Madrid traffic lights to promote gender equality and LGBT toleranceBen Vine
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. adults still believe homosexuality is “morally unacceptable,” according to a new report from the Pew Research Center published last week.
Pew researchers surveyed a representative sample of 3,605 adults in the U.S. last March, as part of a study about moral attitudes in 25 different countries, according to the report. Respondents were asked whether they believed certain behaviors — including homosexuality — were morally acceptable, unacceptable, or not a moral issue. (In U.S. surveys, the word “unacceptable” was changed to “wrong.”)
Within the U.S. sample, 39% viewed being gay as morally wrong. That placed the U.S. ninth among all countries surveyed by rate of anti-gay sentiment, between Israel (47%) and Hungary (34%). There was a slight net shift upward compared to Pew research from 2013, which found 37% of adults in the U.S. believed homosexuality was immoral.
Researchers did find significant differences in opinion between demographics, however. Sixty-two percent of U.S. women said it was acceptable or not a moral issue to be gay, compared to 56% of men. Disapproval also skewed older, with 43% of U.S. adults 40 years old or older saying homosexuality was unacceptable, compared to 33% of those aged 18-39. People with lower levels of formal education were also more likely to disapprove of all the behaviors surveyed, which included getting an abortion, gambling, and watching pornography.
The largest gaps in acceptance appeared to be based on religiosity. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. adults who said they pray daily disapproved of being gay, compared to just 24% of those who said they pray less often or not at all. That was especially true for Christians, who were “often among the most likely to consider each of the nine behaviors to be morally unacceptable,” researchers noted. In Nigeria, one of several African nations where U.S. evangelical groups have heavily influenced anti-gay laws and public opinion over the past two decades, 96% of respondents said being gay was immoral. (The most gay-accepting countries of the 25 surveyed were Germany and Sweden, where only 5% said homosexuality was unacceptable.)
The government wants to ban care nationwide, and hospitals are shutting down treatment. Parents just want it all to stop.
The Pew questions specifically asked respondents for their views on homosexuality, rather than the broader LGBTQ+ umbrella, and did not ask about transgender people. A Pew survey of LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S. last year found that most believed attitudes toward gay, lesbian, and bisexual people were becoming more positive, but that acceptance of trans people had declined.
The new Pew report also found that the U.S. was the only country where a minority of respondents (47%) viewed their neighbors as “very” or “somewhat” morally good. Democrats and left-leaning independents were more likely to view other citizens as morally bad, researchers noted, but that trend was also true for people outside the U.S. who did not support their country’s governing party. Overall, the U.S. is “in the middle of the pack” on most behaviors surveyed and was not uniquely judgmental, researchers noted, though U.S. respondents were generally less approving of extramarital affairs than most other countries and more positive about marijuana use than any country other than Canada.
Samantha Riedel is a writer and editor whose work on transgender culture and politics has previously appeared in VICE, Bitch Magazine, and The Establishment. She lives in Massachusetts, where she is presently at work on her first manuscript. … Read More
I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 36th year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is Scottiestoybox@gmail.com
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12 thoughts on “Nearly 4 in 10 U.S. Adults Think Homosexuality Is “Morally Unacceptable””
At least we didn’t place first…what goes on in the privacy of one’s house is none of our danged business…period..
I understand the appeal of saying that what happens in someone’s home is their own business. For me, though, that only really holds when everyone involved is freely consenting. The idea that “what goes on in the privacy of one’s house is none of our business” has too often been used to look away from harm that happens behind closed doors. Privacy is important, but it shouldn’t become a shield that prevents us from acknowledging when people are being hurt.
don’t misread me, Barry. I understand what you’re saying about abuse, emotional damage, etc. but what I meant (and Im sure you got this) was that in your own house your relationships with your partner or partners is sacrosanct. Nobody’s business but yours, as long as nothing illegal is happening.
I did understand the generosity of what you meant. My comment wasn’t about disagreeing with you so much as wanting to acknowledge that those kinds of phrases have sometimes been used to excuse looking away from harm. Knowing some of what Scottie went through when he was young, I’m probably a bit sensitive to that. So it wasn’t a misreading — just me wanting to name something that can get overlooked.
