Rising acceptance of out-of-wedlock births in U.S. reflects leftward shift: Gallup

A record 61 percent of Americans say having a baby outside of marriage is morally acceptable, a reflection of a continuing shift to the left on moral issues in the U.S., Gallup found in a poll released Thursday.

This was the third straight year that roughly six in 10 Americans have sanctioned this once frowned-upon behavior. In 2002, when Gallup first asked the question, more Americans said having a baby outside of wedlock was morally wrong than those who believed it was morally acceptable.

The study reflects a leftward shift in the U.S. on "moral" issues, as gay marriage and pre-marital sex are all now more socially acceptable than in years past.

Over the past two decades, the percentage of children born to unmarried parents has increased -- and as this trend has continued, Americans have become increasingly comfortable with out-of-wedlock births from a moral perspective, Gallup said.

Gallup's trend on the moral acceptability of out-of-wedlock births shows three distinct periods of support over the last 14 years. The first period, from 2002 to 2004, showed an evenly divided American public, with an average 48 percent of Americans saying that having a baby outside of marriage was morally acceptable and 47 percent saying it was morally wrong, according to Gallup.

During the second period, from 2005 to 2012, there was a notable shift to the point where a clear majority, averaging 53 percent, sanctioned out-of-wedlock births.

In the last three years, there has been a further increase -- to an average 60 percent of Americans -- saying it is morally acceptable to have a baby outside of marriage, Gallup found.

Nearly every major demographic has shown a significant increase since 2004 in their belief that out-of-wedlock births are morally acceptable.

However, conservatives' views on the issue have changed little over the past 14 years. Between 2002 and 2004, an average of 35 percent of social conservatives said having a baby outside of marriage was morally acceptable. Currently, 38 percent hold this view.

By comparison, over the same period, there has been a 14-point increase among social moderates, to 65 percent, and a 12-point increase among social liberals, to 77 percent.

Still, the greater number of out-of-wedlock births is not necessarily a positive development for the U.S., because babies born to unmarried parents are much more likely to grow up in poverty than those born to married parents, Gallup said.

This is largely because out-of-wedlock births are much more common among lower-income Americans than upper-income Americans, and it may speak as much to the greater likelihood that a married household has two incomes as to the benefits of marriage per se, Gallup said.

A growing body of research indicates that -- whatever the underlying causes -- children in two-parent households tend to have better academic and emotional outcomes later in life than those born in single-parent households, said Gallup. Endite