{"id":301100,"date":"2026-05-06T12:59:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=decoded&#038;p=301100"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:43:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T14:43:47","slug":"how-question-wording-affects-polling-on-the-morality-of-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"decoded","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/decoded\/2026\/05\/06\/how-question-wording-affects-polling-on-the-morality-of-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"How question wording affects polling on the morality of homosexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=302210\"><img data-dominant-color=\"cde3e7\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #cde3e7;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/MB_26.04.29_wording_featured.png?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/MB_26.04.29_wording_featured.png?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/MB_26.04.29_wording_featured.png?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/MB_26.04.29_wording_featured.png?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/MB_26.04.29_wording_featured.png?resize=1400,788 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/04\/MB_26.04.29_wording_featured.png?w=640\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-302210 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pew Research Center illustration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, Pew Research Center has asked Americans about the morality of both \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2014\/04\/15\/whats-morally-acceptable-it-depends-on-where-in-the-world-you-live\/\">homosexuality<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2018\/08\/29\/politics-and-policy-2\/#highly-religious-groups-more-likely-than-others-to-morally-oppose-abortion-homosexual-behavior-and-drinking-alcohol\">homosexual behavior<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some respondents might be expected to answer these two questions differently because their religious traditions differentiate between <em>identifying as homosexual<\/em> and <em>engaging in homosexual acts<\/em>. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, for example, condemns unjust discrimination against people who are lesbian or gay, saying they \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/usccb.cld.bz\/Catechism-of-the-Catholic-Church2\/586\/\">must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity<\/a>.\u201d But it also lists homosexual behavior among the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/usccb.cld.bz\/Catechism-of-the-Catholic-Church2\/596\/\">sins gravely contrary to chastity<\/a>,\u201d placing it in the same category as masturbation, sex outside of marriage and pornography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does this difference in wording affect Americans\u2019 responses to questions about the morality of same-sex relationships? We designed a survey experiment to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"how-we-tested-our-question-wording-about-homosexuality\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How we tested our question wording about homosexuality<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a May 2025 survey, we asked 8,937 U.S. adults on our <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">American Trends Panel<\/a> whether they view each of <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2026\/03\/19\/what-do-americans-consider-immoral\/\">several behaviors<\/a> as morally acceptable, morally wrong or not a moral issue. We randomly assigned each respondent to receive one of two questions about homosexuality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cDo you personally believe that <strong>homosexuality<\/strong> is morally acceptable or morally wrong, or is it not a moral issue?\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cDo you personally believe that <strong>homosexual<\/strong> <strong>behavior<\/strong> is morally acceptable or morally wrong, or is it not a moral issue?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Randomly assigning respondents in this way allowed us to determine whether the question wording affected their responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"does-the-wording-difference-affect-responses\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does the wording difference affect responses?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans overall make no distinction between the morality of homosexuality and homosexual behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignright has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bd6cbb4d wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-79c81ba7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-top-width:1px;border-bottom-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8a2fe601 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-sans-serif-font-family has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px;font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.1\">Americans answer similarly when asked about the morality of \u2018homosexuality\u2019 and \u2018homosexual behavior\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ui-gray-very-dark-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8b692b58213a6e655ae1d229decac1b7 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:1.3\"><em><em><em>% of U.S. adults who say ___ is <strong>morally wrong<\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-prc-block-table is-scroll-on-mobile\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\" style=\"max-width:420px;min-width:420px\"><thead><tr><th style=\"width:40%;vertical-align:bottom;line-height:1.1\"><\/th><th style=\"text-align:center;width:25%;vertical-align:bottom;line-height:1.1\">Homosexuality<\/th><th style=\"width:20%;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom;line-height:1.1\">Homosexual behavior<\/th><th style=\"width:15%;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom;line-height:1.1\">Diff<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td style=\"width:40%;font-weight:700;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">All U.S. adults<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">39%<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">41%<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\"><\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\"><\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;font-weight:700\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Religiously affiliated<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">49<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">51<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Christian<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">51<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">53<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:8px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"> Protestant<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">59<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">59<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:16px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><em>White evang. Prot.<\/em><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">72<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">76<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:16px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><em>White Prot., not evang.