divide. Differences also appear in medical ethics topics, such as embryonic stem cell research and doctor-assisted suicide.

Republicans show more support than Democrats for the death penalty, with a 43-point difference. They are also somewhat more accepting of buying animal fur and medical testing on animals, though these differences are smaller.

Nonetheless, some behaviors face near-universal rejection. Both parties largely resist extramarital affairs, human cloning, and polygamy despite minor partisan variations.