Islam Times - Moral values 'getting worse' in US: Gallup poll

Islam Times - Most people in the United States are highly pessimistic about the state of moral values in the country and believe it is deteriorating, according to a new poll.

Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 6-10, found that 72 percent of Americans continue to believe the state of moral values in the US is "getting worse," while 22 percent say it is "getting better."

Apart from their perceptions of the direction in which morals are headed, 45 percent of Americans describe the current state of moral values in the US as "poor," while 34 percent say it is "only fair."

Across most demographic groups, clear majorities of Americans have consistently said the country's morals are declining. However, social conservatives tend to be the most likely to describe the state of US values as poor.

“Americans' views of the state of moral values haven't changed much over the past 13 years,” Gallup said. “Americans are about as likely as they were in 2002 to consider moral values in the US to be poor and to say they are heading for further decay.”

The declining state of moral values largely reflects a belief that there is a deteriorating collective moral character, including a decline in basic civility and respect for each other.

A significant number of Americans believe the decline in moral values, as well as religious and family ethics, is among the major problems currently facing the US, according to a separate Gallup poll conducted in May.