While the leader of the country continues to wage one war after another and the people battle ideologies on X (Formerly Twitter), a new Pew Research Center study has pulled the curtain on the shifting foundation of American morality. On March 19, 2026, the center released a research titled ‘What do Americans consider immoral?’ Rather than focusing on universal taboos of theft and murder, the two surveys carried out in 2025, asked about the morality of 15 behaviours largely debated in the society, from the death penalty to viewing pornography. What the answers revealed was a nation that is deeply permissive yet paradoxically divided.
United on cheating
In a rare moment of national consensus, Americans found a singular “villain”: having an extramarital affair. Nine in ten US adults claimed that married people having an affair was morally wrong. Out of the 15 parameters evaluating America’s morality, cheating remained the only thing the entire country agreed to condemn, considering other factors included death penalty, spanking children, using marijuana, gambling and more.
The partisan divide: Two different Americas
Another shocking insight in the research was the difference in morality between Republicans and Democrats in the country. In the Republican mindset, having an abortion (71%), homosexuality (59%), viewing pornography (65%), and getting a divorce (33%) were morally wrong. However, the Democrats viewed morality through the lens of social equity, viewing extremely rich (29%), spanking children (35%) and the death penalty (48%), as morally wrong. In the survey, viewing pornography (52%), having an abortion (47%), homosexuality (39%), and getting a divorce (23%) were viewed as morally wrong, echoing a larger consensus with the political leadership and showing how ideals at the top filter down to the bottom. Under the Trump administration, it seems the red pill was more vastly taken then the blue one.
The trust crisis
Despite the political rhetoric showing a ‘Golden Age’, the internal social fabric in America, appears to be frayed. The survey revealed that Americans look at each other with scepticism, they don’t trust and are judgmental towards their fellow citizens. Only 47% of Americans see other Americans as morally good, whereas a whopping 53% say the morality and ethics of their fellow Americans are “somewhat or very bad.” This makes the United States a global outlier; in almost every other country surveyed in 2025, citizens were more likely to view their fellow residents as inherently good.
American men need an awakening
The research also exposes a friction point between the sexes, particularly regarding family and reproductive issues.Getting a divorce (28%), having an abortion (51%), and using in vitro fertilisation to get pregnant (11%) were more likely to be viewed as morally wrong by men, than by women. About 43% men also thought homosexuality was morally wrong. However, according to them, gambling, drinking alcohol, and viewing pornography were morally right. Conversely, women make a hard line at viewing pornography with 58% calling it morally wrong as compared to 47% of men. Currently, America doesn’t just seem to be “becoming more liberal” or “shifting right” it seems to be fragmenting into sections hidden under the guise of unity by a layered Republican cloth.
