Overview

Centrism has emerged as a dominant factor in public opinion as the Obama era begins. The political values and core attitudes that the Pew Research Center has monitored since 1987 show little overall ideological movement. Republicans and Democrats are even more divided than in the past, while the growing political middle is steadfastly mixed in its beliefs about government, the free market and other values that underlie views on contemporary issues and policies. Nor are there indications of a continuation of the partisan realignment that began in the Bush years. Both political parties have lost adherents since the election and an increasing number of Americans identify as independents.

Click here to view a full-page Flash display, detailing the 70-year trend in party identification. The proportion of independents now equals its highest level in 70 years. Owing to defections from the Republican Party, independents are more conservative on several key issues than in the past. While they like and approve of Barack Obama, as a group independents are more skittish than they were two years ago about expanding the social safety net and are reluctant backers of greater government involvement in the private sector. Yet at the same time, they continue to more closely parallel the views of Democrats rather than Republicans on the most divisive core beliefs on social values, religion and national security.

While the Democrats gained a sizable advantage in partisan affiliation during George Bush’s presidency, their numbers slipped between December 2008 and April 2009, from 39% to 33%. Republican losses have been a little more modest, from 26% to 22%, but this represents the lowest level of professed affiliation with the GOP in at least a quarter century. Moreover, on nearly every dimension the Republican Party is at a low ebb – from image, to morale, to demographic vitality.

By contrast, the percentage of self-described political independents has steadily climbed, on a monthly basis, from 30% last December to 39% in April. Taking an average of surveys conducted this year, 36% say they are independents, 35% are Democrats, while 23% are Republicans. On an annual basis, the only previous year when independent identification has been this high was in 1992 when Ross Perot ran a popular independent candidacy.

As has been the case in recent years, more independents “lean” Democratic than Republican (17% vs. 12%). Yet an increasing share of independents describe their views as conservative; in surveys conducted this year, 33% of independents say they are conservatives, up from 28% in 2007 and 26% in 2005. Again, this ideological change is at least in part a consequence of former Republicans moving into the ranks of independents.

The latest values survey, conducted March 31-April 21 among 3,013 adults reached on landlines and cell phones, finds that there has been no consistent movement away from conservatism, nor a shift toward liberalism – despite the decline in Republican identification. In fact, fewer Americans say the government has a fundamental responsibility to provide a safety net than did so two years ago, and the share supporting increased help for the needy, even if the debt increases, has declined.

Yet more broadly, the public remains conflicted about government’s role. This is abundantly clear when it comes to opinions about health care: There is overwhelming agreement (86%) that the government needs to do more to make health care affordable and accessible. However, nearly half (46%) say they are concerned about the government becoming too involved in health care.

The public continues to be of two minds in its opinions about both government and business. Business generally, as well as Wall Street specifically, is viewed as playing a vital role in American society, but both are viewed as excessively concerned with amassing profits. In addition, although support for government assistance to the poor has declined, opinions about the government itself – whether it is wasteful and inefficient, whether it is run for the benefit of all – have moved in a positive direction.

Independents’ Views Determinative

Republicans and Democrats hold increasingly divergent views about the role of government, the environment and many other issues. As the partisan divide widens, the overall course of the public’s thinking is being determined by the tilt in opinions among the growing number of independents, who have a more moderate ideological point of view.

The political values of independents are mixed and run counter to orthodox liberal and conservative thinking about government. Over the past two years, both Republicans and independents have become more wary of expanding the social safety net. However, most independents join with most Democrats in saying that a free market economy needs government regulation to best serve the public interest. In effect, the public’s two-mindedness about government is a product of the way that independents, not partisans, think.

But independents continue to be much closer to Democrats than to Republicans with respect to social values, religiosity and beliefs about national security. Indices measuring the relative position of Republicans, Democrats and independents in these three areas show that the views of independents and Democrats have consistently been aligned, while Republicans continue to take a substantially more conservative position. (For more on partisan divides over values and where independents fit, see Section 11.)

Today’s GOP: Smaller, Slightly More Conservative

An analysis of 2009 data finds little evidence that as the number of Republicans has decreased in recent years they have become a much more conservative group. Two-thirds of Republicans (66%) describe their political views as conservative, which is up from 60% in 2000 and three points higher than in 2004 (63%). The percentage of Republicans who are white evangelical Protestants has not increased since 2004. And in general the values held by Republicans have not grown markedly more conservative over the past few years.

What is clear is that the Republican Party is facing formidable demographic challenges. Its constituents are aging and do not reflect the growing ethnic and racial diversity of the general public. As was the case at the beginning of this decade, Republicans are predominantly non-Hispanic whites (88%). Among Democrats, the proportion of non-Hispanic whites has declined from 64% in 2000 to 56%, as Latinos and people from other racial backgrounds have joined the ranks of the Democrats. At the same time, the average age of Republicans increased from 45.5 to 48.3, while the average age of Democrats has remained fairly stable. For the first time in at least two decades, Republicans are older than Democrats on average.

Republicans continue to be disproportionately comprised of Southerners (39%) and white evangelical Protestants (35%). However, these figures are largely unchanged from 2004 and up only slightly since 2000 as the GOP has lost supporters across all regions and religious groups.

The latest values survey also finds Republicans somewhat less optimistic in these tough economic times. The percentage of Republicans expressing satisfaction with their financial situation has fallen 20 points since 2007 – from 81% to 61%. Meanwhile, the changes among Democrats and independents have been more modest. About half of Democrats (49%) and independents (52%) say they are “pretty well satisfied” with their personal finances.

Similarly, fewer Republicans agree that are no “real limits to growth” in the United States than at any point in more than a decade; 60% say that now, down from 70% two years ago. There has been little movement in the views of Democrats (53% in 2009) or independents (54%).

Republicans also are increasingly critical of their own party. Just 24% of Republicans say their party is doing an excellent or good job of standing up for its traditional positions on such things as reducing the size of government, cutting taxes and promoting social values. In 2004, fully two-thirds (67%) give Republican Party high marks for standing up for its traditional positions. Positive evaluations of the GOP’s advocacy of its traditional positions have fallen more sharply among conservative Republicans than among than among moderate and liberal Republicans.

By comparison, Democrats offer substantially higher assessments of their party’s performance today than they have in recent years. Currently, 61% of Democrats say the party is doing an excellent or good job standing up for its traditional positions on such things as protecting the interests or minorities, helping the poor and needy, and representing working people. As recently as 2007, just 43% of Democrats expressed positive views about the party’s advocacy of its traditional positions. (For more on the political parties, see Section 1.)

Partisan Gap Widest Ever

The overall gap between the two parties in opinions about political values – which increased in 2003 – has hit another new high, with widening differences emerging over the government’s overall performance and its responsibilities to the poor. In the wake of the election, Republicans have swung to a much more critical view of government while more Democrats take a positive view than at any previous point in the 22-year history of this study.

Fully 75% of Republicans today say that government regulation of business does more harm than good, up from 57% two years ago. About the same number (74%) say when something is run by the government it is usually inefficient and wasteful, up from 61% in 2007. In both cases, Republican skepticism of government is now as great or greater than in 1994, prior to the GOP takeover of Congress. By contrast, the proportions of Democrats who are critical of government regulation of business and see the government as usually inefficient and wasteful have fallen sharply since 2007. (For more on the partisan divide, see Section 11.)

Public Not Turning Inward

There is no sign that the public is turning inward in response to difficult economic times. A larger share of Americans – and especially Democrats – completely agree that the U.S. should play an active role in world affairs.

Support for free trade agreements has actually increased over the past year (from 35% to 44%), and a majority (63%) continues to favor allowing illegal immigrants in the United States to gain citizenship if they meet certain conditions. The public remains divided over whether a strong military is the best way to ensure peace; a majority of independents (53%) now concur with this sentiment.

As other Pew Research Center surveys this year have found, however, the public clearly believes that domestic concerns should take precedence over foreign matters. More than three-quarters of Americans (78%) agree that “we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home.” Yet that percentage is no higher than it has been the past two values surveys, in 2007 and 2003.

While opinions about global engagement and foreign affairs have not been affected by the recession, this is not the case with respect to environmental attitudes. The public continues to broadly support stricter environmental laws and regulation, but its willingness to pay higher prices, and suffer slower economic growth for the sake of environmental protection has declined substantially from two years ago.

In the new poll, 51% agree that protecting the environment should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth and some job losses, down from 66% in 2007. At the same time, the share saying that people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment has dropped from 60% in 2007 to 49% currently. This represents a 17-year low point on this measure. Surprisingly, declines since 2007 in support for economic sacrifices to protect the environment have been particularly large among young people and political independents.

The public remains broadly supportive of a variety of options for addressing the nation’s energy supply – 82% favor increased funding for research on wind, solar and other alternatives, while 68% say more offshore oil and gas drilling should be permitted. The idea of expanding nuclear energy continues to be more contentious (45% favor/48% oppose); 60% of college graduates favor increased use of nuclear power.

Economy Demotes Moral Values

The values survey finds wide political and religious differences over traditional values and social policy issues, such as gay marriage. However, issues relating to religion and morality clearly have less political punch than during the 2004 election. The current survey finds that just 10% say they would consider moral values as the most important issue in their vote in a hypothetical presidential election.

In the 2004 presidential election, both the National Election Pool’s exit poll and a Pew Research Center post-election survey found a plurality of voters naming “moral values” as the most important issue in their vote. The Pew Research survey found 27% picking moral values as their top issue.

