Gallup Poll Social Series: Values and Beliefs 2011
Gallup’s “2011 Values and Beliefs” poll finds that the most divisive moral issues among Americans today includes doctor-assisted suicide, abortion, having a baby outside of marriage, buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur, gay or lesbian relations and medical testing on animals.
According to Gallup research, the perceived moral acceptability of certain behaviors and social policies include (% morally acceptable / % morally wrong):
- Doctor-assisted suicide (45%/ 48%)
- Abortion (39%/ 51%)
- Having a baby outside marriage (54%/ 41%)
- Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur (56%/ 39%)
- Gay or lesbian relations (56%/ 39%)
- Medical testing on animals (55%/ 38%)
- Sex between an unmarried man and woman (60%/ 36%)
- Cloning animals (32%/ 62%)
- Medical research using stem cels obtained from human embryos (62%/ 30%)
- Gambling (64%/ 31%)
- Pornography (30%/ 66%)
- Death penalty (65%/ 28%)
- Divorce (69%/ 23%)
- Suicide (15%/ 80%)
- Cloning humans (12%/ 84%)
- Polygamy (11%/ 86%)
- Married men and women having an affair (7%/ 91%)
By age groups, adults from 18 to 34 years are less supportive of the death penalty and medical testing on animals. On the animal issues, moral acceptance was noted by (%18 – 34 years/ % 35-54 years/ %55+ years):
- Cloning animals (36%/ 32%/ 28%)
- Use of animal fur for clothing (55%/ 57%/ 56%)
- Medical testing on animals (47%/ 57%/ 61%)