Americans have become less likely over the past year to view several long-debated social behaviors as morally acceptable, with the sharpest declines on birth control, having a baby outside of marriage, gambling, sex between teenagers, and cloning animals, according to a new Gallup poll.
The survey found acceptance of birth control fell from 90% in 2025 to 83% in 2026, the lowest level Gallup has recorded since it began asking about the issue in 2012. Acceptance of having children outside marriage fell from 67% in 2025 to 58% in 2026; gambling from 63% to 57%; sex between teenagers from 41% to 35%; and cloning animals from 34% to 27%.
The findings come from Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 1-17, which asked 1,001 U.S. adults whether they consider 20 behaviors and practices to be morally acceptable or morally wrong.
Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, shared an Axios report about the poll on X after the outlet described the numbers as evidence of a “puritanical streak” among Americans.
A new Gallup poll finds that fewer Americans consider birth control, having a child outside of marriage, and gambling to be morally acceptable — continuing a trend that the author describes as a "puritanical streak." I'd push back on that framing. What this data may actually…
— James D Conley (@bishop_conley) June 9, 2026
Bishop Conley viewed the findings differently, he said, calling them an encouraging “trend toward more sound moral reasoning, particularly among younger generations.”
Several other issues also reached record-low levels of moral acceptability among Americans, Gallup found. Acceptance of the death penalty fell to 52%, medical testing on animals fell to 45%, and “changing” one’s gender fell from 40% to 38%.
Majorities of Americans said several behaviors are morally wrong, including extramarital affairs, which 89% called morally wrong; cloning humans, 86%; polygamy, 77%; suicide, 70%; and pornography, 64%.
Despite the recent declines, majorities still said several behaviors are morally acceptable, including divorce at 74%, sex between unmarried people at 65%, homosexual relations at 62%, medical research using stem cells from human embryos at 59%, and buying clothing made of animal fur at 57%.
Americans were more divided on abortion, doctor-assisted suicide, and medical testing on animals. Gallup found that 49% of adults said abortion is morally acceptable, down from a high of 54% in 2024, while 41% said it is morally wrong. Views on doctor-assisted suicide were nearly split, with 49% saying it is morally acceptable and 45% saying it is morally wrong. Medical testing on animals was also closely divided, with 45% calling it morally acceptable and 48% calling it morally wrong.
Partisan divisions remain wide, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to say most of the behaviors measured are morally acceptable, according to the poll. Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say the death penalty, wearing animal fur, and medical testing on animals are morally acceptable.
According to Gallup, independents drove several of the largest one-year declines, including double-digit drops in acceptance of divorce, having a baby outside marriage, gambling, birth control, and pornography.
The report noted that Americans have generally become more accepting of many controversial social behaviors over the past two decades, but that trend has slowed or reversed in recent years. Even with the recent pullback, acceptance levels for most of these behaviors remain higher than they were 25 years ago.