Americans cannot be easily characterized as conservative or liberal on today’s most pressing social questions. The public’s point of view varies from issue to issue. They are conservative in opposing gay marriage and gay adoption, liberal in favoring embryonic stem cell research and a little of both on abortion. Along with favoring no clear ideological approach to most social issues, the public expresses a desire for a middle ground on the most divisive social concern of the day: abortion.

Together, the results of the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life suggest that the public remains reluctant to move too far from current policies and practices on many key social policy questions. Despite talk of “culture wars” and the high visibility of activist groups on both sides of the cultural divide, there has been no polarization of the public into liberal and conservative camps.

Indeed, public opinion has moved little on these issues in recent years and continues to be mixed and often inconsistent, reflecting a blend of pragmatism and principle. For instance, a clear majority (56%) continues to oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry while 35% express support. But nearly as large a majority (54%) supports allowing homosexual couples to enter into legal agreements that would give them many of the same rights as married couples.

The survey, conducted July 6-19 among 2,003 adults, also found that 55% prefer that abortion laws be decided at the national level rather than each state deciding for itself. This desire for a national policy prescription extends to other social issues as well. Despite growing antipathy toward Congress and low levels of trust in the federal government generally, majorities or pluralities also favor a national rather than state-by-state approach to policymaking on stem cell research, gay marriage and whether creationism should be taught in the schools along with evolution.

The poll also found no consensus among either supporters or opponents of gay marriage over how far to go to press their respective positions. Barely half of all those who favor allowing gays to marry say supporters should “push hard” to make it legal as soon as possible, while slightly more than four-in-ten urge caution so as to avoid creating “bad feelings against homosexuals.” Similarly, only a small majority (54%) of gay marriage opponents favor amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage. The public is similarly divided on other hot-button issues. A slim majority (52%) opposes allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children.

Abortion continues to split the country nearly down the middle. But there is consensus in one key area: two out of three Americans (66%) support finding “a middle ground” when it comes to abortion. Only three-in-ten (29%), by contrast, believe “there’s no room for compromise when it comes to abortion laws.” This desire to find common ground extends broadly across the political and ideological spectrum.

Majorities of Republicans (62%), Democrats (70%) and political independents (66%) favor a compromise. So do majorities of liberals, moderates and conservatives. More than six-in-ten white evangelicals also support compromise, as do 62% of white, non-Hispanic Catholics.

Only one group expressed unwillingness to find a middle way. Two-thirds (66%) of those who support an outright ban on abortion say there should be no compromise. In contrast, two-thirds of those who want abortion to be generally available are ready to seek an accommodation.

An even larger consensus emerged on another issue. By more than 4-1, the public says pharmacists who personally oppose birth control for religious reasons should still be required to sell birth control pills to women. But while the public is overwhelmingly opposed to allowing pharmacists to refuse to sell birth control, there is less consensus on other issues having to do with pharmaceuticals and reproductive rights.

For instance, Americans split 48% to 41% over whether to allow women to obtain the so-called morning-after pill without first obtaining a doctor’s prescription. The pill contains high doses of hormones which, when taken shortly after unprotected intercourse, can prevent ovulation or the implantation of a fertilized egg.

On another contentious issue related to reproduction, a majority of the public (56%) continues to believe that it is more important to conduct stem cell research that may lead to new medical cures rather than to avoid destroying the potential life of human embryos involved in the research (32%). For the first time in Pew polling, more white evangelicals now favor stem cell research (44%) than oppose it (40%).

Taken together, the findings on stem cells, abortion, conscience clauses for pharmacists and the morning-after pill underscore the public’s deep ambivalence on reproductive rights.

Abortion Opinions Stable

Public opinion about the legality of abortion is largely unchanged from previous polling. While about one-in-three (31%) prefer for abortion to be generally available to those who want it and one-in-ten (11%) take the opposite position that abortion should not be permitted at all, most Americans fall in between, preferring what might be described as a “legal but rare” stance. One-in-five (20%) say that abortion should be available but under stricter limits than it is now, while about one-in-three (35%) say that abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape, incest or to save the woman’s life.

Just as abortion opinions are largely stable, so too are differences of opinion on the issue across demographic, political and religious groups. As polls have often shown, there is no gender gap in opinion about the availability of abortion. College graduates and people in their 50s and early 60s ­ roughly the first half of the Baby Boom generation ­ are more supportive of making abortion generally available than are other demographic groups.

As in the past, about two-thirds of conservative Republicans say that abortion should only be available in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is threatened (50%), or not permitted at all (18%). Three-quarters of liberal Democrats, by contrast, say abortion either should be generally available (60%) or available but with stricter limits (14%).

White evangelicals and black Protestants stand out for their high levels of opposition to abortion. Among seculars and those who rarely attend church, on the other hand, majorities say that abortion should be generally available.

Most Don’t Doubt Their Opinion on Abortion

The fact that most Americans wish that a middle ground could be found on the issue of abortion should not be mistaken for a lack of certitude about their own opinions on the subject. Fully two-thirds of the public (66%) say they do not wonder if their own position on abortion is the right one, while fewer than one-third (30%) admit to doubts about this ­ results that have changed little since 1988. There are few differences across demographic, political and religious groups on this question, and pro-choice respondents differ little from pro-life respondents in their lack of doubt.

