More than four in 10 Americans (43%) now say pornography is morally acceptable, a 7% increase from last year.
Forty-three percent of Americans now believe pornography is “morally acceptable,” a seven-percentage-point increase from last year and the highest level since Gallup first began measuring moral perceptions of pornography in 2011.
These results come from Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, conducted May 1-10. Since it was first fielded in 2001, this survey has found considerable evidence that Americans are becoming increasingly liberal in terms of what actions or behaviors they find morally acceptable.
From 2011 onward, notable shifts in opinion are apparent for actions such as doctor-assisted suicide, gay/lesbian relations, sex between unmarried people and having a baby out of wedlock.
Until this year, though, Americans’ perceptions regarding the morality of pornography have changed at a more modest rate than these other issues. From 2011 to 2017, the percentage of Americans who find pornography morally acceptable rose by six points, whereas Americans’ opinions on those other issues changed by an average of nine points.
But in light of this year’s seven-point shift, perceptions that pornography is morally acceptable have increased more than any of the 16 other behaviors or practices Gallup has measured over the time span of 2011-2018.
Acceptance of Pornography Spikes Among Democrats.
More Americans Say Pornography Is Morally Acceptable
Story Highlights Highest level since Gallup began asking about it in 2011 Partisan differences on morality of pornography wider than ever Younger men, nonmarried more accepting of pornography WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-three percent of Americans now believe pornography is “morally acceptable,” a seven-percentage-point increase from last year and the highest level since Gallup first began measuring moral perceptions of pornography in 2011.