As the proportion citing moral values as most important has declined sharply since 2004, the economy and jobs have come to dominate the public’s concerns: 50% now point to the economy as most important compared with 21% of voters in the 2004 post-election survey. The percentages citing education and healthcare also are much higher than in November 2004.

Moreover, over the past decade there has been erosion in the percentage of Americans holding conservative views on family, homosexuality and gender roles. The decline in social conservatism is a result of generational change. Younger age cohorts are less conservative than older ones: Both of the younger age cohorts, Generation Y and Generation X, are less conservative than the Baby Boomers. The Silent Generation is the most conservative of all. Within age cohorts, changes over time in social conservatism have been very modest, indicating that the societal change in these values is mostly a consequence of newer generations replacing older ones.

Changing Views Among African Americans

Following the election of Obama, blacks now have a more positive view of American society. Compared with 2007, there has been a striking increase in the proportion of blacks who agree that “as Americans we can always find a way to solve our problems and get what we want.” More than six-in-ten (62%) blacks now agree with this statement, up from 41% two years ago.

In addition, blacks offer a more positive opinion about voting: 75% agree that voting “gives people like me some say about how government runs things,” up from 63% in 2007. Whites’ views are somewhat more negative than they were two years ago. And fewer blacks and whites alike say that the nation is divided into “haves” and “have-nots.”

Yet the changes have been far less dramatic in measures specifically relating to race and racial progress. Fewer African Americans than in 2007 say there has been little improvement in the position of blacks, yet there have been comparable changes among whites and Hispanics; far more African Americans than whites or Hispanics continue to believe that there has not been much improvement in the status of blacks.

Moreover, just 30% of African Americans believe that discrimination against blacks is rare, which is little changed from 2007 (26%). And the survey also finds a large and continuing racial gap on the issue of whether blacks and other minorities should be given preferential treatment to improve their situation.

Roadmap to the Report

Section 1, which begins on page 11, describes long-term changes in party identification and provides a detailed examination of the shifts in the size and composition of the two parties. Section 2 (p. 29) details the public’s views about the government and the social safety net. Section 3 (p. 41) covers public attitudes toward business, Wall Street and labor unions. Section 4 (p. 45) covers opinions about religion and social issues. Section 5 (p. 55) describes changing attitudes toward race and race relations. Section 6 (p. 61) discusses the public’s views about foreign policy and national security. Section 7 (p. 69) examines the public’s confidence in the American people, satisfaction with personal finances and perceptions of inequality are covered in. Section 8 (p. 77) covers opinions about politics, the responsiveness of elected officials and voting. Public views about the environment and energy priorities are discussed in Section 9 (p. 83). Section 10 (p. 91) covers opinions about the online sharing of personal information, science and technology, and civil liberties. Finally, Section 11, which begins on p. 97, provides a historical overview of trends in the public’s values; it shows where partisan differences over values have widened, and how independents’ values have changed.

The Republican Party is in the weakest position it has been in two decades of Pew Research Center polling. Interviews with more than 7,000 respondents nationwide so far this year found just 23% identifying themselves as Republicans. This is down from 25% in 2008 and 30% as recently as 2004. In total, the GOP has lost roughly a quarter of its base over the past five years.

But these Republican losses have not translated into clear Democratic gains. So far in 2009, 35% of adults nationwide identify as Democrats, about the same as in 2008 (36%). While GOP identification has fallen seven points since 2004, the Democrats have only gained two points over that period. Instead, a growing number of Americans describe themselves as independents, 36% in 2009 compared with just 32% in 2008 and 30% in 2004.

Democrats do hold a clear edge among independent voters. The share of Americans who shun a major party label but say that they currently “lean” toward the Democratic Party has risen from 13% in 2004 to 17% today. Meanwhile, the share leaning toward the GOP has remained relatively flat. When these leaners are combined with partisans, the Democrats hold an overwhelming 53% to 36% edge over the Republicans.

70 Years of Party Identification

While these changes are substantial and significant, a broader historical perspective shows that they are not unprecedented. A comprehensive aggregation of nationwide Gallup Organization surveys conducted between 1939 and 1989 shows not only that the current partisan gap is far from the largest on record, but also that the country has experienced rapid changes in the balance of party identification prior to the current era.

For example, while the GOP has lost seven points in party identification in just the last five years, the Democrats lost fully nine points in the two-year period from 1983 to 1985 around Ronald Reagan’s reelection. The Democrats also lost nine points in identification between 1964 and 1967, from a peak of 51% in the year after John F. Kennedy’s assassination to 42% in 1967 after the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts shattered the Democratic Party’s dominance in the South.

The Republican Party has also experienced declines in party identification in the past that rival the current period. Between 1944 and 1949 GOP identification fell six points from 38% to 32%, and it fell six points from 27% in 1970 to 21% in 1975 following the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon’s resignation.

While the current period of change is not unprecedented, the GOP figures are nearing historic lows. With only 23% of Americans identifying as Republicans in the first four months of 2009, this is the lowest figure since the all-time low of 21% for the party reached in 1975, 1977 and 1979.

One of the factors that distinguishes the current period of partisan transition from others is that the GOP losses are not translating into Democratic gains. By contrast, in the short period from 1983 to 1985 the nine-point decline in Democratic identification was matched by an eight-point Republican gain. Combined, this short period represents by far the most substantial reshaping of the partisan landscape, as a 19-point Democratic edge shrank to just two points.

Similarly, between 1956 and 1961 the Democratic Party gained eight points, nearly matched by a five-point drop in Republican identification. As a result, a 10-point edge for the Democrats at the start of this period grew to a 23-point edge in Kennedy’s first year in office.

The closest historical parallel to the current pattern of one party losing ground while the other made only limited gains was during the Johnson administration. In just the three years between 1964 and 1967, Democratic Party identification fell nine points, but the GOP gained only two points.

The other striking factor in the long term trend in party identification is the record number of political independents in 2009 – 36% of Americans describe themselves this way. The only previous year in which independent identification was this high was in 1992 when Ross Perot ran a widely popular independent party candidacy. The number of independents had dropped as low as 29% as recently as 2001.

The Bush Legacy in Perspective

While there is no doubt that the Republican Party’s public appeal suffered between George W. Bush’s first year in office and his last, the magnitude of the change is well below that experienced by two of his presidential predecessors – Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan. From his first year in office to his last, Johnson saw the share of Americans identifying as Democrats plummet. A two-to-one Democratic advantage in 1964 (51% vs. 25% Republican) was cut nearly in half by 1968. Reagan’s tenure was nearly as bad for the Democratic Party, as a 14-point Democratic edge in his first year faded to just five by his last. And this probably understates Reagan’s overall legacy, as GOP identification had already spiked four points (and Democratic identification fallen four points) between 1980 and 1981.

But the changes in party affiliation between George W. Bush’s first and last year were not insubstantial. A four-point decline in GOP identification and two-point Democratic gain left a fundamentally different landscape during the 2008 election to decide his successor. By this measure, the Bush years were comparable to the Nixon years, when the GOP lost four points in identification between 1969 and 1974 and the Democrats gained three.

A Shift in Affiliation, but Not Ideology

The recent losses suffered by the Republican Party do not appear to be the result of a fundamental ideological break from the past. In more than 7,000 interviews conducted in the first four months of 2009, 37% of Americans describe themselves as politically conservative – roughly double the number who say they are liberal (19%). This ratio has remained largely stable over the past nine years, even while the balance of party affiliation has changed substantially.

This stability in self-reported ideology is confirmed by a fundamental stability in overall political and social values. Whether by choice or circumstance, Barack Obama is pursuing a fundamentally different path than his predecessor in terms of economic, domestic and foreign policy. Yet there is no commensurate sea-change in public values. In particular, while partisans are more divided, the overall balance of public opinion regarding the proper role of government has shifted only slightly, and there is little evidence of a “populist backlash” against big business or the efficacy of the free market.

The Republican Party has lost ground in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate as well as nationwide, and by most accounts the party has lost many of its more moderate representatives, leaving the remaining membership far more conservative on balance. It is not at all clear that the shift in party identification among the general public follows the same pattern, as both conservatives and moderates are leaving the party in roughly equal shares. In 2004, when 30% of Americans called themselves Republicans, 19% identified as conservatives and 11% as moderates or liberals. There are far fewer moderate Republicans today – just 8% of Americans describe themselves this way. But there are far fewer Conservative Republicans as well – 15% down from 19% five years ago.

It appears that most of these ex-Republicans now call themselves political independents, swelling the size of the independent group and shifting its ideological balance toward the right. From 2000 through 2005, roughly 30% of Americans called themselves political independents – about half described themselves as politically moderate, with the remainder divided about evenly between liberal and conservative viewpoints. Today, 36% of Americans call themselves independents, and with more moderates and conservatives in the ranks the ideological balance has shifted. While half continue to describe themselves as moderate, conservative independents now outnumber liberal independents by two-to-one (12% vs. 6%).

As discussed above, the overall size of the Democratic Party has not changed substantially in recent years. The balance of self-reported ideology within the party has also remained fairly stable. Just under a third of the party’s membership – 11% of Americans overall – describe themselves as liberal Democrats. Another 8% overall call themselves conservative Democrats, and 15% describe themselves as moderate Democrats.

