Public opinion about the death penalty has changed only modestly in recent years, but there continues to be far less support for the death penalty than there was in the mid-1990s.

A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted Nov. 9-14, 2011, among 2,001 adults, finds that 62% favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder while 31% are opposed. That is generally in line with polling on the death penalty over the past several years.

During the mid-1990s, when the Pew Research Center first surveyed on this issue, support for the death penalty was at a historic high point. In 1996, 78% favored capital punishment for people convicted of murder. Support for the death penalty subsequently declined, falling to 66% in 2001 and 62% in late 2005. Since then, support has mostly remained in the low-to-mid-60s, though it dipped slightly (to 58%) in October 2011.

When Gallup first asked about the death penalty in 1936, 59% registered support for the policy. This fell to an all-time low of 42% in 1966, which was the only time over the course of 75 years in which there was more opposition (47%) than support. Gallup’s trend showed that support for the death penalty grew again over the course of the 1970s and 1980s and peaked in the mid-1990s.

More Concern about Wrongful Convictions

When asked why they oppose the death penalty, 27% of opponents say it is wrong or immoral to kill someone, while an identical percentage (27%) cite concerns about flaws in the justice system and the possibility that innocent people could be put to death.

In a Gallup survey 20 years ago, when just 18% opposed the death penalty, a much higher percentage of death penalty opponents (41%) cited moral considerations and there were far fewer mentions of problems with the justice system or wrongful executions (11%).

The majority of Americans who support the death penalty today offer largely the same reasons that supporters gave 20 years ago. Roughly half (53%) say the punishment fits the crime or that it is what murderers deserve. A smaller share raises concerns about the costs of keeping murderers in prison for life (15%). Relatively few death penalty supporters cite deterrence (6%) or keeping murderers from committing more crimes (5%) in explaining their position.

Racial and Partisan Differences over the Death Penalty

The death penalty continues to draw much more support from whites (68%) than from African Americans (40%). Among Hispanics, 52% favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder while 42% are opposed.

Large majorities of conservative Republicans (84%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (73%) support the death penalty, as do 64% of independents. Among Democrats, conservatives and moderates favor the death penalty by 55% to 37% while liberals oppose it by about the same margin (54% to 40%).

Majorities of major religious groups, except for black Protestants, favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder. Roughly three-quarters of white evangelical Protestants (77%) and white mainline Protestants (73%) support the death penalty. Somewhat fewer white Catholics (61%), Hispanic Catholics (57%) and the religiously unaffiliated (57%) favor capital punishment for convicted murderers.

]]> http://www.people-press.org/2012/01/06/continued-majority-support-for-death-penalty/feed/ 0 http://www.people-press.org/2011/11/03/the-generation-gap-and-the-2012-election-3/ http://www.people-press.org/2011/11/03/the-generation-gap-and-the-2012-election-3/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:45:38 +0000 Pew Research Center for the People and the Press http://www.people-press.org/?p=20035589 Overview

In the last four national elections, generational differences have mattered more than they have in decades. According to the exit polls, younger people have voted substantially more Democratic than other age groups in each election since 2004, while older voters have cast more ballots for Republican candidates in each election since 2006.

The latest national polls suggest this pattern may well continue in 2012. Millennial generation voters are inclined to back Barack Obama for reelection by a wide margin in a matchup against Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate who has run the strongest against Obama in many polls. By contrast, Silent generation voters are solidly behind Romney.

In between the youngest and the oldest voters are the Baby Boom generation and Generation X. Both groups are less supportive of Obama than they were in 2008 and are now on the fence with respect to a second term for the president.

One of the largest factors driving the current generation gap is the arrival of diverse and Democratic-oriented Millennials. Shaped by the politics and conditions of the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies, this group holds liberal attitudes on most social and governmental issues.

In contrast, the Silent generation – whose members reached adulthood between the late 1940s and early 1960s and now make up over 80% of Americans age 65 and older – has held relatively conservative views on social issues and the role of government for most of their lives. Their growing unease, and even anger, about the direction of the country in recent years has moved them further toward the GOP, largely erasing the Democratic Party’s advantage in affiliation.

