Parshall Partners

Americans and Morality

         As you look around at our culture today, where would you say most Americans stand on moral issues?  Some very interesting survey data tells us a great deal about the heart of America.

         The Pew Research Center wanted to dive into the question of ‘What Do Americans Consider Immoral’?   The results are both interesting and troubling.

         According to Pew, “Across a wide range of issues, Americans express morally permissive views. Nearly all U.S. adults (96%) say that eating meat is either morally acceptable or not a moral issue, and 91% take similar positions on using contraceptives to prevent pregnancy”.

         Pew also found that:

• • 75% express no moral objection to spanking children
  • 63% have no moral problem with patients choosing to end their lives with the help of a doctor
  • 60% have no moral qualms about homosexuality

         Pew chose not to ask questions about issues that most Americans would consider morally wrong, like murder or stealing but chose instead to discover what people felt about moral issues that are debated in society today.  They point out that what people think are morally permissible issues doesn’t necessary mean that everything is morally permissible.

         For example, Pew found that only 9% of those surveyed felt that married people having an affair was not morally wrong; 47% felt the same way about viewing pornography and, the country is morally split on the issue of abortion, with just over 50% saying that having an abortion was not morally wrong. Republicans, according to Pew are 3 times more likely to say that abortion is morally wrong compared to Democrats. 

         Of particular note is the question of how Americans view each other on the issues of morality.  Pew found that “overall, 47% of Americans see other Americans as morally good, while 53% say the morality and ethics of their fellow Americans are somewhat or very bad. By contrast, in nearly all the other countries where (Pew) asked this question in 2025, more people view their fellow citizens as morally and ethically good than as bad”.

         Also interesting is how differently evangelical Christians view these kinds of moral questions, with the majority taking what Pew calls a “traditionally conversative moral position on several of the issues”.  For example, 80% of evangelicals say viewing pornography is wrong, while about one-in-five say it is not a moral issue (13%) or that it’s morally acceptable (6%).

         As a follower Christ, none of these finding should surprise us.  Our “morality” is derivative of Scripture.  Our views on extra-marital affairs, viewing pornography, having an abortion, or engaging in same-sex behaviors all come from what God has said in His word. Our morality flows down stream from biblical Truth and, as such, should affect our behaviors and beliefs.

         “Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might now sin against You” (Psalm 119:11) is a powerful verse that reminds us that living out the precepts of God’s word will always help us make the right ‘moral’ decision.

         Those are my thoughts. I’m Janet Parshall.