GOP Losing both Conservatives and Moderates

The evidence that the Republican Party has been losing both conservatives and moderates at an equally fast pace is clear. As recently as 2005, more than half (52%) of self-described conservatives identified with the Republican Party. Today, just 41% continue to do so, while the share of conservatives describing themselves as independents has risen from 22% to 32%. The increasing rejection of the GOP by many on the right reaches even into the most conservative Americans. Roughly 7% of Americans describe their ideological outlook as “very conservative”. Four years ago, 59% of these very conservative people identified with the Republican Party. Fewer than half (47%) do so today.

The GOP has lost moderate support as well. The share of self-described moderates who identify with the GOP has fallen from 23% in 2005 to 16% today. The shift, again, is toward being independent – today 43% of moderates identify as independent, up from 36% four years ago. The Democratic Party is making no gains among either moderates or conservatives – the share of both identifying as Democrats is virtually unchanged. But the share of liberals who think of themselves as Democrats has increased sharply from a low of 47% in 2002 to 59% in both 2008 and 2009.

Another way of looking at the relationship between partisanship and ideology is to focus on the balance of ideology within the partisan groups. In other words, rather than asking how many conservatives think of themselves as Republican we can ask how many Republicans think of themselves as conservative. The answer is that the GOP base is a bit more conservative today than it was in 2000, but only marginally so. While the share of Republicans who think of themselves as politically conservative rose steadily from 60% to 68% between 2000 and 2008, it has dipped downward to 65% in 2009 due to the defection of a number of self-described conservatives this year. As such, the GOP is not significantly more conservative today than it was in 2004 or 2005.

Meanwhile, due to the arrival of so many lapsed Republicans, independents are more politically conservative than they have been in a decade. Currently, 33% of independent describe themselves as conservative, up from a low of 26% in 2005.

The share of Democrats who describe themselves as politically liberal had increased gradually from 28% in 2000 to a high of 34% in the 2008 election year. But the party has become no more liberal since –32% of Democrats think of themselves as liberal so far in 2009.

Religion and Party Identification

White evangelical Protestants have made up one of the most reliable Republican voting blocs in recent elections, yet even here GOP identification is slipping. Between 2000 and 2004 the GOP had attracted substantial support from non-Hispanic white evangelicals – the share identifying with the party rose from 42% to 50% over this time. But in 2009 the share of white evangelicals identify with the Republican Party has fallen back to 42%. Consistent with the overall pattern elsewhere, Democrats are not attracting support among white evangelicals – an all-time low of just 20% of white evangelicals identify as Democrats. Instead, white evangelicals are increasingly choosing an independent affiliation (33% today up from 23% in 2004).

GOP fortunes have slipped slightly among white mainline Protestants and white Catholics as well, with slim pluralities of both groups today describing themselves as politically independent. Democrats have made no substantial gains among any of these large religious groups, though the Americans who have no religious affiliation are increasingly favoring the Democratic Party and avoiding the GOP.

Because Republican Party identification has ebbed across the board, the religious profile of the remaining GOP members is largely unchanged in recent years. Roughly a third (35%) of Republicans are white evangelical Protestants, just under a quarter (23%) are white mainline Protestants, and slightly below a fifth (18%) are white Catholics. None of these figures has changed significantly from 2004.

GOP Continues to Lag in Racial & Ethnic Diversity

While the American public becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, the Republican Party continues to lag far behind in drawing support from minority groups. According to Census figures, the share of adults who are white, non-Hispanic has fallen from roughly 73% in 2000 to an estimated 68% in 2009, while minorities make up the other 32% of the nation’s adults. Yet few of these minorities are drawn to the Republican Party. In 2009, 88% of Republicans are white, unchanged from 2000 and far above the national total. By comparison, the share of Democrats who are white has fallen from 64% in 2000 to 56% today. The rest of the Democrats are non-Hispanic African Americans (22%), Hispanic (15%) or of another racial minority (6%).

Not surprisingly, the racial and ethnic profile of independents is nearly a cross section of the American adult population – 72% of independents are white and 12% are Hispanic. Just 7% of independents are non-Hispanic African Americans – lower than the national total because Blacks remain overwhelmingly Democratic in party identification.

The Gender Gap

Fewer men and women identify with the Republican Party today than at any point in the past two decades. With this decline, a record proportion of men today consider themselves independents and the share of women who identify as Democrats has also grown to a two-decade high.

Over the past 20 years men have consistently been more likely than women to identify as independents, and independents have made up the plurality among men in every year since 1990. As Republican identification has dropped in recent years, the tendency of men to call themselves independents has increased substantially. Today, just 24% of men call themselves Republicans, down seven points from 31% in 2004 and the lowest in at least two decades. Meanwhile, the share calling themselves independents has spiked upward from 34% to 42% – a record high – with virtually no change in the proportion calling themselves Democrats.

This pattern is even more dramatic when the analysis is limited to white men. The share of white men identifying as Republicans has fallen from 37% in 2004 to just 29% today, with the number of independents increasing by 10 points (from 33% to a new high of 43%). As a result, white men make up no larger a proportion of the GOP base today than in recent years.

The recent trend in partisanship among women is somewhat different. A similar decline in Republican identification (from 28% in 2004 to 22% now) has been met with growth in both the number of independent and Democratic women. The share of women who identify themselves as Democrats has risen to 41%, up 3 points since 2004. This is the largest percentage of women identifying with the Democratic Party in the past two decades. The share of women identifying as independents is also up slightly from 27% in 2004 to 31% today.

These shifts in how men and women identify themselves has meant that the gender gap in GOP identification has virtually disappeared (24% of men, 22% of women), but the 13-point gender gap in Democratic identification (28% of men, 41% of women) is the largest in 20 years.

Republicans Getting Older

For most of the past 20 years Republicans have, on average, been younger than Democrats. This was largely the result of generational patterns of party identification – with the New Deal generation and older Baby Boomers leaning overwhelmingly Democratic and a younger Generation X that came of age during the Reagan administration favoring the GOP. But since 2008 the average Republican is now older than the average Democrat – reflecting the aging of key Republican constituencies and the overwhelming Democratic leaning of the youngest generation of Americans.

As the adult population has aged in recent decades – due to longer lifespans and the aging of the Baby Boom, the average age of both Republicans and independents has increased. But the Democratic Party has evaded the tide due to the substantial influx of younger adults. Overall, the average age of Republicans has increased from 44 in 1990 to 48 in 2009 and the share of Republican 50 and older has increased from 36 to 46 over this same period. Independents are also getting older; the average age has increased from 41 in 1990 to nearly 44 in 2009 and the percent age 50 and older has increased 9 points to 37% today. Meanwhile, the average age of Democrats has remained unchanged (around 47) and the share age 50 and older rose only slightly from 42 to 44 since 1990.

No Regional Dominance

Republican Party identification is at its lowest point in the past 20 years in every region of the country. Since 2004, the GOP has lost at least five points in each major region, while the share identifying as independents has increased by at least five points. Democratic party identification has been relatively stable in most parts of the country, though it has continued to increase gradually in the Northeast.

In the Northeast, Democrats now outnumber Republicans by nearly two-to-one; 38% consider themselves Democrats compared with only 20% who identify as Republican. This represents a substantial widening of an already substantial Democratic advantage (35% vs. 26%) in 2004. While the Democrats have held the edge in the Northeast for a number of years, this has not always been the case. As recently as the early 1990s, there was virtually no gap in party identification in this region, and the balance of party identification was no more favorable to the Democrats in the Northeast than in the rest of the country.

Currently, 35% of Southerners consider themselves Democrats, 34% say they are independents and only a quarter (25%) identify with the GOP. This is the largest Democratic advantage in party identification in the South since 1993, though the gap is due to Republican losses not Democratic gains. The share of Republicans in the South is down 6 points from 31% in 2004. These GOP losses are similar even when the analysis is limited to states in the Deep South or limited only to southern whites. Because the losses in the South are comparable to other parts of the country, Republican Party membership is not significantly more tilted to the South today than in the past. Just under four-in-ten (39%) Republicans live in the South in 2009 compared with 38% in 2004.

Party by Income

Party identification is strongly linked to family income levels – people in the highest income households are roughly twice-as-likely as those in the lowest income households to say they are Republicans. But over the past decade, the Republican Party has also lost adherents across all income levels while Democratic identification has remained fairly stable. A greater proportion of people in every income category are identifying as independents.

As recently as 2004 the Republican Party held an 11-point advantage (39% vs. 28% Democrat) in party identification among people in the top 20% income group (with family incomes of roughly $100,000 or more in 2009 dollars). This advantage has virtually disappeared in 2009. Today, 35% of high-income Americans say they are independents while 32% identify with the GOP and 30% with the Democratic Party.

Democrats continue to have a wide advantage among those with incomes in the lowest quintile (under $20,000 in 2009 dollars). In 2009, 42% of lower income Americans consider themselves Democrats – virtually unchanged in recent years – while just 15% are Republicans, down slightly from 19% four years ago. But in the next income level up (those earning between $20,000 and $40,000 in 2009 dollars) the GOP’s decline has been particularly sharp. In 2004, the Democrats held a 13-point edge within this income group (38% vs. 25% Republican). Today, that has opened up to a 24-point lead (40% vs. 16%) as Republican identification has dropped off by 9 points.

The Republican Party’s Image

Beyond the Republicans’ losses in partisan affiliation, other measures show that that the GOP has a serious image problem. Favorability ratings of the Republican Party remain far lower than ratings of the Democratic Party, and have fallen off even among Republicans.

