Gallup has updated its ongoing “morally acceptable” index on a host of social issues, from abortion and divorce to homosexuality and wearing fur. While most measures remain relatively steady, Gallup detected a rightward shift among Republicans, providing yet another measure of the party’s increasingly conservative bent. The “bottom line” from Gallup:
“Americans’ views about what is and isn’t morally acceptable in today’s culture have not changed dramatically over the past year. To the extent they have changed, they have moved slightly to the right on a handful of issues, almost entirely because of more pronounced conservative shifts among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. This is particularly evident with respect to lower Republican support for divorce and embryonic stem-cell research, and increased Republican support for the use of animal fur in clothing.”
One fairly significant change: a sizable jump among Democrats in their acceptance of homosexuality, from 59 percent last year to 66 percent this year. Republicans were more steady, from 37 percent to 35 percent.