According to a released Gallup poll, Americans are taking a step back and rethinking sex, gambling and family values.

Decades of growing moral permissiveness have stalled, with attitudes shifting on several social issues.

Americans have become less likely to view a range of social behaviors as morally acceptable.

Released on Tuesday, the survey found the sharpest year-on-year declines in acceptance of having a child outside marriage, birth control, gambling, sex between teenagers, and animal cloning.

Birth control remained the most widely accepted behavior, with 83% of respondents saying it was morally acceptable.

However, support fell seven percentage points from 2025, reaching its lowest level since the question was first included in the survey in 2012.

Acceptance of having a baby outside marriage fell nine percentage points to 58%. Gambling support dropped six points to 57%.

The share of Americans who view sex between teenagers as morally acceptable stood at 35%, while acceptance of animal cloning declined to a record low of 27%.

Despite the declines, the majority of respondents still considered several behaviors morally acceptable

These include divorce (74%), sex between unmarried adults (65%), gay or lesbian relations (62%), embryonic stem-cell research (59%), buying and wearing animal fur (57%), and the death penalty (52%).

Opinions on abortion remained divided, with 49% of respondents describing it as morally acceptable and 41% as morally wrong. Americans were also closely split on doctor-assisted suicide and medical testing on animals.

The poll also highlighted sharp partisan divides, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to view abortion, gender transition, and gay or lesbian relations as morally acceptable. Republicans were more supportive of the death penalty.

According to Gallup, Americans remain more accepting of most of the behaviors it tracks than they were two decades ago.

However, the polling firm said the findings suggest that a decades-long shift toward greater moral permissiveness has largely leveled off and, in some cases, may be beginning to reverse. Let us know what you think

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