The overall public assessment of the Republican Party remains generally negative. By a 51% to 40% margin, more Americans express an unfavorable view of the GOP than a favorable opinion. Not only do three- quarters (75%) of Democrats view the Republican Party unfavorably, but the balance of opinion among independents is also more unfavorable (48%) than favorable (41%).

And even within the shrinking ranks of the GOP itself, fewer have good things to say about the party overall. Typically, both the Democratic and Republican parties receive favorable assessments from roughly nine-in-ten people within their party. Today, 79% of Republicans offer a favorable assessment of the GOP – down from 88% two years ago and 91% in 2004. The share of Republicans who have an unfavorable view of their own party has more than doubled from 8% in January 2007 to 18% today.

Republican frustration with their party is even more apparent when they are asked to rate how the party is doing standing up for traditional Republican issues such as reducing the size of government, cutting taxes and promoting conservative social values. Currently, just 24% of Republicans say the GOP is doing an excellent or good job in this respect, down sharply from 38% last September. As recently as April 2006, 53% of Republicans gave positive ratings to their party.

These negative assessments cross ideological lines within the GOP – fewer than a quarter of both conservative Republicans (23%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (24%) give the party positive marks for standing up for its traditional political positions. The decline in satisfaction with the party has been sharpest within the conservative base. In November of 2006 – just following the Democratic Party’s midterm victories – 53% of conservative Republicans gave their party excellent or good ratings, compared with just 34% of moderate and liberal Republicans. Since then, satisfaction has fallen 30 points among conservatives and 10 points among moderates and liberals.

Meanwhile, Democrats offer substantially higher assessments of their party’s performance today than they have in years. Currently, 61% of Democrats say the party is doing an excellent or good job standing up for its traditional positions on such things as protecting the interests of minorities, helping the poor and needy, and representing working people. This is up from 54% last September, and a low of 38% in June 2006. The last time Democrats offered such a positive assessment of their party was when Bill Clinton was still president. In September 2000, 67% of Democrats felt the party was doing well standing up for its traditional positions.

Liberal Democrats offer stronger assessments of the party’s performance than do moderates and conservatives within the party. Two-thirds (67%) of liberal Democrats say they party is doing an excellent or good job standing up for its traditional positions, compared with 58% of moderate and conservative Democrats. This is a reversal from a few years ago. In November 2006, 52% of moderate and conservative Democrats offered a positive assessment of the party compared with just 40% of liberal Democrats.

The public takes a somewhat less cynical view of government today than it did in 2007. Americans are less likely to say that government is wasteful and inefficient (57%, compared with 62% in 2007) and more likely to believe that government is “really run for the benefit of all the people” (49%, compared with 45% in 2007). In addition, fewer Americans now say government controls too much of our daily lives or that the federal government should run only those things that cannot be run at the local level.

Despite these more positive attitudes about government responsiveness and effectiveness, there has not been a commensurate shift in support for a broader government mandate. In fact, public support for a government safety net for the poor has receded from a recent high in 2007. The share that believes that it is the government’s responsibility to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves has dropped from 69% two years ago to 63% today, and there have been comparable declines across other items related to government assistance to the needy.

These short-term shifts in support for the social safety net mark a return to baseline levels of support from a peak in 2007 rather than a sea change in beliefs about the government’s responsibility to the poor. The current tenor of public sentiment about the safety net remains much more supportive than it was in 1994, when public backing of social welfare programs was at an all-time low.

Similarly, views of government are more positive than they were in 1994. In the months prior to the 1994 Republican congressional victories, public cynicism about the role of government grew to record levels. By contrast, public sentiment about government today is among the most positive seen since 1987 (although it remains less positive than in the two years after September 11, 2001). Partisan divisions about both the social safety net and the broader role of government are among the largest observed in the last two decades. Democrats remain supportive of the safety net and are highly optimistic about government, while Republican opposition to the safety net and cynicism about government now match levels last seen in 1994. As a result of these large partisan gaps, independents – a growing group – now find themselves further away from both parties on these issues than they have been throughout most of the past two decades.

Less Cynicism about Government

Two years ago, the Pew Research Center’s 2007 values study found public skepticism about government rising to the highest levels measured since the mid-1990s. These critical views have abated in the current survey. While a majority of Americans continues to say that the federal government controls too much of daily life (55%), this is down from 64% two years ago. Similarly, the share saying that things run by the government are usually inefficient and wasteful has dropped from 62% to 57% over this period.

The ebb-and-flow of public sentiment about government over the past 22 years is particularly clear in evaluations of whether “the government is really run for the benefit of all of the people.” Currently, 49% say it is, up from a recent low of 45% in 2007. Positive ratings of the government reached a recent peak of 55% in 2002 – in the year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks – and 57% in 1987 and 1989. The most skeptical evaluations of government came in July 1994, when only 42% said government was really run for the benefit of all the people and 57% said it was not, and again in 2007.

Partisan Views of Government

The improved ratings of government responsiveness and performance largely reflect the overwhelmingly positive responses of Democrats, but also somewhat more favorable assessments than in 2007 from independents as well. On a number of items, Democrats today express more positive views of government than at any other point in the last 22 years. This spike in positive assessments among Democrats has been matched by a countervailing negative trend among Republicans. In fact, Republican skepticism about government is now at its highest level since 1994, the last point when the party was out of power in both Congress and the White House. As a result, the current partisan gaps on many measures of satisfaction with government are now more pronounced than at any other point in the last two decades, with independents almost squarely in the middle.

The current shift in opinion is consistent with a long-standing pattern of partisan change in opinion following changes in party control. In general, people tend to hold more favorable opinions of government when their party is in control of the presidency. In 2007, about six-in-ten (61%) Republicans said that government was run for the benefit of all people, while just 40% of Democrats said the same. Today, those sentiments are reversed – 60% of Democrats say the government is run for the benefit of all, while just 41% of Republicans agree. Independents, typically skeptical about government responsiveness regardless of the party in power, remain so today; just 44% of independents now say government is run for the benefit of all.

Specific questions about the efficiency and appropriate role of government reflect even greater partisan differences. Because Republicans tend to be more skeptical about the role of government than Democrats, partisan opinions on these items tend to converge during times of Republican rule and diverge when Democrats are in office. Prior to now, the greatest partisan difference was in 1994, when Democrats last controlled both the Congress and the White House.

But current partisan differences exceed even those seen in the early years of Bill Clinton’s presidency. For the first time, substantially fewer than half (42%) of Democrats now believe that when the government runs something “it is usually wasteful and inefficient”; at the same time, nearly three-quarters of Republicans currently say they view the government as inefficient, near the record high (77%) proportion who said this in 1994. This 32-point gap is among the largest seen across all the values items in this survey today and substantially larger than at any point in the last few decades, including in 1994. By comparison, the 1994 partisan gap in views of government inefficiency was 19 points.

Partisan views of the federal government’s role in daily life largely mirror those of government inefficiency. Today, a 30-point gap exists between Republicans and Democrats on the belief that the “federal government controls too much of our daily lives” (72% of Republicans agree, compared with just 42% of Democrats). The largest gap seen before today, in 1994, had been 19 points (78% vs. 59%).

The increased partisan polarization on these questions is particularly evident in the shift among each party’s moderates. Whereas in past years differences between conservative and moderate Democrats and moderate and liberal Republicans were modest, today the perspectives on government among those in these groups more closely reflect those of their party’s ideological wings. Today, two-thirds (67%) of moderate and liberal Republicans describe the government as wasteful and inefficient, as do 77% of conservative Republicans. Among

Democrats, only 44% of conservatives and moderates hold this view, little different than the 39% of liberal Democrats who say the same.

While the partisan gap in evaluations of government has widened this year, independent opinion has undergone relatively little change. As a result, historically large gaps now exist between the opinions of independents and those of both Democrats and Republicans in their views about the effectiveness of government.

Blacks, Hispanics More Optimistic About Government

African American opinions about government are now significantly more upbeat than in recent years. Half of blacks now see the government as being run for the benefit of all Americans – a shift from the more cynical views of government held by African Americans during the Bush administration and a return to those held during the Clinton administration.

Blacks are also now much more likely than they were during the Bush administration to reject the view that the federal government controls too much (only 46% agree with this statement today, compared with 62% in both 2002 and 2003). In contrast, opinions among whites have shifted little over this period. However, as with all Americans, the relative stability of opinions among whites overall belies significant partisan differences; the shift in opinion about government among white Democrats largely mirrors the one seen among their African American counterparts.

Younger Americans Remain Less Skeptical

As has been the case for much of the last 22 years, younger Americans are less cynical about government than older Americans. However, this age gap is now larger than it has been since the 1990s. Currently, nearly six-in-ten (59%) of those younger than 30 say the government is run for the benefit of all the people, a nine-point increase since 2007. Opinions of those in older age groups have remained largely stable over the last two years.

This shift among the young is largely driven by change among younger non-white Americans. Among white non-Hispanic people younger than 30, 55% now say the government is run for all of the people, about as many as held this opinion in 2007 (56%).

Younger people also stand out for being less skeptical than older Americans about government efficiency. Since the first values survey in 1987, the gap between the percentage of those 65 and older who see the government as wasteful and inefficient and the percentage of those younger than 30 expressing this view has never dropped below 18 points. Today, only 43% of those under 30 say the government is inefficient, compared with 64% of those 65 and older, and comparable proportions of those ages 30 to 49 (58%) and 50 to 64 (65%).

