A new Harris Poll indicates that we should use caution when we speak about “moral values” because people may have different definitions of that term. Though it is often assumed that the term refers to religious-right concerns about abortion, gay rights or same-sex marriage, this poll found that most people surveyed who said moral values were very important in their voting decisions were defining it as the characters of the candidates – honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, their likelihood of “doing the right thing.”

When asked, “What do you mean when you say that moral values are very important to you?”, 78 percent cited candidates’ personal characteristics.

The Harris report concludes: “These findings show that pollsters, journalists and commentators must be very careful not to assume that voters who feel strongly about ‘moral values’ are primarily concerned with issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, stem cell research, gun control or any of the other issues often associated with the Christian Right or the Conservative base of the Republican party.”