About four in ten Americans still view homosexuality as immoral, survey finds

Nearly four in ten Americans view homosexuality as “morally unacceptable,” according to a survey released last week by the Pew Research Center.

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Pollsters asked residents of 25 countries around the world about their views on the morality of their fellow citizens, and of certain behaviors like abortion, gambling, and homosexuality. Among American respondents, 39 percent said homosexuality is immoral, while 23 percent called it morally acceptable, and 37 percent said it is not a moral issue.

That is about the same as how U.S. respondents answered the question when polled in 2013. That year, 37 percent of respondents described homosexuality as immoral, 23 percent said it is morally acceptable, and 35 percent did not see it as a moral issue.

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The new data also shows that Americans under 40 are more supportive of homosexuality than older generations. Forty-three percent of Americans over age 40 said homosexuality is morally unacceptable, compared with 33 percent of those ages 18 to 39.

Women held more favorable views of homosexuality than men. Views were also less favorable among respondents without a high school diploma, with 43 percent opposed. Among respondents with a high school degree, only 35 percent viewed homosexuality as immoral.

The starkest divide appeared in religious practice. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. survey takers who pray daily view homosexuality as morally wrong, compared to just 24 percent who pray less often. Plus, 59 percent of Protestant respondents from the U.S. called homosexuality wrong, compared to just 34 percent of Catholics.

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Support has risen sharply over time. In 2007, 49 percent of Americans said homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared with 72 percent in 2019, according to Pew.

Public perceptions of homosexuality have risen globally, too, although they remain generally higher in wealthier nations, Pew previously found. Still, the United States ranked lower in overall favorable views of homosexuality than all European nations surveyed, plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and Mexico.

In the survey, the fewest respondents from Sweden and Germany viewed homosexuality unfavorably, at just 5 percent each. Respondents from Nigeria were the most likely to oppose homosexuality, with 96 percent of them deeming it a moral wrong.

This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.