Views on Regulation Become Partisan Again

Even in the wake of the economic crisis and the federal government’s increased involvement in the banking and automotive sectors, there is no overall shift in the balance of opinion about the effectiveness of government regulation. Today, a slim majority (54%) of Americans say that “government regulation of business does more harm than good,” little changed since 2007 (57%). By contrast, following the WorldCom and Enron scandals in 2002, the number of Americans expressing a negative view of government regulation reached an all-time low

of 48%.

But as with other questions about the role of government, this aggregate stability belies fundamental partisan shifts with the arrival of a new administration. In most values surveys over the last two decades, Republicans have been more likely than Democrats to view government regulation of business as, on balance, harmful. However, this gap is typically larger during Democratic administrations, and diminishes when Republicans are in office. In particular, in 2007, Democrats and Republicans were nearly equally likely to view government regulation of business as doing “more harm than good;” the highest level of Democratic agreement with this question since George H.W. Bush was in office. The current 34-point partisan gap reflects the shift in party control of government, but exceeds even those seen throughout the Clinton administration. Today, three-quarters of Republicans (75%) say that government regulation does more harm than good, compared with only 41% of Democrats.

Perhaps not surprisingly then, the differences in views between those on the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum are now far starker than in past years. Today, 81% of conservative Republicans – and just 29% of liberal Democrats – say that government regulation of business does more harm than good. And unlike in previous years, the opinions of their moderate counterparts have also diverged; there is now an 18-point gap between moderate and liberal Republicans and conservative and moderate Democrats. In prior years, there was little or no gap in opinion between moderates of the two parties.

Views of the Social Safety Net

Measures of support for a government social safety net also traditionally show some of the largest divides in partisan opinions, and this year is no exception. As they have historically, substantial majorities of Democrats say that it is the government’s responsibility “to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves” (77%); that the government should “guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep” (79%); and that the government should help more of those in need, “even if it means going deeper in debt” (65%).

Republicans support the social safety net at much lower rates, and that support has declined somewhat in recent years. They now are divided on the question of whether government has an obligation to those who cannot care for themselves (46% agree, 47% disagree). In 2007, a majority of Republicans (58%) agreed with the statement. On other social safety net questions, Republican opinion has also declined or remained stable. Republicans remain particularly opposed to increasing assistance to the poor at the risk of increased debt (only 29% support this).

With such large partisan divisions, the views of independents often drive the direction of public opinion overall. Over the last two years, independents have become considerably more conservative in their views of a government safety net, with support dropping to the levels last seen in the mid-1990s. Today, just 43% of independents say that government should aid more needy people even if the debt increases. Yet even within independents, the decline is less pronounced among those who lean to the Democratic Party than among those who lean towards the GOP.

Affluent See Dependency Problem

Overall, views of the dependence of the poor on government programs have not changed substantially from two years ago. But there is a more noticeable economic divide in assessments of the poor’s dependence on government, as higher income Americans are now more likely to say that the poor are too dependent on government aid than they have been over the course of the last decade.

More than three-quarters (77%) of those with family incomes of $75,000 or more now say this, a 10-point increase since 2007, while opinions among those with lower incomes have not changed. College graduates, too, have taken a more critical view over the past two years – the number saying poor people are too dependent on government aid grew from 60% two years ago to 71% today. Today there are no significant educational differences on this question; two years ago, those with college degrees were less likely than others to agree with the statement.

African American opinion on the poor’s dependence on government help is nearly unchanged since 2007, while a greater percentage of whites (76%, up from 71%) now say the poor are too dependent on government assistance, a return to the levels seen in the late 1990s.

The opinions of Republicans and Democrats are largely unchanged over this period. However, independents’ views have taken a rightward shift. Three-quarters (75%) of independents now say that the poor are too reliant on government assistance programs, a seven-point increase since 2007.

Mixed Views on Government and Health Care

Fully 86% of Americans agree with the statement that “the government needs to do more to make health care affordable and accessible,” including 59% who completely agree. Just 12% disagree. Despite this endorsement of government action, many worry about too much government involvement in health care. When asked if they are “concerned that the government is becoming too involved in health care,” about as many agree (46%) as disagree (50%).

The even split in public worries about too much government involvement in health care is largely a partisan one. Republicans, by more than two-to-one (68% vs. 30%) agree with the statement “I am concerned that the government is becoming too involved in health care,” while Democrats disagree by nearly the same margin (66% disagree, 29% agree), resulting in the single largest partisan divide over any of the 77 values questions in the survey. A narrow majority of independents (53%) disagree with the statement, while 44% agree.

There are ideological differences within each party in views about the government’s role in health care. Roughly three-quarters (74%) of conservative Republicans express concern about too much government involvement in health care, compared with 55% of moderate and liberal Republicans. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) liberal Democrats disagree with this concern, compared with 61% of conservative and moderate Democrats.

Concerns about the government’s involvement in health care are considerably more pronounced among older Americans than younger Americans. Just 39% of those under 30 say they are worried about the involvement of government in health care, while 53% of those 65 and older do so. There are also significant differences in the percentages who express worries between men (50%) and women (42%), whites (49%) and blacks (36%), as well as across income groups: 49% of those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more say they worry about too much government involvement, compared with 39% of those with incomes of less than $30,000.

Strong Support for Government Action

Despite these concerns, 86% of Americans agree that “the government needs to do more to make health care affordable and accessible,” and a majority (59%) completely agrees with this statement. Even among the nearly half of Americans who express concerns about too much government involvement, most (72%) favor more government action and 41% express this view strongly.

The political and demographic differences seen in concerns about too much government involvement with health care are mirrored in the percentages who completely agree with the statement that “government needs to do more to make health care affordable and accessible.” Strong agreement is most prevalent among the less affluent and the less educated. About seven-in-ten of those with annual incomes of less than $30,000 a year (68%) or who describe their household as “struggling” (72%) completely agree with a call for the government to do more to fix health care; in comparison, about half of those with family incomes of $75,000 a year or more (52%), or who describe themselves as “professional or business class” (53%), say the same. Similarly, those with no more than a high school diploma are more likely than college graduates to completely agree with the statement (64% vs. 52%)

Women, blacks and Hispanics are also significantly more likely than others to completely agree that government needs to do more to improve the accessibility and affordability of medical care. Nearly two-thirds of women (65%) say this, compared with just 54% of men. More than three-quarters of African-Americans (77%) and 69% of Hispanics hold this view, compared with just 54% of whites.

Not surprisingly, there are significant partisan differences here as well: More than three-quarters (78%) of Democrats completely agree that the government should improve accessibility and affordability of health care, nearly twice the proportion of Republicans holding that view (41%).

Over the past few years, the country has suffered through a devastating decline in the housing market, a stock market crash, and spiraling unemployment. Yet the public’s fundamental attitudes about business have changed very little. As in past values surveys, most Americans link the country’s strength to the success of business, yet consistent majorities also view corporations as too powerful and too motivated by profits.

Overall opinions about government regulation of business also have been steady – though here, in contrast to general views of business, there have been striking political and demographic shifts. Republicans are far more skeptical of government regulation of business than they were two years ago, which is consistent with their increasingly negative opinions of government activism.

The public expresses mixed views of Wall Street, which has been at the center of the financial storm. Two-thirds (67%) agree that “Wall Street only cares about making money for itself.” Yet nearly as many (63%) say that “Wall Street makes an

important contribution to the American economy.” As far as Wall Street’s overall impact, 49% agree that it “often hurts the economy more than helps it,” while 37% disagree.

While the public’s attitudes toward business have not moved much, its support for labor unions has fallen to an all-time low. Roughly six-in-ten (61%) agree that “labor unions are necessary to protect the working person;” 34% disagree. The proportion saying labor unions are needed to protect working people has declined from 68% in 2007; throughout the previous decade, 70% or more consistently said labor unions were needed to protect working people.

In addition, more people see labor unions as “too powerful” than did so a decade ago. Currently, 61% agree that labor unions are too powerful, while 33% disagree. In 1999, 52% saw unions as too powerful, compared with 40% who disagreed.

What’s Good for Business…

Overall, 76% agree that “the strength of this country today is mostly based on the success of American business,” while 20% disagree. Compared with the other values items in this survey, there is an unusual degree of consensus in opinions about this issue. Eight-in-ten Republicans (82%) agree that the strength of the United States is linked to the success of business, a view shared by almost as many independents (75%) and Democrats (74%).

At the same time, 77% of Americans say that “there is too much power concentrated in the hands of a few big companies.” A 62% majority says businesses make too much profit, while fewer than four-in-ten (37%) say businesses “generally strike a fair balance between profits and the public interest.” These opinions also have changed little, though the proportion saying business corporations strike the appropriate balance between profits and the public interest is lower than it was a decade ago (45% in 1999).

There are political and demographic differences over whether business corporations are too powerful and profitable and whether they strike a fair balance between seeking profits and serving the public interest. Yet these divisions have been fairly consistent over the years. For instance, in the current survey, 84% of Democrats, 77% of independents and 66% of Republicans believe too much power is concentrated in the hands of a few big companies. These partisan differences are not substantially greater than they were in the first values survey 22 years ago.

Free Market and Regulation

The stability of opinions about business casts the changing views of government regulation of business into sharp relief. As with other opinions relating to government and its role, Republicans and Democrats have moved sharply in opposite directions since 2007. Overall, 54% of Americans say that “government regulation of business does more harm than good,” which is little changed from 2007 (57%) (For more, see Section 2: Views of Government and the Social Safety Net.)

