Over 7 in 10 Americans favour more moral policing in US: Gallup Poll

A whopping 72 percent of Americans or more than seven in ten, believe the country needs more moral policing as the state of the union is 'getting worse'.

According to a Gallup Poll, these percentages are slightly more optimistic than 2006-2008, when more than 80 percent of Americans thought moral values were getting worse and only 11 percent thought they were getting better.

According to the report, the discontent is palpable, with only 19 percent saying U.S. moral values are 'excellent or good', while 44 percent said they are 'poor' and 36 percent describing it as 'only fair'.

Alyssa Brown was the author of the Gallup poll, conducted by telephone of 1,535 adults.

Pessimism remains the strongest among Republicans (87 percent) and political independents (68 percent), as compared with Democrats (56 percent).

The survey stated that Americans were most upset by a perceived lack of respect or intolerance for other people.

According to the Gallup poll, the American outlook on moral values depends more on basic matters of civility, than on the more controversial moral issues that currently divide Americans.

The poll said that Americans expressed high acceptability for 20 social issues such as gay or lesbian relations which shifted from 19 points to 59 percent approval, use of birth control (91 percent approval), divorce cases (68 percent approval), sex before marriage (63 percent), conceiving outside marriage (60 percent), and using human embryos for medical stem-cell research (60 percent).

However, adultery which was earlier approved by seven percent Americans only got the approval of six percent people and even polygamy and 'cloning humans' got the support of 14 percent and 13 percent Americans respectively, the report added.