After four years marked by heightened economic conservatism and an uptick in social conservatism, more Americans now say they are economically moderate. New highs of 30% of Americans and half of Democrats say they are socially liberal.

Americans' views of the IRS have grown more negative since 2009 -- when Gallup last asked Americans to rate government agencies. Americans rate the IRS least positively of nine federal agencies, and the CDC and FBI most positively.

Seventy-two percent of Americans say moral values in the U.S. are getting worse, while 44% rate the state of moral values as "poor" -- similar to last year. Republicans hold more negative views of morals than Democrats do.

Americans' views toward a number of moral issues have shifted significantly since 2001. But their acceptance of gay and lesbian relations has increased the most, up 19 percentage points in the past 12 years.

Slim majorities of Americans are closely following the situations involving the IRS (54%) and the congressional hearings on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya (53%), although most say both should be investigated.

Americans increasingly believe being gay or lesbian is an orientation individuals are born with (47%) rather than due to external factors such as upbringing or environment (33%). As recently as two years ago, the public was divided.

About half of U.S. adults, 51%, believe most Americans are "pro-choice" on abortion; 35% say "pro-life." The perception that the pro-choice viewpoint prevails contrasts with the nearly even division of Americans' actual abortion views.

Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. is at 24% in May, down from 30% in April and near the 25% average for the first five months of 2013. Democrats' satisfaction is down the most in May.

Fifty-three percent of Americans favor legal same-sex marriage, unchanged from last November and the third consecutive reading of 50% or higher. At the same time, Americans believe the U.S. public opposes gay marriage.