As in 2005, a large majority of the public (73%) continues to view abortion as morally wrong in at
least some circumstances, while only 24% say that abortion is not a moral issue. But slightly fewer now say that abortion is morally wrong in nearly all circumstances (24% now compared with 29% in 2005), while there has been a small increase in the number saying that abortion is morally wrong in some circumstances (49% today compared with 41% one year ago).

Opinions about the morality of abortion are closely linked to abortion policy preferences, with those who view abortion as morally wrong expressing greater support for regulating or banning abortions compared with those who do not see abortion as a moral issue. Among those who see abortion as morally wrong in nearly all circumstances, for instance, one-third (32%) say abortion should not be permitted at all, and 47% approve of abortion only in the most extreme circumstances. Among those who say abortion is not a moral issue, by contrast, more than two-thirds (68%) say abortion should be generally available.

Majorities Continue to Support Stem Cell Research

A majority of Americans continues to back stem cell research. But public awareness of the issue has not increased over the past year despite the protracted battle between President Bush and Congress over increased funding for stem cell research that culminated July 19 in the first veto of the Bush administration.

Fewer than half (43%) say they have heard a lot about the stem cell debate while most say they have heard little (42%) or nothing at all (15%) ­ if anything, a slight decline from awareness levels one year ago.

Support for stem cell research also remains largely unchanged. A clear majority (56%) says it is more important to continue stem cell research that might produce new medical cures than to avoid destroying the human embryos used in the research.

Nearly a third (32%) say it is more important to avoid destroying the potential life of human embryos. In the past five years, the proportion favoring stem cell research has increased 13 percentage points, with most of those gains occurring before 2004.

As in previous years, those who have heard more about the issue are more supportive of stem cell research. Nearly seven-in-ten respondents who say they are paying “a lot” of attention to the issue favor continuing to conduct the research. A majority (54%) of those who are paying just a little attention to the controversy also wants stem cell research to continue. But the majority flips among those who say they have heard nothing: Among these Americans, 56% say it is more important not to destroy the potential life of human embryos.

Support for continuing stem cell research is highest among mainline Protestants and secular individuals. Among both groups, about seven-in-ten favor continuing stem cell research. Fewer than half of all white evangelicals (44%) express support, but this represents a 12-point increase over the past year and is easily the highest level of support recorded among evangelicals in the past five years. The number of liberal Democrats favoring stem cell research has dropped 12 points in two years but remains higher than among any other political group.

More education also correlates with increased support for stem cell research, and every age group except the very oldest expressed majority support. Nearly seven-in-ten college graduates (69%) say it is more important to conduct research than protect human embryos, a view shared by 57% of those who attended some college and 53% of high school graduates, but only 41% of those who did not finish high school. Roughly six-in-ten Americans under the age of 65 also favor stem cell research while only 41% of those 65 and older express similar support.

Continued Opposition to Gay Marriage

By a 56%-35% margin, a majority of Americans continues to oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally. These figures are largely unchanged over the past several years.

Opposition to gay marriage is most pronounced among older Americans, while younger people express relatively high levels of support for legalizing same-sex marriage. Among those 65 and older, three-in-four (73%) oppose legalizing gay marriage, while more than half (53%) of adults under the age of 30 favor this position.

Republicans are relatively united in opposition to gay marriage, with 83% of conservative Republicans and 66% of moderate and liberal Republicans holding this view. The issue splits the Democratic Party, however, with two-thirds of liberal Democrats (66%) in favor of gay marriage and 59% of conservative and moderate Democrats opposed. Independents are evenly divided (46% in favor, 45% opposed).

Opinions on this issue are also closely related to religion; white evangelical Protestants (78%) and black Protestants (74%) overwhelmingly oppose gay marriage, as do a majority of white Catholics (58%) and a plurality of white mainline Protestants (47%). Only among seculars does a majority (63%) express support for gay marriage.

But while a majority opposes gay marriage, opponents are divided on whether it would be a good idea to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban it. The result is that just three-in-ten Americans (30%) currently oppose gay marriage and think a constitutional amendment would be a good idea. Even among groups most strongly opposed to gay marriage (white evangelicals, Republicans, conservatives and senior citizens), less than a majority favor an amendment.

Among Gay Marriage Supporters, Division over How Best to Proceed

Just as gay marriage opponents are divided over how best to prevent it, supporters of gay marriage are divided over how best to pursue legalizing same-sex unions. About half of those who favor gay marriage (51%) support pushing hard for legalization. But a substantial minority of gay marriage supporters (41%) oppose pushing too hard on the issue, for fear that it might risk creating bad feelings against homosexuals.

Older supporters of gay marriage, and those who live in the Midwest or in rural areas, are considerably less likely than others to favor pushing hard to legalize gay marriage.

Catholics, Mainline Protestants Support Civil Unions

While only one-in-three Americans (35%) favor gay marriage, majorities do express support for civil unions. The poll finds that 54% of Americans favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements giving them many of the same rights as married couples. This figure, too, is largely unchanged compared with one year ago — but it is nine percentage points higher than it was in October 2003.

Evidence of the continuing red state/blue state divide can be seen on this question. In the East and West, large majorities (62% and 66%, respectively) favor civil unions. In the Midwest and South, by contrast, roughly half (48% and 50%, respectively) oppose even this type of legal recognition of same-sex couples.

