What’s morally acceptable is changing in America, but sexual hypocrisy still prevails.
According to a recent Gallup Poll, Americans have become more tolerant on several moral issues, including premarital sex, gay and lesbian relations, and children born outside of wedlock.
Here are the results of the poll:
Highly acceptable: birth control (90%).
Largely acceptable: divorce (69%); sex between an unmarried man and woman (66%); embryonic stem cell research (65%); gambling (62%); the death penalty (61%); buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur (58%); having a baby outside of marriage (58%); gay or lesbian relations (58%); medical testing on animals (57%). Doctor-assisted suicide (52%); abortion (42%).
Largely unacceptable: Cloning animals (34%); pornography (33%); sex between teenagers (30%).
Highly unacceptable: Suicide (19%); polygamy (14%); cloning humans (13%); married men and women having an affair (7%).
Even polygamy has become slightly less taboo. Five percent of Americans viewed polygamy as morally acceptable in 2006, but now it’s at 14%. However, twice as many people thought polygamy is worse than cheating. If all partners of a polygamous (honest non-monogamy, as opposed to cheating) relationship want to be in the relationship, why is that morally unacceptable?
33% view pornography as largely unacceptable. If the porn is of consenting adults, is it really morally unacceptable? It’s okay to have sex, but not if it’s filmed and the participants are paid directly for it (as opposed to being indirectly paid for it, as in matrimonial prostitution)?
What’s morally acceptable to you and on what do you base your morals?
Copyright © 2014 Stephen Petullo
photo credit: jhhymas via photopin cc
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