While the political divides between young and old are deep, there are potential fissures at both ends of the age spectrum. Millennials continue to support Obama at much higher levels than older generations. But Obama’s job ratings have fallen steeply among this group, as well as among older generations, since early 2009. Perhaps more ominously for Obama, Millennials are much less engaged in politics than they were at this stage in the 2008 campaign.

In contrast, Silents – particularly those who affiliate with or lean to the Republican Party – are far more engaged in the presidential campaign than they were at this point in the contest four years ago. While Silents support Romney over Obama by a wide margin, they express highly unfavorable views of both the GOP and the Democratic Party.

Silents prefer the Republican Party on most issues, with Social Security a notable exception. Silents are about evenly divided over whether the Democrats or the Republicans can better handle Social Security. If debate over Social Security and Medicare comes to the forefront, it raises potentially significant cross pressures for Silent generation voters, who rank Social Security among the top issues affecting their 2012 vote.

Growing racial and ethnic diversity, which is concentrated among younger generations, has benefited Democrats. Race and ethnicity are strongly associated with views about government, and in no small part account for some of the greater liberalism of the younger age groups and greater conservatism of older groups.

The polling finds that older generations – Boomers and especially Silents – do not fully embrace diversity. Fewer in these groups see the increasing populations of Latinos and Asians, as well as more racial intermarriage, as changes for the better. For many Silents in particular, Obama himself may represent an unwelcome indicator of the way the face of America has changed. Feelings of “unease” with Obama, along with higher levels of anger, are the emotions that most differentiate the attitudes of Silents from those of the youngest generation.

The nation’s ongoing economic difficulties have affected all generations. But Boomers and Gen Xers are far more likely than either Silents or Millennials to have little or no confidence they will have enough money to finance their retirement. And two-thirds of Boomers ages 50 to 61 who are still working expect to delay retirement because of current economic conditions.

These are the principal findings from two major national surveys exploring generational differences in political attitudes conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press (Sept. 22-Oct. 4) and the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project (Sept. 1-15). Together, these surveys interviewed 4,413 adults. They have been supplemented with data from other polling over the course of the year and analyses of census data by Pew Social & Demographic Trends.

The study provides a detailed look at the current generational dynamics of American politics. Why are Silent generation voters so angry? How have the political leanings of Baby Boomers evolved? Is the Reagan-era Generation X moving closer to the Democratic column? Will Millennials be as engaged and enthused about Obama as they were in 2008? The answers lie in understanding the broad political, social and economic changes of the past decades and how they have shaped the political leanings of these generations over time.

A Closer Look at … Older Americans

The vast majority of Americans who are 65 and older are members of the Silent generation (ages 66 to 83). They came of age in the Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy years. Silents favored the Democrats at times during the 1990s, but in recent elections have strongly supported the Republicans. While they aligned more with the Democrats in the 1990s, they have become much more Republican in recent years. The Silent generation “replaced” the Greatest generation, who were more reliable Democratic voters when they constituted the bulk of the senior vote.

Silents increasingly call themselves conservative and they hold the most consistently conservative views about government, social issues and America’s place in the world. Unlike other generations that in recent years have become more supportive of smaller government, they have held conservative views about government for years.

Today, an overwhelming majority of Silents are either angry or frustrated with government. They are the generation that is most strongly disapproving of Barack Obama, for whom a majority did not vote. Silents also are the most politically energized generation, as they demonstrated in the 2010 midterms.

More often than the younger generations, Silents take the American exceptionalist view that the United States is the greatest nation in the world. But fewer older people than young people think that “America’s best days are ahead of us.”

The political discontent of the Silent generation is not economically based. A greater proportion of Silents than younger people say they are financially satisfied, and Silents are less likely to say they often do not have enough money to make ends meet.

Race is a factor in their political attitudes. Silents are the whitest of the generations and are the least accepting of the new face of America. Compared with younger generations, relatively few Silents see racial intermarriage and the growing population of immigrants as changes for the better.

As was the case in 2008, racial attitudes are associated with views of Obama and voting intentions. And while there is racial intolerance in all generations, it is more prevalent among older than younger age groups.

