Studying the role of social change, I investigated trends in approval for euthanasia between cohorts in the United States and how those trends are influenced by cohort replacement and religious attitudes. Using 16 waves from the General Social Survey (1985 to 2014; n = 6,638), I estimated differences in approval ratings between cohorts using logistic regression models. Models accounted for religious preference, religiosity, age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, marital status, and political ideology. Members of the baby boomer cohort are significantly more likely to approve of euthanasia than either their predecessors or successors, suggesting a cohort effect. Individuals who belong to more conservative religious groups and display higher levels of religiosity are less likely to approve. Cohort has a meaningful effect on approval of euthanasia, successors to the baby boomer cohort might increase their approval as their religiosity decreases and their parents and grandparents increasingly face end-of-life decisions.

No abstract