Hi Barry. You are correct in that other adults knew or suspected but no one wanted to interfere. It was a different time and adults felt less ready to reach into others homes and help kids or abused spouses. The schools ignored the bruising and the inability to sit still due to pain, The primcible and other teachers who knew just abused me themselves. The local librarians at the town library simply kept the books I was reading behind the desk knowing I couldn’t take them home. One librarian even gave me a book written for young victims to encourage me to save myself, but she never told the authorities what she knew. In my first grade the school did try to step in, the adopting parents got away with my abuse by moving three times in less than a year and enroling me in a new school. The courts did order me to have regular checkups with me delivered to either doctors or therapists, but that only led to more sexual abuse. No punishment for the adopting parents that I could see. Best wishes.
Hi Judy. That was the feeling at the time in the 1960s / 1970s. I understood what you meant and I also understand Barry’s addition. Adults who knew or suspected did nothing to help me. No one wanted to interfere or stick their nose into the “families” business. I agree with what you are trying to say, the gender of the consenting adults shouldn’t matter to anyone else. But why does it have to be the privacy of one’s home? If straight people can hold hands or share a kiss in public same sex couples should be able to as well. Eqaulity and equal rights for all. Hugs
Hi Scottie. In poll taking, there is a huge swing in how a question is asked. That is why psych tests will ask the same question in many different ways. If, for example, I was to ask the question: “is homosexuality morally wrong”, I would get answers that mirror religious and political environments. But, if I asked a question like this: “If a man does not find women attractive, should he marry one anyway?”, the answer would likely be different for many. It is the surface level of culture that never allows a person to actually address his true morals that make these types of polls flashy, and irrelevant. I am far more interested in WHY a person thinks as they do than WHAT they think, because very often the what is quite inaccurate to their true considerations when given a moment to think on the issue or place it into real context.
Hi Randy. What you say is true about how questions are framed and phrased. However the fact is reported in different polls that acceptance of same sex couples and gay people has declined and trans acceptance has taken a huge dip. It is all due to the constant negative attacks from the right who made an entire three election cycles of 6 to 10 years of constant attacks on gay people and trans people / issues. The religious freedom movement made a career out of trying to cement their right to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ into civil laws because they claim their god gives them that right. A right no other group gets, only the Christians. All of this with no push back from the democratic candidates and office holders. Kamala ran from the issue. Refused to defend trans people. Few governors would defend the rights of trans people. Gavin Newsom the governor of California, wants to be president so went on right wing media to throw trans people under the bus refusing to support them. Only three or four members of congress support the trans people but rarely mention it. Push back matters. In the early 2000s when schools were pushing anti-bullying campaigns and pushing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ and minorities things changed and fellow students accepted their peers who came out. That incensed the hard Christian right and they sprang to reverse the trend. So far they have won and the LGBTQ+ have lost. Hugs
Hi Scottie. I don’t have even a little bit of argument on your points, except to say consider my Dad. If hit with a question like that about morality, he would likely respond with the republican/faux news response. But, he thinks the world of you and Ron. There was a joke at one point that President Obama should put out a public service message about not eating yellow snow, just to get the repubs to rant on about the health benefits of yellow snow. We are seeing that now with the 180* turn from drumpf’s campaign promises and what has actually been reality. It’s difficult for people of rationality to speak with the “moral majority” because those people think they are righteousness in Nike’s. My conversations with my father have had to find where his real morals are and then contrast/compare those to the drivel he’s been literally trained by the faux news crowd to think on things. The crazy thing is that this Epstein thing may end up being that very item that breaks the magic koolaid effect on these people, because something needs to be thrown in their face to make them recognize their complicity in their own destruction. Until that happens, until they can recognize they are being played and think for themselves again, they will repeatedly respond by telling the challenger they are wrong if only to protect themselves the realization of what has been perpetrated.