While Silent generation voters say they are solidly behind Obama’s Republican challengers, there are some signs of potential opportunity for the Democrats. Silents cite Social Security as often as they name jobs as their top voting issue. And while seniors tend to favor the Republican Party on most issues, they are as likely to favor the Democrats as Republicans on Social Security.

Young People

Millennials, who are 18 to 30, have voted more Democratic than older voters in the last four national elections. They came of age in the Clinton and Bush eras, and hold liberal attitudes on most social and governmental issues, as well as America’s approach to foreign policy.

Just as members of the Silent generation are long-term backers of smaller government, Millennials, at least so far, hold “baked in” support for a more activist government.

Millennials have come of age professing an allegiance to the Democratic Party and profoundly little identification with the GOP. Today, half of Millennials (50%) think of themselves as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents while just 36% affiliate with or lean toward the GOP.

Although they back Barack Obama for reelection by a wide margin in matchups against both Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, just 49% approve of his job performance, down 24 points since February 2009.

Millennials are a racially and ethnically diverse generation. Only 59% of Millennials are white non-Hispanic. They are well acquainted with changing face of America and overwhelmingly think these changes are good for the country.

The racial gap also helps explain the greater liberalism of Millennials when compared with older generations. The racial factor, however, mutes rather than explains away the ideological and partisan gaps between Millennials and older voters. For example, while 57% of all Millennials favor a bigger government with more services, just 44% of white Millennials do. But only about a quarter of whites in older generations (27%) support an activist government.

Similarly, while 61% of all Millennials back Obama in a matchup against Romney, only 49% of white Millennials do. But this compares to 37% of older whites who back the president.

For more on Millennials, see Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change, Feb. 24, 2010.

Middle-Aged Americans

Baby Boomers (ages 47 to 65) are the largest generation. They came of age under presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.
Boomers had very little allegiance to the GOP during the 1960s and 70s, but were increasingly drawn to the Republican Party starting in the 1980s. Since then, they have tilted to the Democratic Party.

Historically, there has been an age gap within the Baby Boom generation. Older Boomers, who cast their first ballots in the Nixon elections of 1968 and 1972, have voted more Democratic than have younger Boomers who came of age under Ford, Carter and Reagan. In 2008, for example, Obama performed better among older Boomers (currently 56 to 65) than younger Boomers (47 to 55).

Boomers supported Republican candidates in 2010. Currently, they are almost as disillusioned with Obama as are Silents, yet are divided in a matchup between Obama and Romney.

In recent years, more Boomers have come to call themselves conservatives. A majority of Boomers now favors a smaller government that provides fewer services. When they were in their 20s and 3os, Boomers were more supportive of big government. Today, almost as many Boomers as Silents say they are angry with government.

Boomers’ current attitudes bear little imprint from coming of age in an era of great social change. On most social issues, their opinions generally fall between the Silents and the younger age cohorts. And many Boomers express reservations about the changing face of America.

Like younger generations, many Boomers say they are dissatisfied with their financial situation and their anxieties about retirement have increased. In a survey conducted last year, a majority of Boomers (54%) said they were in worse shape financially than they were before the recession. Today, 38% say they are not confident that they will have enough income and assets to last through their retirement years.

Like other generations, Boomers oppose cutting entitlement benefits in order to reduce the budget deficit. They are also part of a multi-generational majority that supports reducing Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors with higher incomes. However, unlike Silents, Boomers oppose raising the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare.

Generation X, ages 31 to 46, is the in-between generation. They represent the dividing line on many issues between young and old, but they are not as Democratic and liberal as the younger Millennial generation.

Gen Xers mostly came of age politically in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton years. In the 1990s, they divided their loyalties between the parties. In 2000, they split their votes between George W. Bush and Al Gore; they narrowly supported Bush in 2004 and favored Obama by clear margin in 2008.

Gen Xers are less supportive of larger government than they once were. And along with other generations, their views of Obama have become more negative. Gen Xers supported GOP candidates by a small margin in 2010. Currently, as many Gen Xers favor Romney as Obama.

