Significantly fewer adults than a year ago say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable, and more adults approve of the death penalty, according to new Gallup polling.
As the nation celebrates Pride Month, Gallup reported Friday that 64% of respondents to a recent survey said they personally believe in the morality of same-sex relations, down from an all-time high of 71% a year ago.
That’s the lowest the polling company has registered since 63% expressed support in 2019, but well above the historic low of 38% recorded in 2002, one year after the company started posing the question.
“Republicans, who increasingly identify as conservative on social issues, are largely responsible for the changes this year,” Gallup said.
Among Republicans, the belief that same-sex relations are morally acceptable plunged from 56% in last year’s survey to 41% this year. That’s the sharpest annual drop since polling started and the lowest for Republicans since 39% expressed support in 2014.
Over the same period, support for same-sex relations fell among Democrats from 85% to 79% and increased slightly among independents, from 72% to 73%.
Gallup posed the question as part of its annual Values and Beliefs Poll, which also found that belief in the morality of the death penalty increased from 55% last year to 60% this year. That surge came primarily from self-identified Republicans and independents, with a slight bump among Democrats.
On other issues, Gallup found little movement. For example, support for abortion remained unchanged from 52% in last year’s survey, taken before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
By wider margins, respondents endorsed the moral acceptability of birth control, divorce, sex between an unmarried man and woman, having a baby out of wedlock, gambling and buying or wearing clothing made out of animal fur.
Most adults surveyed flagged the following issues as morally wrong: Sex between teenagers, pornography, cloning animals, polygamy, suicide, cloning humans and affairs between married men and women.
Gallup conducted a randomized national telephone survey of 1,011 adults on May 1-24. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.