Hi Randy. Again I agree with you. I would add that Ron and I think the maga base runs on emotions not reason. They are using their brain stem not their brain. That is why they can accept and believe anything tRump says or does even when there is video proof or written proof of him saying / doing the opposite just days before. Because they enjoy being part of a powerful club called maga and they are so emotionally wrapped up in the daily outrage of right wing media such as fox anger channel and the two News Max channels. Not to mention Glenn Beck, Ben Shapiro, and for the kids misinformation and right wing indoctrination there is Prager U. Which is a YouTube channel sponsored by a hard right wing idologue billionare. That is why your dad can see good things in Ron and me and still be against our equality and same sex marriage. Those guys are one of the good ones but the eniter ida is unnatural and wrong. Straight cis is normal, man and woman are normal, and the idea of two guys is not normal or natural. I am not sure how your dad feels about two women but your mom may not care for it. Hugs
I hope you don’t my contribution to this discussion…
I have an aunt (she turns 100 later this month) who belongs to a fundamentalist Christain denomination that teaches the Bible is the inerrant literal Word of God, and she accepted that for a long time. Then she got to know a number of gay people including two couples, and in confidence she said to me “I know the church teaches that homosexuality is a sin, but when I see the love – real love – as taught by Jesus, I cannot accept that”. That was perhaps 20 years ago. And although she never repeated that homosexuality was a sin after that, she remained silent when it was taught. And that is where the harm lies. She knew my position and originally opposed it, but when she realised her belief was wrong, she shared that with me, but remained silent where it mattered.
Christianity is held by about 30% of the population of NZ, and fundamentalism makes up only a tiny proportion of that. But it’s the only branch of Christianity that is growing. It’s also the most vocal. So why did she remain silent when she knew that particular teaching was wrong? My guess is that she felt she was part of a community, and that opposing one teaching was no different that opposing every teaching. The fear of being excluded was stronger than the fear of speaking up. So she remained silent, allowing the next generation to be taught what she knew was not true. She voted for extending marriage to same sex couples in the 2013 referendum, but she did not share that information with her church.
My guess is if someone is particularly vocal about a belief then they most likely believe it is true. When there’s something they don’t agree with that is held by the majority of their community, they remain silent. I don’t think the MAGA crowd will be much different.
Hi Barry. You are gladly invited to any conversation / discussion on this blog. Your opinion and thoughts have often been very instructive and enlightening for me. Congratulations to your aunt during her birthday time and at her age every day is a celebration and gift.
Barry why when her belief had changed on the subject did she stay silent? Was it out of fear of losing friends do you think? I then read ahead in your comment. So at her age she did not want to lose her friends and other reasons
But it’s the only branch of Christianity that is growing. It’s also the most vocal is what you wrote and that is true here in the US also. But as in your country they are a minority but they are loud, very vocal, and willing to give a lot of money to the cause they think their god wants, and they have an outsized influence in our government and in right wing media. That influences people who think these people are the majority of Christain people but they are not. So accepting on the LGBTQ+ issues other Christians that hear these vocal Christians often wonder if they are in the wrong when the most heard view is the Christian haters. So you can see how all of her actions and others allowed that bigotry to move forward. Not speaking up against something is allowing those who disagree or hate that thing to forever create the narrative that that thing is bad or evil. If the haters are loud enough or backed by enough billionaires then they can create a narrative where kids like me needed to be spanked every day by their bible, which leads to instead of spanking how would you like this or that sexual touch? I was there , sure touch me, do that ask me to, just don’t use the paddle / strap / belt / hair brush … or any other object. I will be a good sex slave and do what you ask.
Sorry Barry. That last part got away from me. May it is because of how much I dislike those adults him my community, my teachers who knew and let me go every time I was summoned to the principal’s office. Why don’t the adults that think it is OK for LGBTQ+ to exist work harder to protect us all instead of giving in each election cycle?
I will talk to you later. But you are a grand person. Best wishes
Scottie's Playtime 
At least we didn’t place first…what goes on in the privacy of one’s house is none of our danged business…period..
LikeLiked by 3 people
I understand the appeal of saying that what happens in someone’s home is their own business. For me, though, that only really holds when everyone involved is freely consenting. The idea that “what goes on in the privacy of one’s house is none of our business” has too often been used to look away from harm that happens behind closed doors. Privacy is important, but it shouldn’t become a shield that prevents us from acknowledging when people are being hurt.