On a range of social issues Gen Xers take a more liberal position than do older voters. Gen Xers are more likely than both Boomers and Silents to favor gay marriage and marijuana legalization, and Gen Xers are far more comfortable with the social diversity of 21st century America.

As with Millennials and Boomers, jobs are the number one voting issue for Gen Xers. And they are increasingly anxious over their financial futures. Fully 46% say they are not confident that they will have enough income and assets to last through their retirement years – the highest percentage in any generation.

Entitlements: Agreement on Principles, Not Policies

The poll finds a fair amount generational agreement on entitlement issues. Majorities across generations say that the federal government does too little for older people. And there is broad agreement that it is more important to maintain current retirement benefits than to reduce the budget deficit, though that view is more widely shared among older than younger generations.

But wide generation gaps exist with respect to a number of proposed reforms to the retirement programs. Silents are lukewarm toward allowing younger workers to invest their Social Security taxes in private accounts and using their Medicare benefits to purchase private insurance. Millennials, in particular, enthusiastically embrace these proposed changes.

Moreover, Silents are more supportive than are younger generations of gradually raising the retirement age for receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits. Roughly half of Silents favor raising the retirement age for these programs; no more than four-in-ten in younger generations agree.

Generational Voting in Red and Blue

One way to look at the political leanings of generations is to sort people by the political environment when they became politically engaged. For example, not so long ago, voters 65 and older were predominantly members of the Greatest generation, most of whom came of age during FDR’s presidency and were fairly reliable supporters of Democrats even into their later years.

As recently as 2004, members of the Greatest generation supported John Kerry by a greater margin than did all voters in that election.

As the Greatest generation has mostly passed from the scene, members of the Silent generation – most of whom came of age politically during the Truman and Eisenhower presidencies – have come to make up an increasing share of voters 65 and older. They have long voted less Democratic than the Greatest generation; in both 2008 and 2010, both Truman- and Eisenhower-era Silents voted more Republican than average.

The Baby Boom is a long generation, spanning many presidencies. The oldest, who turned 18 when LBJ was president, have mostly voted with the national electorate in recent years, though they voted more Republican than average in 2008. Those Boomers who came of age when Nixon was president retained a Democratic leaning, although they have voted with the overall electorate since 2006. The youngest Boomers, who mostly came of age in the Ford and Carter years, have been one of the most reliable Republican voting groups.

Internal divisions within Generation X are even more notable. The older portion of Generation X who came of age during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidencies, have voted more Republican than the electorate. In contrast, younger Xers, who became active politically during the Clinton administration, have mostly voted more Democratic than average. Millennials largely came of age during George W. Bush’s presidency and have consistently voted more Democratic by large margins.

Best President in Your Lifetime?

When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetime, more respondents name Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan than any other presidents. Sizeable numbers in each of the four generational groups, including majorities of Millennials and Gen Xers, cite Clinton as either their first or second choice as the best president. Reagan matches Clinton in mentions among Baby Boomers and members of the Silent generation.

Despite the fact that many of them were quite young during Clinton’s years in office, nearly half (48%) of Millennials say Bill Clinton did the best job of any president in their lifetime. Another 12% cite him as second best. Fewer Millennials (37%) cite Obama as best or second-best. Relatively few (22%) say that George W. Bush was a favorite.

A majority of Xers also named Clinton as best (38%) or second-best (18%), while 43% cite Reagan (34% as best, 9% as second-best). Just 23% of Xers say that Obama is the best or second best president of their lifetimes; 18% cite George H. W. Bush and 14% cite George W. Bush.

Baby Boomers divide their loyalties about evenly between Clinton and Reagan, with 45% citing Reagan in either first (33%) or second (12%) place. About as many name Clinton as the best president (27%) or second-best (15%). About a quarter of Boomers (26%) cite John F. Kennedy.

Only among the Silent generation do presidents in office before Kennedy receive a significant number of mentions. But even among this older group, Clinton and Reagan are essentially tied for the top positions. Reagan is cited by 36% and Clinton by 35% as best or second-best. Kennedy is mentioned by 29%, Dwight D. Eisenhower by 17%, and Harry S Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt are named by 11% and 12%, respectively.

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.