As with gay marriage, white evangelicals (66%), black Protestants (62%) and frequent church attenders (60%) stand out for their opposition to civil unions. But sizeable majorities of white mainline Protestants (66%), Catholics (63%) and seculars (78%) support civil unions.

Despite majority support for allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with many of the same rights shared by married couples, one such right that the public is not ready to extend is that of adopting children. By a 52%-42% margin, a majority of the public opposes allowing gays and lesbians to adopt. Here again, the poll finds evidence of a continuing geographic divide; majorities of Midwesterners (57%) and Southerners (60%) oppose gay adoption, while majorities of those in the East (52%) and the West (51%) favor allowing gays to adopt children.

Growing Number See Homosexuality as Innate, Unchangeable Trait

Opinions about the nature of homosexuality have changed slightly since 2003. Today, somewhat more Americans believe that homosexuality is innate (from 30% in 2003 to 36% now) and that homosexuality cannot be changed (from 42% to 49%). But the majority of the public still rejects the idea that homosexuality is something that people are born with, and see it instead as either a product of the way people are brought up (13%) or as “just the way that some people prefer to live” (38%).

Although the number of Americans who see homosexuality as something people are born with has increased only modestly since 2003, this view is now much more widely held among certain groups in the population than it was three years ago. There has been a double-digit increase since 2003 in the view that homosexuality is innate among college graduates (from 39% to 51%), liberals (46% to 57%), mainline Protestants (37% to 52%) and among those who seldom or never attend church (from 36% to 52%).

In contrast to these groups, majorities of white evangelicals (51%) and black Protestants (52%) continue to view homosexuality as a choice. White evangelicals, in particular, have changed very little in their views on this question over the past three years.

Though most Americans reject the notion that homosexuality is an innate trait, a plurality of the public (49%) views sexual orientation as a characteristic that cannot be changed, a seven percentage-point increase since 2003.

Views of whether homosexuality can be changed have both a political and a religious component. A small majority of conservatives (52%) says homosexuality can be changed, while the overwhelming majority of liberals (71%) disagrees. Similarly, substantial majorities of white evangelicals (56%) and black Protestants (60%) say that homosexuality can be changed, while majorities of white mainline Protestants (67%), Catholics (56%) and seculars (59%) say homosexuality cannot be changed.

Views of the nature of homosexuality are closely related to views of gay marriage and civil unions, with those who view homosexuality as innate and unchangeable expressing more support for these policies compared with those who see homosexuality as changeable. Among those who view homosexuality as innate, for instance, a large majority (58%) supports allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally. But among those who see homosexuality as a product of one’s upbringing or as a lifestyle choice, overwhelming majorities (82% and 71%, respectively) oppose gay marriage.

Opinion on Pharmaceutical Controversies

Recent controversies over the morning-after pill and conscience clauses have not captured the public’s attention. Only one-in-four (25%) say they have heard a lot about the debate over whether women should be allowed to get the morning-after pill without a doctor’s prescription; roughly the same number says they have heard nothing at all about this issue (24%).

There is even less familiarity with the controversy over pharmacist conscience clauses. Nearly half of the public (47%) says they have heard nothing at all about the debate over allowing pharmacists who have religious objections to birth control to refuse to provide contraceptives to customers, while fewer than one-in-five (18%) say they have heard a lot about this issue. There are few demographic or political differences in attention to these issues.

The public is divided on the question of whether or not women should be allowed to obtain the morning-after pill without a doctor’s prescription; about half (48%) favor this while four-in-ten (41%) are opposed.

There are both political and religious links to opinions on this issue. Slim majorities of Republicans (54%), white evangelicals (53%) and black Protestants (53%) oppose making the morning-after pill available over-the-counter, while majorities of Democrats (55%), white mainline Protestants (57%) and seculars (67%) take the opposite stance.

Opinions about the morning-after pill are also closely bound up with opinions on abortion. Among those who say abortion should be generally available, nearly eight-in-ten (79%) also support allowing women to get the morning-after pill without a prescription. But among those who are most opposed to abortion, two-thirds (66%) oppose making the morning-after pill freely available.

There is much less division on the question of whether or not to allow pharmacists who have religious objections to contraception to refuse to sell birth control to women who have a prescription for it. Eight-in-ten Americans (80%) oppose allowing pharmacists to refuse to provide birth control, while fewer than one-in-five (17%) express support. No political or religious groups express majority support for this type of conscience clause.

Public Divided on Social Issues, But No “Culture War”

Public attitudes across a set of five issues that have been the focus of intense political activity in recent years ­ gay marriage, adoption of children by gay couples, abortion, stem cell research and the morning-after pill ­ show a mix of conservative and liberal majorities. On none of the five issues does more than 56% of the public line up on one side of the question or the other.

Opinions on these issues are related to one another; for example, most of those who take the most conservative positions on abortion also oppose gay marriage, and a similar pattern is seen for each pair of items. But there is also a great deal of inconsistency. Just over one-in-ten Americans (12%) takes the conservative position on all of these items, and a somewhat larger number (22%) take conservative positions on none of the items. Thus, much of the public falls between the extremes on this collection of issues. About one-third of the respondents (34%) are squarely in the middle, taking two or three conservative positions out of a possible five; 16% are mostly liberal (taking only one conservative opinion) and 16% are mostly conservative (taking four conservative opinions).

