---
title: "Public Acceptance of Intermarriage Grows"
description: "More than four-in-ten Americans (43%) view the increase in intermarriage as a change for the better in our society."
date: "2012-02-21"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2012/02/21/public-acceptance-of-intermarriage-grows/"
---

# Public Acceptance of Intermarriage Grows

More than four-in-ten Americans (43%) view the increase in intermarriage as a change for the better in our society while about one-in-ten (11%) view it as a change for the worse, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. The rest of the public says it doesn’t make a difference.

In 1986, intermarriage was a very divisive issue for the public. Nearly three-in-ten Americans (28%) said that intermarriage was not acceptable for anyone, and an additional 37% said that it might be acceptable for others but is not for them. Only one-third of the public (33%) viewed intermarriage as acceptable for everyone.

Younger adults, especially those under 30, are much more positive about intermarriage than older adults. A majority of 18- to 29-year-olds (61%) think that the increase in intermarriagehas been a change for the better for society. Among older adults — those ages 65 and older — only 28% agree. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2012/02/16/the-rise-of-intermarriage/5/#chapter-4-public-attitudes-on-intermarriage?src=prc-number)