优蜜传媒

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. adults remain more likely to say that sex between teenagers is morally wrong (54%) rather than morally acceptable (42%). But the percentage who find it acceptable has grown by 10 percentage points since 优蜜传媒first polled on the question in 2013, including a six-point increase in the past year.

These results are from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 1-10. Adults with children younger than 18 in their household (39%) and those without children younger than 18 (43%) are similarly likely to find sex between teenagers morally acceptable.

Adults aged 18 to 29, whose adolescent years are not as far in their past, are the only age group in which a majority says sex between teens is morally acceptable, with 59% saying this. Older adults are less likely to agree; and adults aged 65 and older are about half as likely to find it morally acceptable (31% do).

Most liberals find sex between teens morally acceptable (60%) -- more than twice the rate of conservatives (26%). Meanwhile, moderates are roughly split in their views on the moral acceptability of sex between teenagers.

Religiosity plays a significant role in Americans' views on teenage sex. A slight majority of U.S. adults who seldom or never go to church (54%) find sex between teens morally acceptable, while a much smaller 20% of weekly churchgoers agree. About one in three adults who attend church nearly weekly or monthly (34%) find teenage sex morally acceptable.

	Morally acceptable	Morally wrong
	%	%
Has children under 18	39	57
Does not have children under 18	43	53
18-29	59	38
30-49	43	54
50-64	35	60
65+	31	65
Conservative	26	70
Moderate	45	50
Liberal	60	37
Attend church weekly	20	78
Attend church nearly weekly/monthly	34	62
Attend church less often	54	42
Gallup, May 1-10, 2018

Acceptability of Sex Between Unmarried Men and Women Remains High

About seven in 10 Americans deem sex between unmarried men and women morally acceptable, matching the 69% high 优蜜传媒found in 2017. The latest figure is up 16 percentage points from the slim majorities of U.S. adults who believed that sex between unmarried men and women was morally acceptable in 2001 and 2002.

The current 28% of Americans who say sex between unmarried adults is morally wrong is down from the 42% recorded in 2001 and 2002.

Unmarried adults themselves are slightly more likely than married adults to believe premarital sex is morally acceptable -- 74% vs. 66%, respectively. And men (73%) are slightly more likely than women (66%) to say it is morally acceptable.

Sex before marriage is considered a sin in many religions, but majorities of Catholics (77%) as well as Protestants (60%) say they believe it is morally acceptable. Americans who do not have a formal religious identity are the most accepting, with 90% saying unmarried sex is morally OK.

One's degree of religiosity, however, appears to have more of an impact on their view of premarital sex. While majorities of Americans who attend church nearly weekly or monthly (67%) or less often (83%) say they believe sex between unmarried men and women is morally acceptable, fewer than four in 10 weekly churchgoers (38%) agree.

Solid majorities of liberals (84%) and moderates (75%) find premarital sex morally acceptable, but only a slim majority of conservatives (54%) share this view.

	Morally acceptable	Morally wrong
	%	%
Men	73	25
Women	66	31
Married	66	32
Unmarried	74	25
Conservative	54	45
Moderate	75	22
Liberal	84	15
Attend church weekly	38	59
Attend church nearly weekly/monthly	67	31
Attend church less often	83	16
Protestant/Other Christian	60	38
Catholic	77	22
None	90	8
Gallup, May 1-10, 2018

Bottom Line

Americans have shifted quite a bit in their views on the morality of a variety of issues, from pornography to the cloning of animals.

Since 2001, most U.S. adults have consistently felt that sex between unmarried adults is morally acceptable -- and they have become even more likely to view it as acceptable since. But these views do not extend to sex between teens, as Americans remain more likely to say it is morally wrong -- though the percentage saying it's morally acceptable has grown in recent years.

There may be greater sensitivity to the idea of teenagers having sex given their underage status, and some state laws may be guiding Americans' views on the subject. But many teens are having sex; 41% of U.S. high school students have had sexual intercourse, according to 2015 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Whether sex between teenagers continues to become more accepted among Americans could largely hinge on the views of adults younger than 30 -- currently the sole age demographic in which a majority says teen sex is morally acceptable. If these young adults carry their views with them as they age, this could become a more mainstream view. But if their views become more conservative as they graduate into the next age bracket, teenage sex could remain a practice that most Americans feel is morally wrong.