Poll: Americans Idealize Traditional Family, Even as Nontraditional Families Are More Accepted

"In a recent poll on religion and the family conducted for RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc., almost three quarters of all Americans agree that 'God's plan for marriage is one man, one woman, for life.' A strong majority of Americans (71%) idealize the traditional family even as divorce, cohabitation, and nontraditional family situations are becoming more accepted across religious groups. Only 22% of Americans think that divorce is a sin and almost half (49%) say that cohabitation is acceptable. According to the survey, the growing acceptance of divorce is also occurring among religious conservatives. Only 34% of evangelical Christians and 30% of traditional Catholics say that divorce is a sin." Source: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (PBS)
Summary (PDF; 899 KB) | Questionnaire (PDF; 331 KB) | Methodology (PDF; 44 KB) | Demographics (PDF; 85 KB)