Gallup: Social Conservatives, Liberals at Parity for First Time

For the first time, the number of Americans who say their views on social issues are liberal have caught up with those who align with social conservatives, according to the latest Gallup poll.

Gallup first started asking Americans about social issues in 1999. Until now, those who identified as social conservatives have always outnumbered the social liberals.

According to the poll conducted May 6-10 of 1,024 adults and released Friday, social conservatives and social liberals have reached parity on the matter:

• 31 percent say they are socially liberal
• 31 percent say they are socially conservative

The gap between the two camps has been narrowing for some time. In 1999, 39 percent of Americans identified as socially conservative, and 21 percent identified as socially liberal. Social conservatives peaked in 2009 at 42 percent, at the beginning of President Barack Obama's first term in office, but there has been a steady decline since.

Part of the reason for the increase is that more Democrats are describing themselves as socially liberal than moderate. In 2014, 40 percent of Democrats said they were socially moderate, with 47 percent saying they are socially liberal. In the most recent Gallup poll, 53 percent say they are socially liberal, which is a new high.

By comparison, 53 percent of Republicans say they are socially conservative, which is a new low for those in the GOP. In addition, 34 percent say they are socially moderate, which is the lowest percentage since 2005.

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