Young people more likely to disapprove of adultery, survey says

Though older people have a reputation for holding stronger moral beliefs than their younger counterparts, one thing younger Canadians find less acceptable than their parents is extramarital affairs.

That’s according to a new Research Co. survey, which found that while 71 per cent of overall Canadian adults believe infidelity in marriage is morally wrong, that number drops with age.

The national poll also found an overall drop in acceptance of gambling, among other findings which sample the moral pulse of Canadians.

Research Co. is a public affairs firm that, since 2020, has surveyed Canadians on the same moral issues that Gallup has polled U.S. residents on for decades. One thousand Canadians were surveyed in each of several online polls conducted since February.

This year’s poll found only 69 per cent of Canadians aged 55-plus felt married men or women having an affair is wrong, compared to 73 per cent of those aged 18 to 34.

There was also a gap between the sexes. More than one in five men (22 per cent) responded that marital affairs were morally acceptable compared to ten per cent of women.

“It’s partly an old-school way of looking at things,” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. “We have a significant number of men over 55 who are saying, ‘This is fine.’ ”

Still, he says the results show infidelity is one of the things Canadians generally agree is morally objectionable, second in the survey only to pedophilia, which 86 per cent said is wrong (ten per cent responded “not sure” to this question).

The biggest change from last year was a drop in approval for gambling, Canseco said.

He believes the five-point dip was partly due to greater prevalence of gambling and its promotion during the recent sports season. “You can’t watch a hockey highlight without being told that you have to bet on something,” Canseco said, noting the results might have been different if the survey was conducted before the playoffs season.

More than three in five Canadians (61 per cent) consider physicianassisted death morally acceptable, which is a dip of four per cent. That number rose to 66 per cent for Canadians aged 55 and up.

More than half of the respondents also indicated they believe sexual relations between people of the same sex is acceptable (59 per cent, a three per cent drop), as well as abortion (55 per cent). Forty per cent believe the death penalty is morally acceptable.