America More Pro-Family than Europe

Special Report - May 28, 2008
Americans generally affirm traditional family values more than Europeans according to a recent series of Gallup Polls. Released May 23–27, the polls indicate that concerning issues such as homosexuality and extramarital sex, the American public tends to hold to traditional family values more than the European public. For example, when asked if it is morally acceptable for a married man and woman to have an affair, only seven percent of the American public said that it was morally acceptable. The European responses ranged from 18% affirmative (British public) to 47% (French public).

The American and European populations are equally divided over sex between unmarried men and women (fornication in the North Carolina General Statutes), although there is a higher percentage of both populations that approve of this behavior (61% of the American population and 88% of the French population).

The moral divide between the U.S. and Europe also exists in matters of life and death. Only 15% of the American public approve of suicide compared to 30% of the European populations polled. The numbers are somewhat closer when it comes to abortion, however. 40% of the American public approve of abortion as morally acceptable, while the European approval rate ranges from a low of 52% (Germany) to 77% (France).

For each of the polling questions, Gallup includes a population called “Religious Americans.” These religious Americans were less likely to approve of the act in question. For example, only 4% of religious Americans believe that an extramarital affair is morally acceptable. Religious Americans are generally more accepting of homosexual acts (28%) and abortion (22%) than they are of suicide and extramarital affairs, however. The Gallup poll also surveyed European Muslim populations, finding that in most issues, the European Muslims are closest in their responses to the religious Americans.

Concerning the poll, Matt Lytle, director of research for the North Carolina Family Policy Council commented, “This new poll gives a helpful snapshot of the moral landscapes in the U.S. and in Europe. While generally favor traditional family values more than their European counterparts, it is disappointing that the approval rates for issues like homosexuality, cohabitation, and abortion are as high as they are. It is even more disappointing that so many religious Americans affirmed harmful sexuality. There is still much work to do to ensure that America’s cultural landscape does not become like Europe’s.”

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