While the public is divided over the efficacy of government regulation of business, there is greater agreement that some regulation of the free market is needed. Twice as many agree (62%) as disagree (29%) that “the free market needs regulation to best serve the public interest.”

While three-quarters of Republicans say government regulation of business does more harm than good, 48% agree that the free market needs regulation; 44% disagree. Still, far more Democrats (75%) and independents (62%) say the free market needs regulation. The gap is even more pronounced in the strength of agreement: Fully 35% of Democrats completely agree that the free market needs regulation to best serve the public interest, compared with 20% of independents and just 7% of Republicans.

Mixed Views of ‘Wall Street’

While a large majority of Americans (67%) sees Wall Street as solely interested in making money for itself, nearly as many (63%) say it makes an important contribution to the economy. More agree than disagree with the statement “Wall Street often hurts the economy more than helps it” – but the margin is hardly overwhelming (49% agree, 37% disagree).

The belief that Wall Street hurts the economy more than helps it is much more widespread among blacks than whites (64% vs. 47%). While most people with family incomes of less than $30,000 agree (55%) that Wall Street hurts the economy, a comparable proportion in the top income category ($100,000 or more) disagrees (56%).

Partisan differences in views of Wall Street’s impact on the economy are relatively modest. A majority of Democrats (55%) agree that Wall Street often hurts the economy more than helps it, compared with 47% of independents and 43% of Republicans.

Just over half (53%) of Americans with no stock investments agree that Wall Street often harms the economy more than helps it. Six-in-ten active traders disagree (62%), while long-term investors are equally divided (46% agree, 47% disagree).

Labor Loses Ground

Democrats continue to overwhelmingly say that labor unions are necessary to protect working people. However, there have been sharp declines in the proportions of independents and Republicans who express this view.

Democrats’ opinions about the importance of unions have been remarkably stable: Currently, 80% agree that “labor unions are necessary to protect the working person, which is unchanged from 2007 and from a decade ago.

But only about half of independents (53%) now see labor unions as necessary to protect working people, a decline of 14 points from 2007 and 23 points from 2003. The percentage of independents agreeing with this statement is at its lowest point since the question was first asked in 1987. The proportion of Republicans who believe unions are necessary to protect working people also has hit a new low (44%); in 2003, 62% of Republicans saw unions as necessary.

Racial differences over whether unions are necessary to protect working people also have widened considerably. Currently, 82% of African Americans say unions are necessary, compared with 54% of whites. Labor unions have lost support among white men, in particular, over the past several years. Just 47% of white men agree that labor unions are necessary to protect working people, down from 67% six years ago. Over that period, the percentage of white women who see unions as necessary has declined by 11 points (from 72% to 61%).

The United States remains a highly religious nation. A large majority of Americans say they belong to a particular faith, and similarly large numbers express agreement with statements about key religious beliefs and behaviors. There have been only modest changes in the level of agreement with these statements over the past decade. About eight-in-ten (83%) say they never doubt the existence of God, and comparable percentages agree that prayer is an important part of their life (78%), and that “we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins” (78%).

The percentage of Americans agreeing with all three statements has changed very little since the first Pew Research values survey in 1987. That year, 68% of respondents agreed with all three; this year, 69% do so. There has been a modest increase over this period in what might be considered enthusiastic religious expression: the percentage who completely agree with all three statements rose from 33% 1987 to 44% by 1994; this year 40% completely agree with all three.

Yet despite the strongly religious character of the United States, the share of Americans who do not affiliate with a religious tradition has been growing (see Feb. 2008 “The U.S. Religious Landscape”). Overall, 16% of Pew Research respondents interviewed in 2009 say they are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” Generational change is the principal mechanism driving this growth. Among those in the Millennial age cohort, or Generation Y – Americans born after 1976 – 25% are not affiliated with a religious tradition. By comparison, among Baby Boomers just 13% are unaffiliated.

In both the 2006 and 2008 elections, religiously unaffiliated and secular voters had a significant impact on the outcome, boosting the fortunes of Democratic candidates at the state and national levels. Currently, 17% of Democrats and 21% of independents are unaffiliated, compared with just 7% of Republicans. Fewer Democrats and independents are regular churchgoers as well: nearly half of Democrats (48%) and 52% of independents attend worship services only a few times a year or less often; the figure for Republicans is 33%. Looked at another way, more than half of Republicans (52%) attend church at least once a week, compared with 36% of Democrats and 32% of independents.

Democrats and independents also are less likely than Republicans to express agreement with traditional religious beliefs, though solid majorities of both groups do so. The percentage of Democrats agreeing with all three statements about religious belief and practice fell sharply after 1999 (from 76% that year to 62% in 2007), but rose over the past two years to 68%. Currently, 75% of Republicans agree with all three statements, down slightly from 2007 when 79% agreed with all three. Somewhat fewer independents express agreement (66% now agree with all three statements).

The Democratic Party is much more racially diverse than the Republican Party, and this diversity affects the overall levels of religiosity expressed by Democrats. African-Americans are far more likely than whites to agree with all three statements (91% of non-Hispanic blacks did so in 2009, compared with 65% of non-Hispanic whites). The partisan gap in religiosity is considerably larger when considering only non-Hispanic white respondents, with just 57% of white Democrats expressing agreement with all three statements. This compares with 74% of white Republicans and 63% of white independents.

Trends in Traditional Values

Religious beliefs also shape many kinds of values that citizens hold. In particular, social values such as views about homosexuality, women’s roles, the nature of good and evil, and family and marriage have strong connections to religiosity. Even though there has been little change in the number of Americans holding strong religious beliefs, the percentage with conservative views on social values has been steadily declining over the past two decades.

The average number of conservative responses on an index of five social values has dropped from 3.0 in 1987 to 2.4 this year. Put another way, the percentage of respondents giving three or more conservative responses has declined from 62% in 1987 to 46% in 2009.

As with religiosity, Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to hold socially conservative views. On average this year, Republicans gave 2.7 conservative responses on the index of five items, while Democrats gave 2.2 and independents 2.4 conservative responses. But the rate of decline in conservatism has

been about equal across party lines. Republicans are less conservative now than they were in 1987, and the same is true for Democrats and independents.

Much of the decline in social conservatism is a result of generational change. Younger age cohorts are less conservative than older ones, with Baby Boomers significantly less conservative than the Silent Generation and its predecessors, and Generation Y considerably less conservative than either the Baby Boomers or Generation X. Within age cohorts, the change over time in social conservatism is very modest, indicating that the societal change in these values is mostly a function of newer generations replacing older ones.

Looking at the individual items that make up the scale of social conservatism, there has been a relatively gradual change in a less conservative direction. Four of the items are shown here; a fifth is in the next section.

For each item, certain demographic patterns are evident. For all five, white evangelical Protestants are the most conservative religious group, with the unaffiliated least likely to express a conservative opinion. Better educated respondents tend to be less conservative than those with less education. And younger respondents tend to be less conservative than older ones. For the most part, there are modest gender differences in opinions about these items.

When it comes to whether “women should return to their traditional roles in society,” three-quarters (75%) of Americans disagree, including roughly equal shares of Republicans, Democrats and independents. Democratic opinion is much more intense, however. The percentage of Democrats who completely disagree with this statement (62%) is 14 points higher than the percentage of Republicans who take that position (48%). Age differences on this item also are sizable. While two-thirds of those younger than 30 completely disagree with the notion that women should return to their traditional roles, fewer than half of those 65 and older (43%) completely disagree. Interestingly, there is no gender gap when it comes to this question (75% of both men and women disagree.)

A somewhat different pattern is seen on the question of whether “books that contain dangerous ideas should be banned from public school libraries.” Overall there has been only a small decline in the percentage agreeing with this statement. There are no differences in agreement by party. Generation Y, which tends to be liberal on most of the other social values questions, is about as likely to agree with the statement as the Baby Boomers or Generation X. Members of older cohorts have consistently been more likely to agree.

The largest and most persistent differences on this question are by level of education: 23% of college graduates agree with the statement, compared with 45% of those with some college experience and 60% of those who have a high school education or less. These differences are just as large as they were in 1987, when the question was first asked.

Attitudes about Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

Over the past two decades, the most extensive change in the five traditional values has occurred on the item asking if “school boards ought to have the right to fire teachers who are known homosexuals.” The percentage agreeing with this statement has fallen from 51% in 1987 to 28% today. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) disagree, including 41% who completely disagree. Partisan differences on the question are relatively modest, with just 32% of Republicans agreeing, compared with 26% and 27% of Democrats and independents, respectively. There also are only small differences by race, with 26% of whites and 33% of blacks agreeing.

Larger differences are evident when comparing college graduates with those who have a high school education or less, and white evangelicals are much more apt to agree than are members of other religious traditions. But even among white evangelicals, the percentage supporting the right to fire homosexual teachers has fallen a great deal over the 22-year period. In 1987, 73% of white evangelicals agreed; now 40% do so. Much of the change within nearly all groups occurred between 1987 and 1993, when the overall percentage agreeing with the statement fell from 51% to 34%. The decline since then has been more gradual. Generational replacement has been an important factor, with a 23-point difference in the level of agreement comparing members of the Silent Generation with those of Generation Y.

