Fewer Americans see same-sex relations as morally acceptable: poll

Fewer Americans say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable and more people say the death penalty is, as more people in the U.S. are expressing conservative viewpoints. 

Last year, 71% of people in the U.S. said gay or lesbian relations were morally acceptable, but this year, the number fell by 7 points to 64% who said it was acceptable, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.

More Americans view the death penalty as morally acceptable, with 55% saying it was in 2022 compared to 60% this year. 

On a range of controversial moral topics, birth control remains the most morally acceptable, with 88% agreeing with that view, but even then, it is still down 4 points from last year, when 92% of people said it was morally acceptable. 

Additionally, fewer people said sex between an unmarried couple, medical testing on animals, cloning animals, divorce and sex between teens are morally acceptable.

This survey, which was conducted May 1-24 with 1,011 U.S. adults, has a 4% error margin.

The survey comes as the number of Americans identifying as socially conservative is the highest it's been in more than a decade.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.