To see how opinions on this set of social issues vary across groups in the population, respondents were sorted into three groups, corresponding to low, medium and high levels of conservatism; the low group was conservative on zero or one issue (38% of the sample), the medium group on two or three issues (34%) and the high group on four or five issues (28%).

By far the most conservative groups on these issues are white evangelical Protestants (46% in the high conservative category) and self-described conservative Republicans (53%). Conversely, the least conservative are self-described liberal Democrats (69% in the low conservatism category) and seculars (66%). White Catholics fall at about the national average on this scale, and white mainline P
rotestants are significantly less conservative than the average.

Conservatism also varies by education. College graduates are much less conservative than those with lower levels of education on these social issues. Interestingly, blacks are more conservative than whites, and men more so than women. Geographically, residents of the South and Midwest are significantly more conservative socially than those in the West and Northeast.

There are also generational differences, with younger respondents ­ and those in their 50s and early 60s ­ least likely to score high on social conservatism. The oldest respondents ­ those 65 and older ­ are the most conservative.

Public Supports National Approach on Social Issues

While no overwhelming consensus exists on the question of how best to handle social issues, more Americans believe these issues should be decided at the national level than by each state individually. Indeed, despite the strong federalist tradition in American political culture, relatively few Americans express consistent support for a state-by-state approach.

The poll asked whether each of four social issues ­ gay marriage, abortion, stem cells and teaching creationism ­ should be decided at the national level or by each state. Only about one-in-four Americans (28%) expresses support for a state-level solution on at least three of the four issues. Nearly half (48%), by contrast, express support for a national approach on at least three of these four issues. The remainder of the public (24%) expresses mixed views on which level of government should make the decisions.

A preference for national rather than state-level solutions is seen among all major political and demographic groups in the population. Conservatives are nearly as supportive of the national approach as liberals are, and there is no significant difference between Republicans and Democrats on this matter. Support for a national approach varies only slightly across geographic regions, though it is interesting, given the long history of states-rights philosophy in the South, that slightly more Southerners than residents of the rest of the nation express consistent support for a national approach to dealing with social issues.

The same lack of major differences can be seen when it comes to religion, where pluralities of all groups express consistent support for a national approach on social issues. White evangelical Protestants (55% of whom favor a national approach) stand out for their above-average support for this option.

Opinions on some of the specific issues are related to preferences for whether there should be a national or a state-by-state policy. Those who take a conservative stance on gay marriage are more supportive of a national approach on the issue than are those who take a liberal stand; 67% of those who strongly oppose gay marriage support a national approach to the issue, while a majority of gay marriage supporters (54%) favors a state-level approach.

On the other social issues (abortion, stem cell research, teaching creationism), the link between conservative issue positions and support for a national approach is weaker. But support for a national approach is related to intensity of opinion and familiarity with the issues. On abortion, for instance, a majority (59%) of those who do not wonder whether their own position on abortion is right favor a national approach to abortion, compared with less than half (47%) among those who have doubts about their own opinion on abortion. And among those who say there is no room for compromise when it comes to abortion, more than two-thirds (68%) favor a national approach, compared with only 50% of those who see a need to find a middle ground on this issue.

Similarly, those who are the most familiar with the stem cell debate are most supportive of a national approach on the issue. Three-quarters (74%) of those who have heard a lot about stem-cell research express support for a national approach, compared with 54% of those who have heard nothing at all on the issue.

There is no consistent pattern in responses to indicate that people are thinking about political strategy when they respond to the question of which level of government should deal with these issues. Those who live in areas where their values are widely shared by others are no more likely to favor a state-by-state approach than are those whose values are not widely shared by their neighbors. For example, in Republican-leaning states, where residents could expect state-level social policies to reflect more conservative values, those who take conservative positions on a given issue are not consistently more likely than those who take a liberal view to favor a state-by-state approach. That is, the prospect of having the state adopt policies consistent with one’s own views does not necessarily lead to a preference for a state-level decision on the issue.

Similarly, people who take conservative positions on a particular issue but who live in a predominantly Democratic state are no more likely to favor a national approach to the issue ­ suggesting that the prospect of having the state adopt a policy at odds with one’s views does not necessarily lead to a preference for a national decision on the issue.

The same absence of a consistent pattern is true for those who take liberal positions on the issues, regardless of whether they live in predominantly Republican or Democratic states.

Abortion has dominated the early skirmishing over President Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. But the public takes a more expansive view of the court’s agenda. Indeed, about as many Americans rate the rights of detained terrorist suspects as a very important issue for the Supreme Court as say that about abortion.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted before Roberts was nominated, finds that abortion is far more important to ideologically committed partisans at either end of the political spectrum than to moderates and independents. The general public also continues to express somewhat ambivalent views on abortion ­ in contrast to conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

A consistent majority of Americans (65%) are opposed to overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing a woman’s right to abortion. But most Americans also favor restrictions on abortion. Nearly three-quarters (73%) favor requiring women under age 18 to get parental consent before being allowed to get an abortion.

This ambivalence is reflected in opinions on the overall availability of abortion. About a third (35%) say abortion should be generally available, but 23% favor stricter limits on abortion and 31% favor making it illegal except in cases of rape, incest or to save a woman’s life. Only about one-in-ten (9%) say abortion should never be permitted. Moreover, while nearly six-in-ten (59%) think it would be a good thing to reduce the number of abortions in the U.S., one-third (33%) say they don’t feel this way.

