From Harris Interactive:
Political commentators and journalists often use the phrase “moral values” to mean the issues of importance to some conservatives and members of the “Christian Right”, issues such as abortion, gay rights, same-sex marriage and stem cell research. In fact, when the public uses the phrase, only a few people are referring to these issues.
Most people who say that moral values are very important to them in deciding how to vote (46% of all adults) say that what they mean are the characters of the candidates – such as honesty, integrity, trustworthiness and their likelihood of “doing the right thing”.
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Hat tip: Faith in Public Life