Homosexuality and Morality

Though a majority of Americans now favor allowing gay couples to enter into civil unions (57%), roughly half the country (49%) considers homosexuality to be morally wrong. This is about the same number that considers abortion to be morally wrong (52%). A little more than a third do not consider homosexuality to be a moral issue (35%) and 9% say it is morally acceptable. A third of those who believe homosexuality is morally wrong still support civil unions, compared with 82% of those who do not say it is morally wrong. Blacks (64%) are more likely than whites (48%) or Hispanics (43%) to say homosexuality is morally wrong. Education also splits Americans on the question of homosexuality. Just 40% of those with a college education see homosexual behavior as morally wrong, while 46% of those with some college and 55% of those with no college say it is morally wrong. Religion and politics especially provide sharp divisions on this question. An overwhelming number of conservative Republicans say homosexuality is morally wrong (75%), while just a quarter of liberal Democrats agree. Among those who attend religious services weekly, two-thirds say homosexual behavior is morally wrong, though just 31% of those who attend seldom or never agree. Read More