<\/em><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">34<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">35<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:16px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><em>Black Protestant<\/em><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">55<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">64<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-9<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:8px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"> Catholic<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">34<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">37<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:16px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><em> White Catholic<\/em><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">39<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">38<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;padding-left:16px\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><em> Hispanic Catholic<\/em><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">26<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">37<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-11<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Jewish<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">23<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">21<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\"><\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\"><\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;font-weight:700\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Religiously unaffiliated<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">13<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">16<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Atheist<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">3<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">8<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-5<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Agnostic<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">7<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">8<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Nothing in particular<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">21<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">23<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\"><\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\"><\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Rep\/lean Rep<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">59<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">61<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Dem\/lean Dem<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">20<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">22<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\"><\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\"><\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Men<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">43<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">46<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Women<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">37<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">37<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center;border-bottom-style:dotted\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\"><\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\"><\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\"><\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">Ages 18-29<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">30<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">36<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-6<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">30-49<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">37<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">38<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">50-64<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">44<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">46<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">-2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"width:40%\" data-prc-v-col=\"0\">65+<\/td><td style=\"text-align:center;width:25%\" data-prc-v-col=\"1\">46<\/td><td style=\"width:20%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"2\">46<\/td><td style=\"width:15%;text-align:center\" data-prc-v-col=\"3\">0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1f96cfca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-ui-gray-dark-color has-text-color has-link-color has-sans-serif-font-family wp-elements-f94c95f592c2c860ef3334426cd7b14e wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:1.25\">Note: Differences shown are not statistically significant. Results are from a <strong>survey experiment<\/strong> in which respondents were randomly assigned to either the \u201chomosexuality\u201d or \u201chomosexual behavior\u201d question wording. The survey sample for \u201chomosexuality\u201d included 183 interviews with Jews, with an effective sample size of 66 and a margin of error of plus or minus 12.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The survey sample for \u201chomosexual behavior\u201d included 191 interviews with Jews, with an effective sample size of 74 and a margin of error of plus or minus 11.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. These margins of error conservatively assume a reported percentage of 50%. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.<br>Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 5-11, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-sans-serif-font-family wp-elements-dff8ec32588aae79c94ee36faba34e1f wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#231f20;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500;letter-spacing:0.2px;line-height:1\">PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar shares of U.S. adults say homosexuality (39%) and homosexual behavior (41%) are morally wrong; the 2 percentage point difference is not statistically significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This pattern is broadly consistent, with no statistically significant differences across religious and demographic subgroups. For instance, there is no statistical difference between the share of White evangelical Protestants who say homosexuality is morally wrong (72%) and the share who say the same about homosexual behavior (76%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nor does the question wording make a significant difference among U.S. Catholics (34% vs. 37%). The larger difference among Hispanic Catholics specifically (11 points) is also not statistically significant, given the relatively small sample of Hispanic Catholics in the survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, there are no significant differences between the overall shares of U.S. adults who say homosexuality and homosexual behavior are <em>morally acceptable<\/em> or <em>not a moral issue<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, among Catholics, 24% say homosexuality is morally acceptable, while 18% say the same about homosexual behavior. And among Hispanic Catholics, 25% say homosexuality is morally acceptable, compared with 13% who say this about homosexual behavior. While these differences are not statistically significant at a 95% confidence level, they are in the direction one would expect \u2013 greater acceptance of homosexuality than of homosexual behavior \u2013 if Catholics are attuned to the nuances of the church\u2019s teachings on this topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given the sample sizes of Catholics and particularly of Hispanic Catholics in our survey, we do not have the statistical power to conclude that the question wording makes <em>no <\/em>difference for these groups. (A total of 1,666 Catholics completed the survey: 832 received the question about homosexuality and 834 received the question about homosexual behavior question. This includes 193 Hispanic Catholics who were asked about homosexuality and 180 Hispanic Catholics who were asked about homosexual behavior.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"how-should-researchers-ask-about-the-morality-of-homosexuality-in-future-surveys\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How should researchers ask about the morality of homosexuality in future surveys?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These results suggest that when examining how the public responds to questions about the morality of same-sex relationships, Americans give similar answers to questions about the morality of \u201chomosexuality\u201d and \u201chomosexual behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, survey researchers should bear in mind that the different question wordings may elicit different responses from some subgroups of the population, such as Hispanic Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both wordings \u2013 asking about homosexuality or homosexual behavior \u2013 may sound outdated. Everyday language on these topics has been evolving, so some researchers might be inclined to ask, for example, about the morality of \u201chaving sex\u201d or \u201ca sexual relationship\u201d with \u201ca person of the same sex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This experiment cannot speak to whether such question wordings would yield results comparable to the historical survey trends on questions about homosexuality or homosexual behavior. If measuring long-term trends is a high priority, more experimentation is warranted before making changes to these questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Americans largely don&#8217;t distinguish between the morality of &#8220;homosexuality&#8221; and &#8220;homosexual behavior,&#8221; though some subgroups may, according to a new survey 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