PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans are approaching unanimity in their views of marriages between blacks and whites, with 86% now approving of such unions. Americans' views on interracial marriage have undergone a major transformation in the past five decades. When Gallup first asked about black-white marriages in 1958, 4% approved. More Americans disapproved than approved until 1983, and approval did not exceed the majority level until 1997.

The latest results are based on an Aug. 4-7 USA Today/Gallup poll, which included an oversample of blacks.

Approval of black-white marriages is at a record high among blacks and whites. Blacks have always been more approving than whites of interracial marriage, going back to 1968 when Gallup first was able to report reliable estimates on each group's opinions. However, the gap in approval ratings has narrowed considerably, averaging 13 percentage points since 1997 but 32 points from 1968-1994.

Wide Generation Gap in Views of Black-White Marriage

Approval of black-white marriage is well above the majority level among all key subgroups, though slightly lower among Southerners, Republicans, conservatives, and those with no college education. Senior citizens are the least approving of black-white marriage among major subgroups, at 66%.

Today's older Americans, those aged 50 and older, are much more likely to approve of black-white marriage than people of the same age a generation ago; 78% today vs. 27% in 1991, a 51-point shift. At the same time, there has also been a 33-point increase among 18- to 29-year-olds (64% to 97%) and a 35-point increase among 30- to 49-year-olds (from 56% to 91%) between the two time periods.

The increase in approval of black-white marriage among all Americans, however, is probably more the result of changing attitudes within the population than it is changes in the composition of the population with more socially progressive younger adults replacing less progressive older ones. This is evident from examining the same age cohorts in 1991 and now. Each cohort shows 30 point or more increases in approval of black-white marriage today compared with the same group's attitudes 20 years ago.

However, generational replacement is still a factor as today's younger Americans, who were children or not even born 20 years ago and are nearly unanimous in their approval of black-white marriage, are replacing now-deceased Americans who were generally less likely to approve of interracial marriage when they were alive.

Implications

Americans' acceptance of marriage between people of different races continues to grow and is approaching unanimity, with 86% now approving of marriages between blacks and whites. Widespread approval of interracial marriage is a dramatic shift from roughly 50 years ago when 4% approved, and even 20 years ago, when about half as many approved as do so today.

The trend mimics the growing support for gay marriage -- though Americans are still less likely to accept that practice than interracial marriage. It also follows the trend toward increasing racial tolerance on other measures such as voting for a black president and an increasing belief in progress and equality for blacks in the U.S. more generally.