Religion & Social Values

Most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it. But highly religious Americans are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe.

Abortion has risen as an election issue for Latinos, with a majority saying it should be legal in all or most cases. Meanwhile, 80% say the economy is a very important issue when deciding who to vote for in the upcoming congressional midterm elections, a greater share than any other issue.

While the economy remains the dominant issue in this fall’s midterm elections, the issue of abortion has increased markedly in importance. More voters continue to view their midterm vote as an expression of opposition to Joe Biden than support for him. But across both parties, more voters now say Biden is not much of a factor in their vote.

India’s artificially wide ratio of baby boys to baby girls – which arose in the 1970s from the use of prenatal diagnostic technology to facilitate sex-selective abortions – now appears to be narrowing. Son bias has declined sharply among Sikhs, while Christians continue to have a natural balance of sons and daughters.

As the nation’s post-Roe chapter begins and the legal battle shifts to the states, here are key facts about Americans’ views on abortion.

Americans increasingly say gender is determined by one’s sex assigned at birth, but they differ by religion on this and other transgender issues.

Opinion on the legality of abortion has changed little since before the court's decision, with 62% now saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Here is a look at the most recent available data about abortion from sources other than public opinion surveys.

U.S. adults disagree over whether legal restrictions on abortion are an effective way to reduce the number of abortions in the U.S.

How do Republicans who support legal abortion and Democrats who oppose it differ from their fellow partisans? One difference involves religion.