Partisan moral sorting of private behaviors

Americans are broadly permissive on many private behaviors, but moral judgments about intimate and familial acts are now strongly aligned with party identity. Pew’s 2025 surveys show Republicans far more likely than Democrats to call abortion, homosexuality and pornography morally wrong, while Democrats are more likely to call the death penalty, child‑spanking and extreme wealth morally wrong. — This pattern means cultural conflict and policy choices (from censorship to criminal justice and family policy) will increasingly map onto partisan competition rather than neutral civic debate.