The new study ­ based on separate surveys conducted July 13-17 among 1,502 adults, and July 7-17 among 2,000 adults ­ finds that the public’s views on social issues are complex, defying easy categorization. But religion plays a pivotal role in many of these issues, ranging from stem cell research to gay marriage.

The survey finds continuing strong public support for stem cell research. By nearly two-to-one (57%-30%), the public believes that it is more important to conduct stem cell research that may result in new medical cures than to not destroy the potential life of embryos involved in such research. Support for stem cell research has been growing among major religious groups ­ with the notable exception of white evangelical Protestants. Only about a third of white evangelicals (32%) support such research, compared with large majorities of seculars (77%), mainline Protestants (70%) and white Catholics (61%).

A clear majority of the public (68%) continues to support the death penalty for persons convicted or murder, but only 37% think the death penalty should be applied to people who committed capital offenses as minors. While members of the major religious traditions differ over the death penalty generally ­ with Protestants more supportive than Catholics ­ comparable majorities of religious groups oppose the use of the death penalty for minors convicted of murder.

The public remains divided over how far physicians should be allowed to go in ending the lives of terminally ill patients. About half (51%) favor letting doctors give such patients the means with which to end their lives, but there is less support for physicians being allowed to help dying patients commit suicide (44%).

And while a majority of Americans (53%) oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, support for gay marriage is at its highest point since July 2003. For the first time, a majority (53%) favors permitting gays and lesbians to enter into legal arrangements that would give them many of the same rights as married couples.

Varying Opinions on Life Issues

The general public takes varying, and at times contradictory, attitudes toward the issues that constitute the so-called “culture of life.” This also is the case for members of major religious traditions.

White evangelical Protestants overwhelmingly adopt a pro-life stance on abortion: 68% believe abortion should not be permitted at all, or should be allowed only in cases of rape, incest or to save the woman’s life. A smaller majority of white evangelicals (58%) oppose making it legal for doctors to give terminally ill patients the means to end their lives.

In the case of stem cell research, half of white evangelicals say it is more important to avoid destroying the potential life of human embryos than to conduct stem cell research that may lead to new medical cures. At the same time, white evangelicals strongly support the death penalty for those convicted of murder; just 15% oppose the death penalty.

White Catholics also have inconsistent attitudes on life issues. Roughly four-in-ten take a pro-life stance on abortion (43%) and in opposing physicians being permitted to help dying patients to end their lives (42%). Just three-in-ten white Catholics (29%) say it is more important to avoid destroying the potential life of human embryos in stem cell research than to conduct research that may result in new medical cures. And about the same number (27%) oppose the death penalty.

For their part, seculars overwhelmingly dissent from pro-life positions on abortion, stem cell research and end-of-life questions. More seculars than white evangelicals or mainline Protestants oppose the death penalty for convicted murderers; still, only about three-in-ten (29%) express this view.

Court Issues: Beyond Abortion

Among the possible issues facing the Supreme Court, abortion is viewed as very important by large numbers of liberal Democrats (80%) and conservative Republicans (73%). White evangelical Protestants also place great emphasis on this issue (75%).

For liberal Democrats, no other issue rivals abortion in importance. But conservatives and white evangelicals rate several issues highly. While three-quarters of white evangelicals view abortion as very important, nearly as many place great importance on court rulings on the rights of detained terrorist suspects (69%), and whether to permit religious displays on government property (68%).

Abortion is a major issue for those at either end of the political spectrum, but it also is viewed as very important by younger women. Roughly three-quarters (76%) of women under age 50 rate abortion as a very important issue for the court; far fewer males in that age group (58%) see abortion as a high priority. Women under age 50 also are far more likely than older women to attach great importance to possible court rulings on abortion.

Decades of Division

Through more than 30 years of attention to abortion in policy debates and Supreme Court nominations, public opinion on the issue has remained remarkably stable. This is the case with both views of the availability of abortion, and of the Roe v. Wade decision establishing women’s right to abortion. (For more on attitudes toward Roe v. Wade, see “Supreme Court’s Image Declines as Nomination Battle Looms,” June 15).

The overall pattern of opinion is similar on both issues. Members of both political parties are divided in views of the availability of abortion. Nearly two-thirds of liberal Democrats (64%) believe abortion should be generally available to those who want it. That compares with only about a third of moderate and conservative Democrats (34%).

About one-in-five conservative Republicans (22%) believe abortion should not be permitted at all; just 1% of moderate and liberal Republicans agree. And roughly twice as many conserva
tive Republicans as GOP liberals and moderates say abortion should be banned, or allowed only in cases of incest, rape or to protect the life of the woman (71% vs. 36%).

There also are wide differences among religious groups over this question. Most seculars (60%) believe abortion should be generally available, and a plurality of white mainline Protestants agree. About two-thirds of white evangelicals (68%) believe abortion should not be permitted or allowed only in cases of rape, incest or to save the woman’s life. White Catholics are deeply divided over abortion, with about three-in-ten (31%) it should be generally available, and 43% saying it should be banned or only legal in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

A plurality of college graduates (46%) say abortion should be generally available, while just 29% of those with a high school education express that view. But there are no significant gender differences in these opinions. And while women under age 50 are much more likely than men in that age group to view abortion as a very important issue for the Supreme Court, they hold similar views concerning the availability of abortion.

