# Public morality > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Public_morality > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Public_morality.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_morality > Source revision: 1272408442 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Differentiating wrong and right as applied to the people}} {{redirect|Public morals|the 1996 sitcom|Public Morals (1996 TV series)|the 2015 television series|Public Morals (2015 TV series)}} {{more sources|date=June 2022}} {{Sex and the law}} '''Public morality''' refers to [moral and ethical standards](/source/morality) enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the [media](/source/Mass_media), and to conduct in [public place](/source/public_place)s. Public morality often means [regulation of sexual matters](/source/sex_and_the_law), including [prostitution](/source/prostitution) and [homosexuality](/source/homosexuality), but also matters of dress and [nudity](/source/nudity), [pornography](/source/pornography), acceptability in social terms of [cohabitation](/source/cohabitation) before [marriage](/source/marriage), and the protection of children. It is a main justification for [censorship](/source/censorship); it can lead to campaigns against [profanity](/source/profanity), and so be at odds with [freedom of speech](/source/freedom_of_speech). [Gambling](/source/Gambling) is generally controlled: [casino](/source/casino)s have been considered much more of a threat than large-scale [lotteries](/source/lotteries) or [football pools](/source/football_pools). [Public drunkenness](/source/Public_drunkenness) is quite unacceptable in some societies, and legal control of consumption of [alcohol](/source/alcohol_(drug)) is often justified in terms of public morality, just as much as for medical reasons or to limit [alcohol-related crime](/source/alcohol-related_crime). Drug legislation, historically speaking, has sometimes followed on similar reasoning. [Abortion](/source/Abortion) is sometimes treated as an aspect of public morality, even if it is legally defined, regulated by medical professionals, and almost entirely hidden from public view. [AIDS](/source/AIDS) as a health policy issue is linked to public morality in a complicated manner. A famous remark on male homosexuality of [Mrs Patrick Campbell](/source/Mrs_Patrick_Campbell), that she did not care what people did as long as they "didn't frighten the horses",*{{cite book |last=Dent |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Dent |year=1961 |title=Mrs. Patrick Campbell |publisher=Museum Press |page=78}} shows that in some sense even high [tolerance](/source/Toleration) expects a ''public'' limitation on behaviour. At the opposite extreme a [theocracy](/source/theocracy) may equate public morality with religious instruction, and give both the equal force of law. Views on public morality do change over time. Public views on which things are acceptable often move towards wider tolerance. Rapid shifts the other way are often characterised by [moral panic](/source/moral_panic)s, as in the shutting down of theatres a generation after [Shakespeare](/source/Shakespeare)'s death by the English [Puritan](/source/Puritan)s. It may also be applied to the ''morals of public life''. [Political corruption](/source/Political_corruption), or the telling of lies in public statements, tarnish not only individual politicians, but the entire conduct of political life, whether at local or national level. These are fairly universally regarded as blots on reputations, though in some cases there is a grey area between corruption and legitimate fund-raising. Whether the private lives of politicians are a public morals issue is not a matter of agreement, internationally speaking; the existence of an extramarital relationship of a prime minister or even a president would in some countries be considered a revelation well within the sphere of the [public interest](/source/public_interest), while in other countries it would be considered quite irrelevant. ==See also== *[Family values](/source/Family_values) * [Islamic religious police](/source/Islamic_religious_police) * [Moral panic](/source/Moral_panic) * [Morality](/source/Morality) * [Public-order crime](/source/Public-order_crime) * [Social conservatism](/source/Social_conservatism) * [Victorian morality](/source/Victorian_morality) ==References== {{reflist}} {{Conservatism navbox}} {{Social philosophy}} Category:Morality Category:Sociological terminology Morality --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Public morality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_morality) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_morality?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.