While the issue of homosexual teachers is less controversial now than it was 20 years ago, the issue of same-sex marriage has occupied center stage politically for the past several years. Maine recently became the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage, and legislative efforts to pass similar laws are underway in other states as well. But a majority of the public (54%) remains opposed to same-sex marriage, reflecting a small but significant increase in opposition since November 2007, when 49% opposed it. Just 35% favor it. However, the legislative action in states such as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine is not inconsistent with public opinion in New England or the Northeast more generally. New England respondents favor same-sex marriage by a margin of 55% to 39%, while those in the greater Northeast region support it by 52% to 38%.

Very few Republicans (17%) favor same-sex marriage; 77% of Republicans are opposed. Democrats are more divided on the question, with half (50%) in favor and 41% opposed. Independents divide about the same way as the public overall: 34% favor same-sex marriage and 55% oppose it.

Some of the largest differences on the question occur among religious groups. White evangelicals are the least supportive of any demographic group, with just 13% in favor and 81% opposed, including 54% who strongly oppose it. Among Catholics, 39% favor it and 45% are opposed. Two-thirds of the unaffiliated (67%) favor same-sex marriage.

In contrast with same-sex marriage, a slight majority of the public (53%) supports civil unions, described to respondents as “allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with each other that would give them many of the same rights as married couples”; 39% oppose civil unions.

Social Values Less Politically Potent Than In 2004

Not only has there been a slow decline in the number of Americans with socially conservative values, the political importance of those values has also diminished as concerns about the economy have grown. In the 2004 presidential election, both the National Election Pool’s exit poll and a Pew Research Center post-election survey that year found a plurality of voters naming “moral values” as the most important issue in their vote. The Pew survey found 27% picking moral values as their top issue from a list of seven, and 36% picked it either first or second. The economy and jobs finished behind moral values, with 21% mentioning it first and 44% choosing it first or second.

Respondents to the new values survey were asked the same question regarding a hypothetical presidential election today. Only 10% picked moral values first; not surprisingly, five times as many (50%) chose the economy and jobs. Even including first and second mentions, just 16% selected moral values; more than two-thirds (69%) picked the economy and jobs.

The decline in the importance of moral values as an issue in a possible election has come across the board, but the drop has been especially large among Republicans and working-class voters. In 2004, 45% of Republicans cited moral values as their top issue; now just 21% do so, compared with 47% who mention the economy and jobs. For Democrats, the percentage citing moral values declined from 11% in 2004 to just 4% now. For independents, it dropped from 19% to 9%.

Similarly, among white voters ages 30 and older who have not completed college, the percentage naming moral values dropped 20 points over the period. Among other voters, the decline was 12 points. Among Republicans and Republican leaning voters, the difference was even greater. Slightly more than half (51%) of older white working class Republicans and leaners cited moral values in 2004; now just 23% do so. Among other Republicans, the decline was much less steep, from 34% in 2004 to 19% today.

Just months after the nation’s first African American president took the oath of office, many Americans see a society making progress in its dealings with race. Still, deep racial and political divisions remain in assessments of the gravity of the problems and how best to address them. And in most cases, attitudes have not changed dramatically since 2007.

The public does take a more positive view of black progress than it did two years ago. Currently, 31% agree that: “In the past few years there hasn’t been much real improvement in the position of black people in this country.” Nearly twice as many (61%) disagree with this statement. In 2007, opinion about black progress was more closely divided: 41% said there had been little real improvement in blacks’ fortunes, while 49% disagreed.

There have been declines in the percentages of both non-Hispanic

African Americans and whites who say blacks have made little progress. As in the past, however, far more African Americans than whites believe there has been little improvement in the position of blacks in the United States.

Slightly more than a third of Americans (36%) agree that “discrimination against blacks is rare,” while 58% disagree. There has been little change in these opinions since 2007, though over the last decade the proportion seeing discrimination as rare has increased by more than a third, from 22% in 1999 to 36% currently. In contrast to views of black progress, there are only modest racial differences in opinions about the prevalence of discrimination.

Roughly three-in-ten Americans (31%) say that society “should make every possible effort to improve the position of blacks and minorities, even if it means giving them preferential treatment.” More than twice as many (65%) disagree. There continue to be wide racial and political divisions over the use of preferential treatment to help spur minority progress.

Similarly, blacks and whites differ over whether “we have gone too far in pushing equal rights in this country.” Overall, 41% agree with this statement, compared with 56% who disagree. The proportion saying the nation has gone too far in pushing equal rights has declined since 2002 (from 49%). Yet underscoring the long-term stability in many of these attitudes, about as many express this view today as did so in the first values survey in 1987 (42% agree).

The public remains far more unified in support of the principle of equal opportunity for all. Nearly nine-in-ten (87%) agree that: “Our society should do what is necessary to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.” The share agreeing with this statement has varied little over the past 22 years. Even here, however, far more blacks (59%) than whites (44%) completely agree that society should take needed measures to ensure equal opportunity for everyone.

Public acceptance of interracial dating has leveled off after steadily increasing through most of the past two decades. Currently, 83% say they think “it’s all right for blacks and whites to date,” which is unchanged since 2007. However, the proportion completely agreeing that it is appropriate for blacks and whites to date has continued to rise – from 47% in 2003 to 51% in 2007 to 56% currently. In the first values survey in 1987, fewer than half (48%) agreed that interracial dating was acceptable, with just 13% completely agreeing.

Perceptions of Black Progress

The share saying that there has not been much improvement in the position of black people is down 10 points from two years ago to 31%. But the divide in perceptions between blacks and whites on this question remains nearly as wide as it was in 2007.

Currently, 58% of blacks say they have seen little improvement in the position of African Americans in recent years, down from 69% in 2007. Among whites, 26% agree with this statement, a drop of eight points from 34% two years ago. Today, 40% of Hispanics say that there has been little recent improvement in the position of black people, down slightly from 49% in 2007.

Only about one-in-five Republicans (21%) say there has been little improvement in the position of African Americans in recent years; that compares with 29% of independents and 43% of Democrats. White and black Democrats differ over the extent of black progress: only about a third of white Democrats (34%) say there has been little improvement in the position of blacks compared with 59% of black Democrats.

Opinions about whether blacks face widespread discrimination are less divided along racial and partisan lines. Currently, 35% of whites and 30% of blacks agree that discrimination is rare; large majorities of both whites (59%) and blacks (66%) disagree – though about twice as many blacks completely disagree that discrimination is rare (30% vs. 14% of whites).

About four-in-ten Republicans (42%) agree that discrimination against blacks is rare today, compared with 31% of Democrats and 37% of independents. In the past decade, the share of Republicans that agrees with this statement has increased 14 points from 28%. Over the same period, the share of independents who believe discrimination against blacks is rare has risen 16 points, while the share of Democrats has increased 10 points.

Preferential Treatment for Minorities

Most Americans continue to reject the use of preferential treatment as a way to improve the position of blacks and other minorities. And the substantial gap between blacks and whites over this issue has remained relatively constant in recent years.

Close to six-in-ten African Americans (58%) agree that the country should make every effort to improve the position of minorities, even if means giving them preferential treatment, compared with 22% of whites. About half of Hispanics (53%) agree that every effort should be made to boost the position of minorities.

There continues to be a wide partisan divide in opinions about preferential treatment for minorities, with more than three times as many Democrats (45%) as Republicans (13%) favoring this approach. About a quarter of independents (28%) agree that every effort should be made to improve the lot of minorities, including giving them preferential treatment.

Notably, the partisan gap is still sizable even among white Democrats and Republicans. In the current survey, nearly three times as many white Democrats (32%) as white Republicans (11%) agree that every effort should be made to improve the position of minorities, including giving them preferential treatment. This gap has fluctuated somewhat in recent years, but over the last 15 years, white

Democrats have consistently been two- to three-times as likely as white Republicans to favor preferential treatment to improve the position of minorities.

More young people than older Americans continue to say that every effort should be made to improve the position of minorities. More than four-in-ten (44%) of those younger than 30 favor making every effort to improve the position of minorities. That compares with 25% to 30% in each older age group.

Support for Interracial Dating

Two decades ago, Americans were deeply divided over interracial dating. Now, 83% say they agree that “it’s all right for blacks and whites to date each other,” unchanged from 2007. There has been a steady rise in the percentage that completely agrees that interracial dating is acceptable, from 51% in 2007 to 56% currently.

Support for interracial dating among African Americans remains overwhelming: 94% say it is all right for blacks and whites to date, which is little changed from recent values surveys. Whites’ views also have remained stable – 79% agree it is all right for blacks and whites to date each other. More blacks (64%) than whites (52%) completely agree that interracial dating is acceptable.

Long-term trends in opinions about interracial dating show the strongest s

upport among the youngest age cohorts. An analysis of the current survey shows that is still the case, though the oldest age groups – the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers – have grown increasingly supportive over time. However, as in overall views of black-white dating, there has been little change within age cohorts since 2007.

While whites generally are far more tolerant of interracial dating than in the late 1980s, the shift has been particularly striking among white Southerners. The proportion of white Southerners who believe interracial dating is appropriate has more than doubled over the past two decades (from 30% to 69%). Even with this increase, however, the share of whites approving of interracial dating is far lower in the South (69%) than elsewhere in the country (84%).

Despite the economic crisis, there is no indication that isolationist sentiment has increased among the public. An overwhelming proportion of Americans believe the United States should be active in world affairs. Support for free trade agreements has increased over the past year, and opinions about immigration are generally stable.