Morality of Abortion

The public also is deeply split over the moral implications of abortion. A plurality (41%) thinks abortion is wrong in some circumstances; 29% feel abortion is morally wrong in nearly all circumstances; and about a quarter (26%) believe that abortion is not a moral issue.

A large majority (60%) of those who believe that abortion is morally wrong in nearly all circumstances support overturning the Roe v. Wade decision.

In contrast, 91% those who believe abortion is not a moral issue overwhelmingly favor continued access to abortion.

Those with mixed views on the morality of abortion strongly oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. But many with this opinion favor stricter limits on abortion, with roughly a third (35%) saying abortion should be against the law except in cases of rape, incest, and to save the woman’s life.

Reduce Number of Abortions

Regardless of their views on the legality of abortion, most Americans (59%) believe it would be a good thing to reduce the number of abortions. However, a sizable minority (33%) disagrees.

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans (72%) say it would be good to reduce the number of abortions, compared with smaller majorities of independents (55%) and Democrats (51%). Those who are married are much more likely than unmarried people to say it would be a good thing to reduce the number of abortions (by 66%-50%). And a narrow majority of seculars (51%) feel it would not be a good thing to decrease the number of abortions.

Broad Support for Parental Consent

As has been the case for more than a decade, most of the public favors requiring women under age 18 to obtain the consent of at least one parent before being allowed to get an abortion. Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) support such a requirement, while just 22% are opposed. Like other opinions on abortion, views on this issue have changed little over the years ­ in 1992, an identical percentage favored requiring young women to obtain parental consent before being permitted to get an abortion.

Large majorities in all major religious groups ­ and fully two-thirds of seculars (67%) ­ believe that women under 18 should receive parental consent before being able to obtain an abortion. However, liberal Democrats are divided on this issue; 50% favor requiring young women to get the consent of at least one parent before getting an abortion, but 44% are opposed. By contrast, there is strong sentiment in favor of requiring parental consent among moderate and conservative Democrats (72%), and overwhelming support among conservative Republicans (94%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (81%).

Access to “Morning After” Pill

There is less public agreement on allowing women to obtain the so-called “morning after pill” without a doctor’s prescription. Anti-abortion groups argue that the morning after pill induces an abortion because the drug can cause the body to reject a newly fertilized egg; supporters of abortion rights say the pill constitutes emergency contraception.

Most Americans (52%) favor allowing women to get the morning after pill without a doctor’s prescription, while 37% are opposed. Groups that are most supportive of keeping abortion generally available ­ seculars and liberal Democrats ­ also strongly favor allowing easier access to the morning after pill (77% of seculars, 72% of liberal Democrats).

Similarly, the same groups that strongly oppose abortion ­ conservative Republicans and white evangelical Protestants ­ also oppose making it easier for women to get the morning after pill (58% of conservative Republicans, 52% of white evangelicals). There also is a modest gender divide in views of the morning after pill, with men somewhat more supportive than women of allowing greater access to this drug (56% of men vs. 48% of women).

No Conflict Between Abstinence, Birth Control

Debates over sex education in schools often pit abstinence instruction against providing students information on birth control methods. But the public sees no conflict in pursuing both of these approaches: 78% favor allowing public schools to provide students with birth control information; nearly as many (76%) believe schools should teach teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage.

Solid majorities in every major religious group say schools should be allowed to provide students with information on birth control methods. But a sizable minority of white evangelical Protestants (30%) are opposed.

White evangelicals also are among the most supportive of having public schools teach teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage. Seculars express the greatest reservations to schools promoting abstinence; 62% support that approach, while roughly a third (34%) are opposed.

The youngest Americans ­ those ages 18-24 ­ are highly supportive of schools both promoting abstinence and providing information about birth control. Roughly eight-in-ten (83%) favor schools providing birth control information, while 75% think schools should teach teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage.

Most Favor Stem Cell Research

Public awareness of, and support for, stem cell research appears to be leveling off, after showing significant gains from 2002 to 2004. Currently, 48% say they have heard a lot about the issue, which is little changed since last December (47%).

More Americans continue to say it is more important to conduct stem cell research that might result in new medical cures than to avoid destroying the potential life of human embryos involved in such research (by 57% to 30%). That is about the same level of support for stem cell research as last December, but up modestly since August 2004 (52%). Three years ago, in March 2002, just 43% supported stem cell research.

As in the past, greater awareness of the stem cell debate is associated with support for stem cell research.

Roughly two-thirds of those who have heard a lot about the issue (68%) believe it is more important to conduct stem cell research than to not destroy the potential life of embryos.

That compares with 49% of those who have heard a little about the issue, and just a third of those who are unfamiliar with the debate over stem cell research.

Where Support Has Grown

Three years ago, Americans were only dimly aware of ­ and fairly evenly divided over ­ stem cell research. Since then, support for this research has grown among most demographic and political groups. The shift has been most striking among middle-aged Americans (ages 50-64), high school graduates, mainline Protestants and white Catholics, and liberal Democrats. There are some exceptions to this pattern, however. Just a third of conservative Republicans say it is more important to conduct stem cell research, virtually the same percentage as in March 2002 (32%).

Over the same period, moderate and liberal Republicans have become more supportive of stem cell research; as a result, the gap between conservative Republicans and GOP moderates and liberals has grown from 16 points to 29 points. White evangelical Protestants also remain opposed to stem cell research. About a third (32%) favor such research today, while 50% are opposed. Three years ago, 26% of evangelicals backed stem cell research.