LikeLiked by 3 people
don’t misread me, Barry. I understand what you’re saying about abuse, emotional damage, etc. but what I meant (and Im sure you got this) was that in your own house your relationships with your partner or partners is sacrosanct. Nobody’s business but yours, as long as nothing illegal is happening.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I did understand the generosity of what you meant. My comment wasn’t about disagreeing with you so much as wanting to acknowledge that those kinds of phrases have sometimes been used to excuse looking away from harm. Knowing some of what Scottie went through when he was young, I’m probably a bit sensitive to that. So it wasn’t a misreading — just me wanting to name something that can get overlooked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Barry. You are correct in that other adults knew or suspected but no one wanted to interfere. It was a different time and adults felt less ready to reach into others homes and help kids or abused spouses. The schools ignored the bruising and the inability to sit still due to pain, The primcible and other teachers who knew just abused me themselves. The local librarians at the town library simply kept the books I was reading behind the desk knowing I couldn’t take them home. One librarian even gave me a book written for young victims to encourage me to save myself, but she never told the authorities what she knew. In my first grade the school did try to step in, the adopting parents got away with my abuse by moving three times in less than a year and enroling me in a new school. The courts did order me to have regular checkups with me delivered to either doctors or therapists, but that only led to more sexual abuse. No punishment for the adopting parents that I could see. Best wishes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Judy. That was the feeling at the time in the 1960s / 1970s. I understood what you meant and I also understand Barry’s addition. Adults who knew or suspected did nothing to help me. No one wanted to interfere or stick their nose into the “families” business. I agree with what you are trying to say, the gender of the consenting adults shouldn’t matter to anyone else. But why does it have to be the privacy of one’s home? If straight people can hold hands or share a kiss in public same sex couples should be able to as well. Eqaulity and equal rights for all. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Scottie. In poll taking, there is a huge swing in how a question is asked. That is why psych tests will ask the same question in many different ways. If, for example, I was to ask the question: “is homosexuality morally wrong”, I would get answers that mirror religious and political environments. But, if I asked a question like this: “If a man does not find women attractive, should he marry one anyway?”, the answer would likely be different for many. It is the surface level of culture that never allows a person to actually address his true morals that make these types of polls flashy, and irrelevant. I am far more interested in WHY a person thinks as they do than WHAT they think, because very often the what is quite inaccurate to their true considerations when given a moment to think on the issue or place it into real context.
hugs;
Randy
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hi Randy. What you say is true about how questions are framed and phrased. However the fact is reported in different polls that acceptance of same sex couples and gay people has declined and trans acceptance has taken a huge dip. It is all due to the constant negative attacks from the right who made an entire three election cycles of 6 to 10 years of constant attacks on gay people and trans people / issues. The religious freedom movement made a career out of trying to cement their right to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ into civil laws because they claim their god gives them that right. A right no other group gets, only the Christians. All of this with no push back from the democratic candidates and office holders. Kamala ran from the issue. Refused to defend trans people. Few governors would defend the rights of trans people. Gavin Newsom the governor of California, wants to be president so went on right wing media to throw trans people under the bus refusing to support them. Only three or four members of congress support the trans people but rarely mention it. Push back matters. In the early 2000s when schools were pushing anti-bullying campaigns and pushing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ and minorities things changed and fellow students accepted their peers who came out. That incensed the hard Christian right and they sprang to reverse the trend. So far they have won and the LGBTQ+ have lost. Hugs
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Hi Scottie. I don’t have even a little bit of argument on your points, except to say consider my Dad. If hit with a question like that about morality, he would likely respond with the republican/faux news response. But, he thinks the world of you and Ron. There was a joke at one point that President Obama should put out a public service message about not eating yellow snow, just to get the repubs to rant on about the health benefits of yellow snow. We are seeing that now with the 180* turn from drumpf’s campaign promises and what has actually been reality. It’s difficult for people of rationality to speak with the “moral majority” because those people think they are righteousness in Nike’s. My conversations with my father have had to find where his real morals are and then contrast/compare those to the drivel he’s been literally trained by the faux news crowd to think on things. The crazy thing is that this Epstein thing may end up being that very item that breaks the magic koolaid effect on these people, because something needs to be thrown in their face to make them recognize their complicity in their own destruction. Until that happens, until they can recognize they are being played and think for themselves again, they will repeatedly respond by telling the challenger they are wrong if only to protect themselves the realization of what has been perpetrated.
