In Summary: Gallup poll suggests that Americans are confused.

At least that’s my conclusion after reading this article summarizing some of the findings from Gallup’s annual “Values and Beliefs” survey conducted early in May 2010. Here are some of the conclusions:

While less than 10% of Americans surveyed think that adultery or polygamy are morally acceptable, 69% think that divorce is acceptable, and only 38% of those surveyed found sex between unmarried couples to be wrong. (Evidently monogamy is only required of married couples. Before and between marriages, having serial sexual partners is OK.)

For the first time, Gallup found that the majority of Americans think that homosexuality is morally acceptable. (I didn’t see data addressing whether homosexual relationships should be monogamous or not.)

50% of those surveyed think abortion is morally wrong. (Yet statistics complied by the according to Lawrence Finer, associate director for domestic research at the Guttmacher Institute, “The United States has one of the highest abortion rates in the developed world, with women from every socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious and age-group obtaining abortions.”)

77% of those surveyed think suicide is morally wrong, while 46% think assisted suicide is acceptable. (Evidently suicide is OK if you can talk someone else into doing it for you.)

The poll found some significant differences in responses between members of different political parties. For example, Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans to find abortion to be morally acceptable. Democrats were also more likely than Republicans to find embryonic stem cell research, polygamy, extramarital affairs, sexual relations between unmarried people, and homosexuality to be morally acceptable.

Forgive me for indulging in a bit of nostalgia, but I remember when the norm was one man and one woman waiting for marriage to be faithful for life to one person and to thank God for each child conceived.

I miss that time.