Survey shows nearly 4 in 10 Americans think homosexuality is “morally unacceptable” released last week by Pew Research Center.
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Pollsters asked residents of 25 countries around the world about their opinions on the morality of their fellow citizens and on specific practices such as abortion, gambling and homosexuality. Among American respondents, 39% said homosexuality is immoral, 23% said homosexuality is morally acceptable, and 37% said it is not a moral issue.
This is pretty much how US respondents answered the question in the poll in 2013. In the same year, 37 percent of respondents said homosexuality was immoral, 23 percent said homosexuality was morally acceptable, and 35 percent did not consider homosexuality to be a moral problem.
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New data also shows that Americans under 40 are more supportive of homosexuality than older generations. 43% of Americans over 40 say homosexuality is morally unacceptable, compared to 33% of Americans 18 to 39.
Women had more favorable views of homosexuality than men. Opinions were also less favorable among respondents without a high school diploma, with 43% opposed. Only 35 percent of respondents with a high school education considered homosexuality immoral.
The most obvious schism appeared in religious practice. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed in the United States who pray daily believe homosexuality is morally wrong, compared to just 24% who pray less frequently. Additionally, 59 percent of U.S. Protestant respondents said homosexuality is wrong, compared to just 34 percent of Catholic respondents.
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Support ratings rose sharply over time. In 2007, 49% of Americans said homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared to 72% in 2019. According to Pew.
Public awareness of homosexuality is increasing globally, but generally remains high in wealthy countries, Pew said. found previously. Still, the United States ranked lower in overall favorable views of homosexuality than the European countries surveyed, as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Mexico.
The survey found that Sweden and Germany had the least number of respondents who viewed homosexuality negatively, with just 5% each. Nigerian respondents were the most likely to oppose homosexuality, with 96% believing it is morally wrong.
This article was written as part of The Advocate’s “Future of Queer Media” fellowship program. This program is morrison media group. This program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
