I am always interested to read the results of polls like these. They are truly a measure of where we are as a society. I am linking this mostly for informational purposes. I agree with the consensus view of American society on many issues, but disagree on many others (I think the death penalty is morally wrong, for example, but that is one of the issues that most Americans think is morally justified). How do we think the Prophet would respond to this poll? Just wondering.
The Millennial Star
What an awesome poll. I wish they would do a breakdown of active church goers vs. non-goers, but BARNA looks into stuff like that. I wish they would show more moral decline plots vs. time. The one on homosexual relations will be alarming to some.
Some of the issues expected black and white answers. I would have a hard time answering the ones on abortion and divorce, believing they are acceptable in some cases, but even in those case perhaps can’t completely escape being wrong to some degree.
I can’t understand why polygamy gets so much worse worse ratings then unmarital relations. That seems to say the difference between wrong and right is whether one commits to being responsible through marriage.
Keller, if you look at page two of the Gallup results, there is a column for “Depends on situation.” I agree with you that I would answer “depends on situation” for both abortion and divorce. (Abortion has been discussed a lot, but what about a person who gets divorced because of abuse? There’s nothing morally wrong about that).
Yeah, I agree with your point on polygamy. It’s fascinating that 58 percent of Americans agree there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex but 90 percent say they are against polygamy.
what, no questions on murder, stealing, cheating, lying, or cannabilism?
This survey report reminds me of Mark Twain’s old saying about “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” If this data is to be taken at face value, the American public considers extramarital sex to be as “immoral” as “medical testing on animals” or “buying and wearing clothing made from animal fur.”
Regardless of my own moral views, I can’t for a moment imagine this reflects a true snapshot of the American public. The accompanynig article acknowledges disparities between age groups, but why doesn’t it present THOSE in chart forms, like it does “liberals vs. moderates vs. conservatives?”
Geoff, thanks for pointing out page 2 for me. I am surprised not many people voted for “depends on the situation” on some of the various issues. I feel like I am part of a moral minority.
To Nick (#4):
Actually, the survey supports the claim that the American public believes extramarital sex — sex outside of existing marriages — to be quite immoral. In fact, it is viewed as the most morally wrong action out of the list given. It is only amarital sex — where neither partner is married — that is seen on the same level as medical testing on animals. This is a fascinating comment on American society, I think … sex isn’t necessarily respected, and marriage isn’t necessarily respected (with such high numbers of those saying divorce is morally acceptable), but the two of them together, sex within marriage, is held in quite a high esteem.
Another general observation … if I interpret the chart correctly, the answers of “depends on situation” and “not a moral issue” were not presented as options to those being surveyed. Instead, they were only counted if the surveyor volunteered that as a response. I’d venture that those numbers would be a lot higher if they were actually given as options by the one doing the polling.
I’m struck by the grouping of these various issues. Conservatives like suicide more than human cloning, which they like more than polygamy, which they like more than adultery (which has the absolute lowest approval rating overall.) Liberals like them in the exact same order, at rates between 2 and 5 times the degree to which conservatives like them. And the three “reverse” issues (where liberals like it less than conservatives) are fur, medical testing on animals, and the death penalty…
I’m also fascinated that such a high proportion of the subgroup which overwhelmingly approves of fornication, homosexuality and out-of-wedlock-births still disapprove of both polygamy and adultery. I fail to understand the material difference between opening the marriage boundary to “two persons of indiscriminate gender” and opening it to “three or more persons,” particularly if you already don’t care about non-marital sex in general.
I am in any case relieved that liberals don’t seem to disapprove of animal testing and fur products at the same rates that conservatives disapprove of abortion and adultery (the closest comparable disapproval level [to the animal testing] would be the conservative response to divorce, and moderate reaction to doctor-assisted-suicide.)
I, too would love to see the results broken down by political affiliation and age bracket. And, come to think of it, region — self-described liberals in rural Ohio are often more conservative than self-described conservatives in urban California.
“I’m also fascinated that such a high proportion of the subgroup which overwhelmingly approves of fornication, homosexuality and out-of-wedlock-births still disapprove of both polygamy and adultery. I fail to understand the material difference between opening the marriage boundary to “two persons of indiscriminate gender” and opening it to “three or more persons,” particularly if you already don’t care about non-marital sex in general.”
I think for many people the issue is one of honesty and fairness. Adultery violates vows and involves some kind of deceit. And I think many people have difficulty imagining that polygamous relationships could exist in situations that didn’t involve some kind of coercion, or at least that they would involve unequal sharing of resources and attention.
N.G.
I actually used the wrong word there. I said “extramarital,” when I should have said “sex outside of marriage.” (Is “amarital” even a word?)