STUDY: MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE MEDIA IS DAMAGING MORAL VALUES

Source: Religion Today Sixty-eight percent of Americans say the media have damaged moral values in America, according to a report released Wednesday by the Culture and Media Institute (CMI). The report also concludes that the more a person watches television, the less likely he or she is to believe that the media are influencing the nation’s morals. Other findings in the report include 54 percent who say the news media have a negative impact on moral values; only 11 percent say their impact is positive. 73 percent view the entertainment industry as negative on moral values; only 7 percent say the entertainment industry is having a positive impact. Also apparent, the more a person watches television, the more permissive the attitudes toward issues like sex outside of marriage, abortion and homosexuality, while becoming less likely to value religious principles and obedience to God. David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, said he was not surprised by the results of the study: “I think it’s circular,” he said. “I think that media is both a mirror of society and an influencer of society. I don’t think it’s one or the other. I think it’s both.” Subscribe to Vision News! by Email"