What Shapes Stem Cell Views?

Supporters and opponents of stem cell research draw on very different sources when thinking about the issue. Roughly half (52%) of opponents say their religious beliefs are the biggest influence on their thinking, while 13% cite what they have seen or read in the media and 12% mention their education.

Conservative Republican opponents are especially likely (70%) to cite religion as their main influence, as are evangelical Protestant opponents (69%).

Among supporters, 31% say the biggest influence on their thinking is the media, and 28% mention their education. Just 7% say religion is the most important influence. College graduates (44%) who favor the research are particularly likely to name education as their primary influence, as are pro-research liberal Democrats (43%).

Physician-Assisted Suicide

A narrow majority of Americans (51%) favor making it legal for doctors to give terminally ill patients the means to end their lives. As in past Pew surveys, there is less support (44%) for physicians actually aiding such patients in committing suicide. Attitudes on these end-of-life issues have changed very little since July 2003.

There continue to be clear differences among major religious groups in views of how far physicians should be permitted to go in assisting terminally ill patients to end their lives. Majorities of seculars and white mainline Protestants favor allowing physicians to give the terminally ill the means to end their lives, and to assist such patients in committing suicide. White Catholics are divided over these issues, while white evangelical Protestants are widely opposed to doctors taking any measures to help terminally ill patients to end their lives.

Men also are more supportive than women of allowing physicians to end the lives of their terminally ill patients. A majority of men (55%) favor making it legal for doctors to give such patients the means to end their lives; 47% of women agree. There is a comparable gender gap in views of physician-assisted suicide.

Looking Back at Schiavo Case

Four months after Congress passed legislation transferring jurisdiction in the Terri Schiavo case to the federal courts, the overwhelming majority of Americans (74%) indicate that Congress should not have involved itself in the matter. White evangelical Protestants are more supportive of Congress’s actions than are members of other religious groups, conservatives are more supportive than moderates and liberals, and Republicans are more supportive than Democrats and independents. But even among these groups, large majorities (69% of white evangelicals, 68% of conservatives and 65% of Republicans) believe that Congress should have stayed out of the case.

Death Penalty, But Not for Minors

Roughly two-thirds of Americans (68%) support the death penalty for people convicted of murder, up slightly from two years ago (64%). However, public support for the death penalty was greater in the late 1990s (74% in 1999).

But most Americans continue to oppose the death penalty for minors. By 54%-37%, the public opposes the death penalty for those who have been convicted of murder when they are under age 18. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in such cases, citing a “national consensus” on the issue.

The pattern of opinion on applying the death penalty to minors is quite different than for the death penalty generally. For instance, there are only modest gender differences, at most, in support for the death penalty (70% of men, 66% of women). But there is a sizable gender gap in attitudes toward the death penalty for those convicted of murder who are under age 18; 47% of men support the death penalty for minors, compared with only about a quarter of women (27%).

And while there are significant differences among religious groups in views of the overall application of the death penalty, there is striking agreement in opinions on the death penalty for those under age 18. Only about four-in-ten white evangelicals, mainline Protestants, white Catholics and seculars favor the death penalty under these circumstances.

Modest Increase in Gay Marriage Support

Public support for allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally has rebounded a bit after declining between 2003 and 2004. Today, 36% of Americans favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry, up from 32% in December 2004. The percentage favoring gay civil unions has risen as well. Currently, 53% favor allowing gays and lesbians to enter into legal arrangements providing them with many of the same rights as married couples; that compares with 48% last August.

Support for gay marriage and gay civil unions has increased slightly among most religious groups. However, support for civil unions has increased significantly among white evangelical Protestants, from 26% in December 2004 to 35% today. This increase, however, is concentrated primarily among low-commitment evangelicals, a majority of whom now support civil unions.

There remain substantial divisions in views of gay marriage and civil unions across political groups. Nearly seven-in-ten liberals support gay marriage and eight-in-ten support civil unions, up from 59% and 70%, respectively in 2004. Among conservatives, however, support for gay marriage stands at 14%, and support for civil unions has actually declined slightly (from 35% in 2004 to 31% today).

Similarly, Democrats and independents are more supportive of gay marriage and civil unions today than they were a year ago, and remain much more supportive of both proposals than are Republicans.

In line with these findings, there has also been a slight decline (from 35% in August 2004 to 29% today) in the number of Americans expressing support for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

In a poll of 2,000 adults conducted December 1-15, 2004 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, nearly half of the public (47%) said it had heard a lot about the issue, up from 42% in August and 27% in March 2002. A clear majority of those polled (56%) said that it was more important to conduct stem cell research that might result in new medical cures than to avoid the loss the potential life of human embryos involved in this research (32%).

As in August of last year, people who say they have heard a lot about the issue are more supportive of stem cell research than those who are paying less attention. Among those who say they have heard a lot about the issue, 65% support stem cell research.

Opposition to stem cell research is greatest among white evangelical Protestants, 58% of whom believe that protecting potential life of embryos is more important. But mainline Protestants are strongly in favor of the research, with 69% believing that stem cell research’s benefits outweigh the costs. And despite Vatican objections to embryonic stem cell research, a solid majority of Catholics (63%) support such research.

