Some more interesting poll numbers...
In the thread below about "liberal bias in the media," I posted some Gallup poll numbers that I thought were interesting because they showed how Americans have some views that are not really reflected in media coverage, IMO anyway. I used the example of how 48% of Americans believe in the theory of Creationism and 28% believe in the theory of Evolution, which I found surprising given the way the subject is treated in the media (where Creationists seem to be fringe types). More Americans stated that Darwin's theory of Evolution "has not been well supported by evidence" than those who were willing to say that it "has been well supported by evidence."

I thought I'd share some other interesting poll numbers I found.

On some subjects, there has been a reversal of what Americans think in just a few decades' time. On some other subjects, the percentages have remained largely unchanged over time.

For example, when Gallup asked Americans the question, "Do you think homosexual relations between consenting adults should or should not be legal?" in a poll conducted on May 2001, 42% of Americans thought that it should not be legal. That percentage has remained largely unchanged (except for a rise in the 1980s) since Gallup first asked the question in 1977, when 43% of Americans thought homosexual relations should not be legal.

In 2001, 54% of Americans thought homosexuality should be legal. That is only 11 points higher than the percentage who thought it should be legal when Gallup asked in 1977.

Despite the inclusion of sexual orientation in many anti-discrimination laws today, 40% of Americans in 2001 said that gays should not be hired to be elementary school teachers, and one-third of Americans in 2001 felt that gays shouldn't be hired as high school teachers.

When Gallup asked Americans in 2001, "What is your impression of how most Americans feel about homosexual behavior -- do most Americans think it is acceptable or not acceptable?" 74% said "not acceptable" and 21% said "acceptable." I would have guessed that the numbers would have been reversed (considering that homosexuality seems more accepted today, or at least that is the impression I get).

Sometimes these perceptions that we have can shown to be wrong because of polling data. For example, for many decades Gallup has asked Americans "At the present time, do you think religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life or losing its influence?" From 1965 until September 11, more Americans usually responded that religion was losing its influence. (The exception is during the mid-1980s, when more people believed religion was increasing its influence, and in 1998 when opinion was evenly split.) And yet, when Americans were asked during the same period to rate the importance of religion in their own life, the number who said it was "very important" was higher in the 1990s than it was in the 1980s. During the 1980s, the percentage of Americans who considered religion "very important" in their life was between 53% and 56%. During the 1990s, the percentage was between 55% and 63%.

Another example of where perception may be inaccurate is the notion that Americans are less likely (at least before September 11) to attend church or synagogue than they did in the good old days. But Gallup's polls find that the percentages of those who did (41%) or didn't (59%) "attend church or synagogue in the last seven days" was identical in February 2001, May 2001, December 2001, in 1995, in 1991, in 1982, and in 1937. While the highest numbers (47 to 49%), who said they attended in the last seven days, had occured during the mid-1950s, the next highest number (48%) was in March 1994. The week after September 11th had the number at 47%. Thus, it appears that church and synagogue attendance has remained fairly stable among Americans from 1937 to 2001, despite perceptions that we have become more secular.

Here's another odd one about perceptions. Gallup asked Americans to rate race relations between blacks and whites, whether they were "Very
good," "Somewhat good," "Somewhat bad," or "Very bad." Ironically, black respondents felt that the race relations were "Very good" or "Somewhat good" more than whites did. 30% of whites felt relations were "somewhat bad" while only 17% of blacks felt that way. However, 11% of blacks felt relations were "Very bad" compared to 6% of whites. This seems to suggest that whites realize that there is a problem but don't seem to realize the extreme seriousness of the problem, or how deep the problems are. 2% of people of both color had no opinion.

Similarly, when Gallup asked whether respondents were satisfied with the way Hispanics were treated in this country, 15% of Hispanics were "very satisfied," whereas only 6% of blacks were "very satisfied" with how Hispanics were treated. And non-Hispanic whites responded that they were "somewhat dissatisfied" at the treatment of Hispanics at almost the same percentage that Hispanics themsleves gave. But again, when it came to the last category, more Hispanics felt "very dissatisfied" than whites or blacks felt about them. In other words, both whites and blacks were willing to feel some degree of dissatisfaction for how Hispanics were treated, but more reluctant to place relations in the worst possible light. It also suggests a big split among Hispanics about how they are treated, with 45% of them feeling satisfied overall, and 54% not. Blacks are not as closely split, with 60% of blacks being dissatisfied and only 39% of blacks satisfied with how blacks are treated in this country.

Gallup asked whether Americans favor or oppose "Setting quotas for the number of racial minorities hired or accepted even if it means lowering the standards in order to make up for past discrimination". The majority of Americans (including a majority of blacks) opposed this, except for Hispanics who favored it by 52%.

In 2001, Gallup asked Americans "Would you favor or oppose a law that would allow homosexual couples to legally form civil unions, giving them some of the legal rights of married couples?" Remember, this is not asking them whether they support allowing gays to be married exactly as heterosexuals are, but simply whether gays should be allowed some legally-recognized union that wouldn't be called "marriage." Still, 52% of Americans opposed this while 44% favored it.

An example of how American attitudes have reversed can be found when Gallup asked the question, "Do you think it is wrong for a man and a woman to have sexual relations before marriage, or not?" In 2001, 38% said it was "wrong" and 60% said it was "not wrong." When Gallup asked that question back in 1969, the numbers were practically reversed, with 68% calling it "wrong" and 21% "not wrong." When Gallup asked in 1987, the two sides were more evenly split (46% to 48%).

In May 2001, Gallup asked Americans to rate certain topics according to whether they felt they were morally acceptable or unacceptable. (It was phrased in the poll this way: "Regardless of whether or not you think it should be legal, for each one, please tell me whether you personally believe that in general it is morally acceptable or morally wrong.") Here were the results, grouped in order of "moral acceptability":

Medical testing on animals:
65% "morally acceptable"
26% "morally wrong"

The death penalty:
63% "morally acceptable"
27% "morally wrong"

Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur:
60% "morally acceptable"
32% "morally wrong"

Divorce:
59% "morally acceptable"
28% "morally wrong"

Sex between an unmarried man and woman:
53% "morally acceptable"
42% "morally wrong"

Doctor assisted suicide:
49% "morally acceptable"
40% "morally wrong"

Abortion:
42% "morally acceptable"
45% "morally wrong"
(pretty much evenly split)

Homosexual behavior:
40% "morally acceptable"
53% "morally wrong"

Cloning animals:
31% "morally acceptable"
63% "morally wrong"

Suicide:
13% "morally acceptable"
78% "morally wrong"

Married men and women having an affair:
7% "morally acceptable"
89% "morally wrong"

Cloning humans:
7% "morally acceptable"
88% "morally wrong"

Interesting to find that more Americans think homosexuality is "morally wrong" (53%) than they do abortion or doctor-assisted suicide. Do you think this majority feeling is represented as such in the media, culture, news coverage, etc.?

When Gallup asked in August 2001 "whether you favor or oppose a constitutional amendment to allow voluntary prayer in public schools," 78% of Americans favored it, while only 20% opposed it. Do you think this majority feeling is represented as such in the media, culture, news coverage, etc.?