June 05, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A large majority of adults in the United States believe four specific behaviours are unprincipled, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 91 per cent of respondents believe married men and women having an affair is morally wrong, while 90 per cent feel the same way about polygamy.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A large majority of adults in the United States believe four specific behaviours are unprincipled, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 91 per cent of respondents believe married men and women having an affair is morally wrong, while 90 per cent feel the same way about polygamy.

Cloning humans is next on the list of perceived immoral behaviours with 86 per cent, followed by suicide with 78 per cent, cloning animals with 59 per cent, and abortion with 51 per cent. Conversely, more than 60 per cent of respondents think the death penalty, divorce, stem cell research and gambling are morally acceptable.

Last month, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008, discussed his views on polygamy, saying, "I have a great-great grandfather. They were trying to build a generation out there in the desert. And so he took additional wives as he was told to do. And I must admit, I can't imagine anything more awful than polygamy."

Since 1976, 1,078 people have been put to death in the United States, including 21 this year. More than a third of all executions have taken place in the state of Texas. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia do not engage in capital punishment, and moratoriums on executions have been issued in Illinois and New Jersey.

Polling Data

Next, I'm going to read you a list of issues. Regardless of whether or not you think it should be legal, for each one, please tell me whether you personally believe that in general it is morally acceptable or morally wrong.

	Acceptable	Wrong
The death penalty	66%	27%
Divorce	65%	26%
Medical research using stem cells obtained from human embryos	64%	30%
Gambling	63%	32%
Medical testing on animals	59%	37%
Sex between an unmarried man and woman	59%	38%
Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur	58%	38%
Having a baby outside of marriage	54%	42%
Doctor-assisted suicide	49%	44%
Homosexual relations	47%	49%
Abortion	40%	51%
Cloning animals	36%	59%
Suicide	16%	78%
Cloning humans	11%	86%
Polygamy, when one husband has more than one wife at the same time	8%	90%
Married men and women having an affair	6%	91%

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 American adults, conducted from May 10 to May 13, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.