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The percentage of Americans who believe that sex outside of marriage and birth control are morally acceptable has declined, as a new survey shows the public embracing more conservative attitudes on hot-button social issues.
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Gallup released the most recent installment of its annual Values and Beliefs Poll Tuesday, finding that attitudes on a range of moral issues have shifted in a more conservative direction compared with the previous year.
The survey, which is based on responses collected from 1,001 United States adults from May 1-17, found declines in the share of Americans who view many behaviors as morally acceptable, including sex between unmarried adults, gambling, pornography, euthanasia and gender transition. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
Among the most notable changes was a sharp drop in support for having children outside of marriage.
While 67% of Americans said having children outside of wedlock was morally acceptable in the previous survey, that figure fell to 58% this year — one of the largest year-over-year shifts recorded in the poll.
Support for birth control also declined. Although a large majority of Americans continue to view contraception as morally acceptable, the percentage dropped from 90% to 83%, marking the lowest level recorded since Gallup began asking the question.
Views on sexual behavior also moved in a more conservative direction.
The percentage of Americans who said sex between unmarried men and women is morally acceptable fell from 68% to 65%, while support for gay and lesbian relationships declined from 64% to 62%.
Last year, 41% of respondents thought sex between teenagers was morally acceptable. That number decreased to 35% this year.
The percentage of Americans who consider gambling morally acceptable fell from 63% to 57%, the lowest level Gallup has recorded. Acceptance of pornography declined from 35% to 31%.
Support for doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia also decreased. While 53% of respondents viewed doctor-assisted suicide as morally acceptable in the previous survey, fewer than half — 49% — said the same this year.
Views on stem cell research fell from 63% to 59%.
The share of Americans who believe the death penalty is acceptable dropped from 56% last year to 52% this year, reaching a record low.
Regarding stem cell research, 63% of Americans called the practice morally acceptable in 2025, while 59% said the same this year.
The survey also found declining support for changing one’s gender, with 38% of Americans describing the practice as morally acceptable, down from 40% a year earlier and a new record low.
In 2025, 21% of Americans said polygamy was morally acceptable, while 19% of respondents felt this way this year.
When it comes to changing one’s gender, 40% of those surveyed viewed the practice as morally acceptable in 2025 compared to 38% this year, reaching a new record low.
The percentage of Americans who believe that divorce is morally acceptable barely budged from 75% in 2025 to 74% this year. Extramarital affairs were seen as morally acceptable by just 8% of respondents in 2025, dipping slightly to 7% today.
Meanwhile, views on abortion remained largely unchanged.
The percentage of Americans who referred to abortion as morally acceptable remains unchanged, with just under half (49%) seeing terminating a pregnancy as morally acceptable. The percentage of Americans who think having an abortion is morally unacceptable rose slightly from 40% last year to 41% this year.
Similarly, the percentage of respondents who think suicide is morally acceptable also did not change. Although 21% of Americans did not think suicide was morally acceptable either this year or last year, the share of respondents who believe suicide is unacceptable decreased slightly from 71% to 70%.
The only issue that saw an increase in support was human cloning. Nine percent of Americans described cloning humans as morally acceptable, up slightly from 8% the previous year.
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This article was originally published at The Christian Post. Photo Credit: Isabella Fischer on Unsplash.