or, so is my humble opinionhugsRandy
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Randy. Again I agree with you. I would add that Ron and I think the maga base runs on emotions not reason. They are using their brain stem not their brain. That is why they can accept and believe anything tRump says or does even when there is video proof or written proof of him saying / doing the opposite just days before. Because they enjoy being part of a powerful club called maga and they are so emotionally wrapped up in the daily outrage of right wing media such as fox anger channel and the two News Max channels. Not to mention Glenn Beck, Ben Shapiro, and for the kids misinformation and right wing indoctrination there is Prager U. Which is a YouTube channel sponsored by a hard right wing idologue billionare. That is why your dad can see good things in Ron and me and still be against our equality and same sex marriage. Those guys are one of the good ones but the eniter ida is unnatural and wrong. Straight cis is normal, man and woman are normal, and the idea of two guys is not normal or natural. I am not sure how your dad feels about two women but your mom may not care for it. Hugs
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hope you don’t my contribution to this discussion…
I have an aunt (she turns 100 later this month) who belongs to a fundamentalist Christain denomination that teaches the Bible is the inerrant literal Word of God, and she accepted that for a long time. Then she got to know a number of gay people including two couples, and in confidence she said to me “I know the church teaches that homosexuality is a sin, but when I see the love – real love – as taught by Jesus, I cannot accept that”. That was perhaps 20 years ago. And although she never repeated that homosexuality was a sin after that, she remained silent when it was taught. And that is where the harm lies. She knew my position and originally opposed it, but when she realised her belief was wrong, she shared that with me, but remained silent where it mattered.
Christianity is held by about 30% of the population of NZ, and fundamentalism makes up only a tiny proportion of that. But it’s the only branch of Christianity that is growing. It’s also the most vocal. So why did she remain silent when she knew that particular teaching was wrong? My guess is that she felt she was part of a community, and that opposing one teaching was no different that opposing every teaching. The fear of being excluded was stronger than the fear of speaking up. So she remained silent, allowing the next generation to be taught what she knew was not true. She voted for extending marriage to same sex couples in the 2013 referendum, but she did not share that information with her church.
My guess is if someone is particularly vocal about a belief then they most likely believe it is true. When there’s something they don’t agree with that is held by the majority of their community, they remain silent. I don’t think the MAGA crowd will be much different.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Barry. You are gladly invited to any conversation / discussion on this blog. Your opinion and thoughts have often been very instructive and enlightening for me. Congratulations to your aunt during her birthday time and at her age every day is a celebration and gift.
Barry why when her belief had changed on the subject did she stay silent? Was it out of fear of losing friends do you think? I then read ahead in your comment. So at her age she did not want to lose her friends and other reasons
But it’s the only branch of Christianity that is growing. It’s also the most vocal is what you wrote and that is true here in the US also. But as in your country they are a minority but they are loud, very vocal, and willing to give a lot of money to the cause they think their god wants, and they have an outsized influence in our government and in right wing media. That influences people who think these people are the majority of Christain people but they are not. So accepting on the LGBTQ+ issues other Christians that hear these vocal Christians often wonder if they are in the wrong when the most heard view is the Christian haters. So you can see how all of her actions and others allowed that bigotry to move forward. Not speaking up against something is allowing those who disagree or hate that thing to forever create the narrative that that thing is bad or evil. If the haters are loud enough or backed by enough billionaires then they can create a narrative where kids like me needed to be spanked every day by their bible, which leads to instead of spanking how would you like this or that sexual touch? I was there , sure touch me, do that ask me to, just don’t use the paddle / strap / belt / hair brush … or any other object. I will be a good sex slave and do what you ask.
Sorry Barry. That last part got away from me. May it is because of how much I dislike those adults him my community, my teachers who knew and let me go every time I was summoned to the principal’s office. Why don’t the adults that think it is OK for LGBTQ+ to exist work harder to protect us all instead of giving in each election cycle?
I will talk to you later. But you are a grand person. Best wishes
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