Americans Have Essentially Same View Of Marriage As We Did 13 Years Ago, Thanks To Republicans

Slightly more Americans believe that it is “very important” for couples with a child together to marry than did 13 years ago, and Republicans are leading the change, a new Gallup Poll shows.

The rise in this belief comes after a fall in 2020, when it reached an all-time low over the past two decades, according to Gallup’s past polling. In 2026, 39% of Americans said it was “very important” when asked “[w]hen a couple has a child together, how important is it to you that they legally marry?” — which is one point higher than in 2013, when 38% of Americans said the same, per the poll released Friday.

This marks a ten-point rise from 2020 when only 29% said that it was “very important” for couples with children to be married. 

The percentage of Democrats who believe in marriage’s importance for parents has split in half over the past 20 years, going from 42% in 2006 to 21% in 2026. The percentage of Republicans who believe that marriage for parents is “very important” in 2026 was 58%, four percent lower than it was 20 years ago.

However, in 2020, 36% of Republicans believed that it was “very important,” marking a 20-point rise in this sentiment among GOP voters over the past six years. Democrats’ view on this issue, however, has only improved three points in favor of marriage over the same time period — rising from 18% in 2020 to 21% in 2026.

The divide between men’s and women’s belief in the importance of marriage for parents has decreased since 2006. The divide fell from an eight-point difference in 2006, with 53% of men finding it very important and 45% of women, to a one-point difference in 2026, with 40% of men finding it important and 39% of women.

For the first time in 20 years, the percentage of Americans who believe it is “very important” for couples who have a child together to get married has surpassed the percentage of Americans who believe it is “very important” for couples who plan to spend their lives together to get married. Only 37% of Americans find it “very important” for couples planning to spend a life together to get married.

ReconMR conducted the Gallup poll via phone interviews in May, surveying 1,000 U.S. adults. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.