Half in U.S. Say Baby Outside Marriage Is OK

Half of Americans believe it is morally acceptable to have a baby outside of marriage, a Gallup poll shows.

Pollsters found that 51% of U.S. adults polled said out-of-wedlock births were morally acceptable, compared to 46% who said they were morally wrong.

Views on the subject varied greatly depending on respondents’ church-attending habits.

Only 26% of those who attend church weekly said out-of-wedlock births were morally acceptable; but 71% of those who seldom or never attend church agreed with that statement.

Opinions also varied by age. Among adults ages 18 to 29, 64% of respondents said out-of-wedlock births were morally acceptable. But among those older than 65, only 33% said having a baby outside marriage was acceptable. The findings are based on telephone interviews with 1,005 adults nationwide conducted May 5-7 and have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.