Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 11, 2025 /
17:12 pm
Results of a new Gallup poll reveal an increase in the number of Americans who support policies that prioritize sex over gender identity.
The polling firm surveyed 1,003 U.S. adults from May 1–18, asking them a number of questions related to sex and gender with a margin of sampling error of 4%. When compared with the 2021 and 2023 Gallup research surveys on sex and gender, the new study revealed an increase in the number of Americans who prefer using sex as an identifier rather than “gender identity.”
The most recent poll called “Values and Beliefs” focused on two specific policies related to which team transgender athletes should compete on and how they should identify themselves on government documents.
The results showed that 69% of U.S. adults surveyed believe that “trangender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth gender.” Of the sample, 90% of Republicans agreed with this statement, 72% of independents, and 42% of Democrats.
Slightly fewer Americans agree that “people should be required to list their birth sex on government documents such as driver’s licenses or passports.” The research found that 66% of Americans agreed with this statement and this included 89% of Republicans, 66% of independents, and only 38% of Democrats.
Between 2021 and 2025, Democrats’ and independents’ support for transgender athletes playing on sports teams that align with their “current gender identity” fell by 10 points. The poll found that there was no significant change in Republicans’ support.
The questionnaire also examined Americans’ views on the morality of “changing one’s gender” and found an increase in the number of people who believe it is “morally wrong.” As of 2025, 40% of U.S. adults believe that is “morally acceptable” to change one’s gender, which is six points less than it was in 2021.
Participants’ answers on morality were significantly different based on their designated political parties.
Of those surveyed, 71% of Democrats, 45% of independents, and only 9% of Republicans said that changing one’s gender is “morally acceptable.” Since 2021, Republicans experienced the largest shift with a decline of 13 points of those who find it acceptable.
The poll also found that “Americans are more likely to view gay or lesbian relations as morally acceptable than changing genders.” About 64% said they agreed that being gay is more acceptable, which included 86% of Democrats, 69% of independents, and 38% of Republicans.
Gallup reported that this poll was the first time the survey asked participants what causes “transgender identity.” Half of the participants said they believe transgender identity is due to one’s “upbringing” and “environment” and 30% said people are “born with it.” The rest had no opinion or believe that both are factors.
Republicans are much more likely to agree that “nurture” over “nature” is what leads to someone being transgender. The majority of the party (76%) reported that upbringing and environment cause it, compared with 9% who reported it is “nature” or from birth.
Democrats had less of a drastic difference with 29% believing it is “nurture” and 57% reporting it is “nature.”
Every category studied by Gallup prior to the 2025 study revealed an increase in support of focusing on one’s sex at birth rather than the way a person might identify himself or herself in terms of gender.
Tessa Gervasini is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency.
