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NEW YORK Gallup's annual Values and
Beliefs poll finds Americans very concerned about the
current state of moral values in the United States.
Only about one in six Americans describe the state of
moral values in the country in positive terms, and perceptions
that moral values are "poor" in the country
are at their highest point ever, edging close to the
50% mark.
Exactly 1% rate the state of moral values
as "excellent," with just 16% choosing "good,"
and 44% poor.
More than 8 in 10 Americans think morality
is getting worse, representing a slight increase in
the past three years. Only 11% say it is getting better.
On homosexuality, 49% still find it
morally not acceptable while 47% do accept it. Just
over half (51%) find abortion morally wrong with 42%
accepting it.
"The groups of Americans who are
most negative about moral values in this country include
senior citizens, blacks, women, conservative Republicans,
Protestants, and weekly churchgoers," Gallup reports.
Eight in 10 consevatives are dissatisfied, compared
with 6 in 10 liberals who feel that way.
Agreement on what represents moral behavior
varied widely. Two in three find the death penalty moral
acceptable and nearly as many feel that way about divorce
(an interesting commentary in itself). In the category
are using stem cells in medicine and gambling.
At the other end come low approval marks
for suicide (16%), clonining humans (11%), polygamy
(8%) and adultery (6%).
Just over 1,000 adults were surveyed
for this annual poll.
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