According to Gallup’s annual “moral acceptability” measure, updated in May, Americans have inched to the right on a handful of the 15 issues rated, including divorce, use of animal fur in clothing, gambling, and embryonic stem-cell research. Public opinion about the moral acceptability of the other items is essentially unchanged, with no significant increases in support for traditionally liberal positions.
The poll asked respondents what they considered “morally acceptable.” Among other issues, it found an:
- 8 percent decline in support for divorce
- 5 percent decline in support for embryonic stem cell research
- 4 percent decline in support for abortion
- 2 percent decline in support for cloning humans
Support for the use of animal fur in clothing saw a 7 percent increase. Gallup concluded:
Americans’ views about what is and isn’t morally acceptable in today’s culture have not changed dramatically over the past year. To the extent they have changed, they have moved slightly to the right on a handful of issues, almost entirely because of more pronounced conservative shifts among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. This is particularly evident with respect to lower Republican support for divorce and embryonic stem-cell research, and increased Republican support for the use of animal fur in clothing.
