Decades of growing moral permissiveness have stalled, with attitudes shifting on several social issues, the poll suggests
Americans have become less likely to view a range of social behaviors as morally acceptable, according to a new Gallup poll.
Released on Tuesday, the survey found the sharpest year-on-year declines in acceptance of having a child outside marriage, birth control, gambling, sex between teenagers, and animal cloning.
Birth control remained the most widely accepted behavior tracked by Gallup, with 83% of respondents saying it was morally acceptable. However, support fell seven percentage points from 2025, reaching its lowest level since the question was first included in the survey in 2012.
Acceptance of having a baby outside marriage fell nine percentage points to 58%, while support for gambling dropped six points to 57%. The share of Americans who view sex between teenagers as morally acceptable stood at 35%, while acceptance of animal cloning declined to a record low of 27%.
Six behaviors have reached record lows in moral acceptability among Americans: birth control (83%), gambling (57%), the death penalty (52%), medical testing on animals (45%), changing one’s gender (38%) and cloning animals (27%).
Despite the declines, majorities of respondents still considered several behaviors morally acceptable, including divorce (74%), sex between unmarried adults (65%), gay or lesbian relations (62%), embryonic stem-cell research (59%), buying and wearing animal fur (57%), and the death penalty (52%).
Opinion on abortion remained divided, with 49% of respondents describing it as morally acceptable and 41% as morally wrong. Americans were also closely split on doctor-assisted suicide and medical testing on animals.
The poll also highlighted sharp partisan divides, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to view abortion, gender transition, and gay or lesbian relations as morally acceptable, while Republicans were more supportive of the death penalty.
According to Gallup, Americans remain more accepting of most of the behaviors it tracks than they were two decades ago. However, the polling firm said the findings suggest that a decades-long shift toward greater moral permissiveness has largely leveled off and, in some cases, may be beginning to reverse. The survey was conducted among 1,001 adults nationwide between May 1 and May 17.
