This week, Gallup released the results of their Values and Beliefs poll which they have conducted annually since 2001. Gallup surveyed over 1,000 adults this past May and asked if they deemed certain activities “morally acceptable” or “morally wrong.” The results should especially interest social conservatives. This year’s Values and Beliefs poll found that an increasing percentage of Americans found a range of activities morally wrong. These include teenage sex, doctor-assisted suicide, pornography, changing gender, and abortion.

Unsurprisingly, the Values and Beliefs poll shows a large partisan split on many social issues. It found that 73 percent of Democrats found abortion morally acceptable as opposed to only 18 percent of Republicans — a 55 percentage point difference. Similarly, Democrats were 46 percentage points more likely than Republicans to find gay or lesbian relations morally acceptable. Finally, Democrats were also much more likely than Republicans to find doctor-assisted suicide, teenage sex, premarital sex, pornography, embryonic stem cell research, and suicide morally acceptable.

Interestingly, the results of this year’s Values and Beliefs poll show that during the past few years social conservatives have actually made significant gains in the court of public opinion. Since 2022, the percentage of adults finding pornography, gay and lesbian relations, and birth control to be morally acceptable all fell by at least nine percentage points. Furthermore, the percentage of Americans who found abortion to be morally acceptable fell by three percentage points.

It is difficult to say what is causing this shift in attitudes. It is possible the increasing salience of transgender issues are making some reconsider their stance on other social issues. Increasing church attendance among young adults might also be playing a role. Overall, during the past few decades, the general public has adopted more permissive attitudes on a wide range of social and sexual issues. As such, the results of this year’s Values and Beliefs poll should be welcomed. It provides solid evidence that conservatives can make real gains in the court of public opinion on a range of social issues.