Politically, the stem cell issue could prove beneficial for the Democratic Party. Fully two-thirds of Democrats (68%) favor stem cell research, but so too do 58% of independents. By contrast, Republicans are divided on the issue, with 45% favoring the research and 45% believing that it is more important to protect the potential life of embryos.

Similarly, self-described conservatives are divided (44% in favor, 45% against), while majorities of moderates and liberals are in favor.

There are modest generational differences in opinion on the issue. Younger people are more supportive of stem cell research than older people, with 61% of those age 18-29 favoring the research compared with just 50% among those 65 and older. But opposition is not higher among the oldest cohort; instead, older people are more likely to say they do not have an opinion on the issue.

About the Survey

Results for this survey are based on telephone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International among a nationwide sample of 2,000 adults, 18 years of age or older, from December 1-16, 2004. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

Views on Stem Cell Research

The public draws clear lines in assessing complex issues raised by genetic technologies. Americans are united in opposition to human cloning ­ by more than four-to-one (77%-17%), they reject scientific experimentation in this area. There is far less agreement on the question of stem cell research. Half of those who have been paying at least some attention to the issue favor government funding for stem cell research, but a substantial minority (35%) are opposed. By a narrower margin (47%-39%), those who have been paying attention say conducting stem cell research is more important than not destroying the potential life of embryos involved in such research.

The nationwide survey of 2,002 adults by the Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that support for federal funding of stem cell research has eroded somewhat since last August. Among all respondents, regardless of whether they have heard anything about the issue, 43% back federal funding for this research, compared with 55% who expressed that view in a Gallup poll from last August.

Equally important, there are key differences in the strength of opinion, with the stem cell opponents holding a decided edge. Nearly half (46%) of those who believe it is more important to conduct stem cell research, despite its potential for destroying embryos, say they could imagine changing their minds on this issue. By contrast, stem cell opponents ­ largely driven by their deep religious beliefs ­ are more committed to their positions. Fewer than a quarter (23%) say they could see themselves changing their minds and taking the view that medical cures arising from stem cell research are more important than the potential life of human embryos.

Religious commitment is the most important factor influencing attitudes of opponents of stem cell research. While white evangelical Protestants stand out as the group most opposed to federal funding for stem cell research, this opposition is largely limited to highly-committed white evangelical Protestants, who oppose federally-funded stem cell research by three-to-one (58%-19%).¹

In contrast to the divisions over stem cell research, more than seven-in-ten in every religious group oppose experimentation into human cloning. Moreover, the opposition largely arises from moral objections, not concerns over the safety of cloning. While white evangelical Protestants are more likely than others to cite moral concerns, majorities in every group base their opposition to cloning on the belief that it is morally wrong. Even seculars, who oppose research on the cloning of human beings by 56%-33%, are more influenced by moral beliefs than by safety concerns.

College Grads Favor Stem Cell Research

People with high levels of religious commitment are less supportive of federal funding for stem cell research than are those with weaker religious commitment. Aside from white evangelical Protestants, this pattern is most striking among African-Americans. Blacks in general support federal funding in this area, but highly-committed religious African-Americans are opposed (48%-39%).

Aside from religion, political conservatives and those with the least formal education are most likely to oppose stem cell research. Nearly two-thirds of college graduates think the government should fund stem cell research, while just a quarter disagree. But among people who did not complete high school, just 35% favor government funding for stem cell research, while 46% are opposed.

And while 69% of liberals favor government funding for stem cell research, just 38% of political conservatives agree. Despite the overwhelming ideological differences on the issue, however, there is only a modest partisan gap. Republicans are divided on stem cell funding (45% in favor vs. 41% opposed). Democrats are slightly more supportive (55%-31%).

Supporters Cite Media, Education

The vast majority of those who support government funding of stem cell research are influenced by what they have seen in the media (42%) or their education (28%). Religion plays a relatively minor role in shaping the views of supporters ­ just 5% cite it as having the biggest influence on their thinking.

By contrast, 37% of those who think the government should not fund stem cell research cite religious beliefs as their biggest influence. This is particularly the case among white evangelical Protestants, fully 55% of whom explain their opposition to stem cell research in terms of their religious beliefs. Just 31% and 27% of white mainline Protestants and white Catholics, respectively, cite religious beliefs in explaining their opposition to stem cell funding.

Unmovable Opposition

Though almost evenly divided overall, there is a significant disparity in how firmly Americans favor or oppose stem cell research. Overall, 43% say that conducting stem cell research that might result in new medical cures is more important than protecting human embryos involved with this research. However, nearly half (46%) of those who feel this way also say they can imagine themselves placing a higher priority on not destroying the potential life of human embryos.

Among the 38% who already believe that protecting the potential life of human embryos is more important than medical research on stem cells, fully two-thirds say they cannot imagine changing their minds on this issue, and just 23% say they could see themselves ever thinking that discovering medical cures from stem cell research is more important.

No to Cloning Research

The majority of people oppose research on human cloning on moral grounds. Overall, 55% of Americans oppose cloning research because they see it as morally wrong, compared with just 15% who frame their objections in terms of the science not being safe enough. Put in other terms, nearly three-quarters of those who oppose cloning research object on moral grounds.

White evangelical Protestants, 88% of whom oppose cloning experimentation, are the most likely to explain their opposition in moral terms. Moral opposition is also highest among women, older Americans, and those with no more than a high school diploma.