Committed to Availability, Conflicted about Morality: What the Millennial Generation Tells Us about the Future of the Abortion Debate and the Culture Wars
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About this ebook
Move beyond the rhetoric and into the heart of one of the most contentious social questions facing America today. This 2011 survey from Public Religion Research Institute explores the nation's conflicted views on abortion, discovering that majorities of Americans simultaneously believe that abortion should be legal and accessible, but also think it is immoral.
Robert P. Jones
Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research at the intersection of religion, values, and public life. PRRI’s mission is to help journalists, opinion leaders, scholars, clergy, and the general public better understand debates on public policy issues and the role of religion and values in American public life by conducting high quality public opinion surveys and qualitative research. As members of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the American Political Science Association (APSA), and the American Academy of Religion (AAR), our research team follows the highest research standards of independence and academic excellence. PRRI is a member organization of the National Council on Public Polls, an association of polling organizations established in 1969, which sets the highest professional standards for public opinion researchers. PRRI is also a supporting organization of the Transparency Initiative at AAPOR, an initiative to place the value of openness at the center of the public opinion research profession. As a research organization, PRRI does not take positions on, nor do we advocate for, particular policies. Research supported by its funders reflects PRRI’s commitment to independent inquiry and academic rigor. Research findings and conclusions are never altered to accommodate other interests, including those of funders, other organizations, or government bodies and officials.
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Committed to Availability, Conflicted about Morality - Robert P. Jones
Committed to Availability, Conflicted about Morality:
What the Millennial Generation Tells Us about the Future of the Abortion Debate and the Culture Wars
Analysis by Robert P. Jones, Daniel Cox, and Rachel Laser
Copyright 2011 Public Religion Research Institute, Inc.
Smashwords Edition
Acknowledgements
Public Religion Research Institute is deeply grateful to the Ford Foundation for their generous support of the Millennials, Religion, & Abortion Survey. The authors would also like to thank E.J. Dionne and Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution for their insights as the PRRI team designed and analyzed the survey, and Korin Davis for her skillful work handling the logistics for the release of the findings at Brookings. Additionally, the authors would like to thank Camden Richards who served as a graphics design consultant for the report, and PRRI Press Secretary Shannon Craig Straw and PRRI interns Samantha Holquist and Justin Metz who provided meticulous proofreading of the final document.
copyright Public Religion Research Institute, Inc.
Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., CEO
2027 Massachusetts Ave NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.publicreligion.org/
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Please encourage others to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction: The Peculiar Profile of Millennials on Abortion
American Attitudes on Abortion
Decoupling the Values
Agenda: Abortion and Same-sex Marriage
Circumstances, Access, and Restrictions
Overlapping Identities and Attitudes about Abortion Laws
Complexities: Morality and Sin vs. Legality and Availability
Religious Institutions, Clergy, and Abortion
Influences on Views about Abortion
Appendix 1. Survey Methodology
About Public Religion Research Institute
Executive Summary
A solid majority of Americans say abortion should be legal in all (19%) or most (37%) cases, compared to 4-in-10 who say it should be illegal in all (14%) or most (26%) cases.
With the exception of white evangelical Protestants, majorities of all major religious groups say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
A majority of Americans across the political spectrum say it is more socially acceptable today to be pro-choice
rather than pro-life.
Nearly 6-in-10 (58%) Americans say that at least some health care professionals in their communities should provide legal abortions.
With the exception of white evangelical Protestants and Latino Catholics, majorities of all major religious groups agree that at least some health care professionals in their community should provide legal abortions.
Americans who live in large metropolitan areas are much more likely than those who live in rural communities to say legal abortion services should be available in their community (67% vs. 39% respectively).
The binary pro-choice
/pro-life
labels do not reflect the complexity of Americans’ views on abortion. Seven-in-ten Americans say the term pro-choice
describes them somewhat or very well, and nearly two-thirds simultaneously say the term pro-life
describes them somewhat or very well. This overlapping identity is present in virtually every demographic group.
The decoupling of attitudes on abortion and same-sex marriage suggests that these topics, which served in the past as the heart of the values
agenda, are no longer necessarily linked in the minds of Americans.
Roughly the same percentage of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases in 1999 (57%) as say this today (56%).
In contrast, the percentage of Americans who said marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid has grown 18 points over this same period, from 35% in 1999 to 53% in 2011.
Millennials are less supportive of legal abortion than their demographic profile would