Update on American Morals

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

The voice of the world in numbers

July 30, 2024

Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn't miss this week:

1. Update on American Morals

Bar Chart: Americans' views of the moral acceptability of 19 issues in 2024.

The Data: Americans' ratings of the morality of 19 behaviors remain stable from prior years. Using birth control and in-vitro fertilization top the list as the most "morally acceptable" actions, and having extramarital affairs and suicide are seen as the most "morally wrong."

Moral Outlook: When asked about the overall state of moral values today, only 15% of Americans see moral values in the U.S. as “excellent” or “good,” while a significant 49% view the state of morality as “poor.”

Latest Data

2. Today's LGBTQ+ Adults Coming Out Younger

Bar Chart: Median ages of LGBTQ+ Americans when they knew their identity and came out to others.

The Data: Young LGBTQ+ adults, aged 18 to 29, report knowing their identity at a median age of 14 and coming out at a median age of 17. While older LGBTQ+ Americans (those aged 65 and older) report knowing their identity also in their teens (at a median age of 16), they report coming out in their early 20s or later, at a median age of 26.

Gender Differences: Though the median age that LGBTQ+ men and women came out is 19, LGBTQ+ women are more than twice as likely (14%) as LGBTQ+ men (6%) to report having come out by the age of 14.

Line Chart: 37% of Americans believe God created humans in their present form, while 34% believe God guided human development.

The Data: A majority of Americans believe God played at least some role in human development; 37% hold creationist views, and 34% believe in evolution guided by God.

New High: While still lower than those two views, a new high of 24% accept evolution without divine intervention. This comes at a time when Americans are increasingly likely to say that they do not identify with a religion or belong to a house of worship and that religion is not very important in their daily lives.

New Data

4. Q2 Employee Engagement Recovers Slightly

Line Chart: 32% of U.S. employees are engaged in Q2 2024, and 16% are actively disengaged.

The Data: After hitting an 11-year low of 30% in the first quarter of 2024, U.S. employee engagement edged up in Q2, to 32%.

Largest Rise: Employee engagement is an index of 12 questions probing workplace perceptions. The improvements in Q2 are most pronounced in three foundational aspects of the workplace experience: knowing what's expected of yourself at work, having the materials and equipment to do your job, and having the opportunity to do what you do best.

Line Chart: 51% of Americans say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the police in 2024.

The Data: Americans' confidence in the police has rebounded to 51% this year from last year's lowest recorded level of 43%.

Demographic Insights: Over the past year, confidence in the police has risen among most major demographic subgroups of Americans, particularly three that previously expressed lower levels of confidence in the police: those aged 18 to 34, people of color and political independents.

Full Story