Fully 90% agree that “it’s best for our country to be active in world affairs,” which has changed very little over the past two decades. Notably, the proportion that completely agrees with this statement has rebounded after declining in 2007: 51% completely agree, up from 42% two years ago and roughly the same percentage as in 2003 (50%).

As other Pew Research Center surveys this year have found, the public clearly believes that domestic concerns should take precedence over foreign matters. More than three-quarters of Americans (78%) agree that “we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home.” Yet that percentage is no higher than it has been the past two values surveys in 2007 and 2003.

In general, opinions about immigration and the impact of immigrants on traditional values also have changed little. And by nearly two-to-one (63% to 34%), most favor a way for illegal immigrants in the United States to gain legal citizenship if they meet certain conditions, including passing background checks and paying fines.

Support for NAFTA and other free trade agreements has recovered over the past year after declining in 2008. In addition, while a majority of Americans (55%) believe that China “has taken unfair advantage of the United States,” the proportion concurring with this sentiment is far below the percentage that said Japan took unfair advantage of the United States in the early 1990s.

The public continues to be divided over the role of a strong military in maintaining peace and there is not much change in the proportion agreeing that “the best way to ensure peace is through military strength.” Currently, 53% agree with this statement while 42% disagree. In 2007, 49% agreed and 47% disagreed – the highest proportion disagreeing since the question was first asked in 1987.

Support for Activist Global Role

As in the past, there is broad agreement across demographic and political groups that it is best for the future of the United States to be active globally. But there has been a sharp rise in the proportion of Democrats who completely agree with this sentiment from two years ago.

Currently, 55% of Democrats completely agree on the need for the United States to be active globally, up from just 39% in 2007. Among independents, half completely agree, compared with 43% two years ago. Republican views are largely unchanged (44% in 2007, 47% today).

A greater proportion of women also completely agree that it is best for the United States to be active in the world (from 37% to 50%), while opinions among men have not changed significantly.

While the public overwhelmingly favors an activist role for the United States globally, a large majority (78%) also says that “we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home.” In the early 1990s, following the end of the Cold War, larger percentages believed the United States should focus more on problems at home (88% in 1992, 85% in 1993).

Large majorities across the spectrum agree with this statement, but as with views of the U.S. global role, there are sizable educational differences in opinions about whether we should concentrate less on problems abroad and more on problems in this country.

Roughly two-thirds of college graduates (67%) agree that we should focus more on domestic concerns, and even larger percentages of those with some college education (77%) and those with no more than a high school education (85%) agree. Nearly half of those with a high school education or less (48%) completely agree with this sentiment, compared with only about a quarter of college graduates (24%).

Peace Through Strength

The Sept. 11 terror attacks and the war in Iraq clearly affected fundamental opinions about whether a strong military posture is the best way to ensure peace. But the effect was short-lived. The proportion agreeing that “the best way to ensure peace is through military strength” peaked at 62% following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, fell to 53% a year later and declined to 49% in 2007. In the current survey, support is again at 53%.

Three-quarters of Republicans agree that peace is best ensured through military strength compared with just 43% of Democrats. The partisan gap over this issue is among the largest for any of the values items in the survey.

There also are larger age differences in views about this issue than in recent values surveys. Young people are far less likely than older people

to say that peace is ensured through military strength. Currently just 38% of those younger than 30 agree with this statement, compared with majorities in older age groups. The belief that military strength is the best way to ensure peace is most prevalent among those 65 and older – fully 67% agree.

In 2007, 45% of those under 30 said that peace was best ensured through military strength. Since then, the proportion of young people in agreement with this statement has declined slightly (38%), while an increased share of

those 65 and older agree that the best way to ensure peace is through military strength (56% in 2007 to 67%).

Fight for U.S., Even When Wrong?

A narrow majority (53%) agrees that “we all should be willing to fight for our country, whether it is right or wrong;” 41% disagree. As with views about peace through strength, general opinions about this issue have changed little in recent years, but there are increasing partisan and age differences.

In 1999, about half of Republicans (52%), Democrats (48%) and independents (48%) agreed that one had a responsibility to fight for the United States, whether it is right or wrong. Over the past decade, however, there has been a large increase in the proportion of Republicans agreeing with this statement, while opinions among Democrats and independents have not changed substantially.

Currently, 68% of Republicans agree that a person should fight for this country right or wrong; that equals an all-time high among the GOP reached in 1990. Only about half of independents (52%) and Democrats (47%) agree that one has an obligation to fight even when the country is wrong.

Slightly more than four-in-ten (43%) of those younger than 30 agree that a person should fight for the United States right or wrong, the lowest percentage of young people to agree with this statement in a values survey. By contrast, most people older than 30 (56%) say that everyone should fight for

the United States, right or wrong.

Since 2007, there has been a sharp increase in the proportion of African Americans who believe that everyone should be willing to fight for the United States, even when it is wrong. Currently, 45% of blacks express this view, up 15 points since 2007 and the highest percentage in a decade. The percentage of whites agreeing with this statement has remained stable in recent years.

Immigration Policy

The public continues to overwhelmingly support limiting the number of immigrants entering the country, and a slight majority agrees that “the growing number of newcomers from other countries threaten traditional American customs and values.”

Nonetheless, most Americans (63%) say they favor providing a way for illegal immigrants currently in the country to gain legal citizenship if they pass background checks, pay fines and have jobs. The proportion favoring such a proposal has ticked upward, from 58% in December 2007.

Support for providing citizenship for illegal immigrants, if they pay fines and meet other conditions, has increased sharply among those ages 30 to 49 (by 16 points), Democrats (11 points) and college graduates (10 points). Among Republicans, half favor giving illegal immigrants a way to become citizens under these circumstances, compared with 56% in 2007.

The change among Democrats has come entirely among the party’s moderates and conservatives: 70% currently support a way to provide citizenship for illegal immigrants under certain conditions, up from 53% in December 2007. As in 2007, more liberal Democrats than conservatives and moderates in the party support this idea (82% in 2009 and 83% in 2007), but the ideological gap among Democrats has narrowed.

Most Want Tighter Immigration Controls

Currently, 73% agree that “we should restrict and control people coming to live in our country more than we do now,” which is little changed from recent values surveys; just 23% disagree with the goal of limiting the flow of newcomers to the United States.

While overall opinions about this issue have changed only modestly in recent years, fewer Democrats agree with this statement than did so in 2007 (64% now, 74% in 2007). By contrast, slightly more independents believe there should be greater restrictions on people coming to live in the United States; 77% say that now, up from 72% two years ago. As a result, the gap between Democrats and independents on this issue, which was negligible in recent values surveys, is now 13 points. Slightly more than eight-in-ten Republicans (83%) favor greater restrictions on immigrants, which is little changed from previous surveys.

People in the youngest age group – those younger than 30 –are less likely than older people to say that there should be greater restrictions on people entering this country. There is an even bigger – and growing – age difference in views about the impact that immigrants have on traditional American values.

Currently, 35% of those younger than 30 believe that the growing number of newcomers from other countries threatens traditional American customs and values. That compares with 50% of those 30 to 49, 57% of those 50 to 64 and nearly two-thirds (65%) of those 65 and older. The gap between the youngest and oldest age groups on this issue, which had narrowed to 11 points in the 2007 values survey, has approximately tripled, to 30 points.

China Trade Concerns

Overall public support for free trade agreements has recovered after declining in 2008. Currently, 44% say that free trade agreements like NAFTA and the policies of the World Trade Organization are good for the country, up from 35% a year ago. Slightly more than a third (35%) say that such agreements and policies are bad for the country, down from 48% in April 2008. (For more information see April 2009 Support for Free Trade Recovers Despite Recession).

And while most Americans (55%) agree that China “has taken unfair advantage of the United States,” there is less resentment against China today than there was against Japan in the early 1990s; in 1992, 69% said that Japan had taken unfair advantage of the United States.

Trade is far less of a partisan issue than either foreign policy or immigration. Roughly equal numbers of Republicans (61%) and Democrats (55%) say China has taken unfair advantage of the U.S. There are, however, substantial educational differences in views of whether China is taking unfair advantage of the United States; 62% of those with no more than high school education express this view, compared with 46% of college graduates. In addition, while majorities in age groups 30 and older agree that China has taken unfair advantage of the United States, only 38% of those younger than 30 concur.

While the country is facing deep economic problems, Americans remain convinced of the value of hard work, and continue to believe that individuals control their fates. And while people express greater personal financial dissatisfaction than in more than two decades of values surveys, there has been no increase in the proportion saying they are unable to “make ends meet.”

Moreover, there has been a sharp increase in public confidence in the American people’s ability to solve problems. Currently, 70% agree that “as Americans we can always find a way to solve our problems and get what we want.” Two years ago, 58% said they shared this belief.

Fewer Americans also say the country is economically divided into “haves and have-nots.” Currently, 35% see the country as divided into two groups – haves and have-nots – down from 44% last fall. And when asked which category they themselves fall into, more people continue to classify themselves as “haves” rather than “have-nots” (by 48% to 36%).

On both measures – views of the ability of Americans to solve problems and perceptions of economic equality – African Americans and Democrats, in particular, express much more positive views than they have in recent years. For instance, 62% of non-Hispanic blacks believe that Americans can solve problems, up 21 points since 2007. Whites also express more confidence, but the change has been far more modest (60% of non-Hispanic whites agreed in 2007, 70% today).

As might be expected, however, attitudes about personal finances have turned more negative. A narrow majority of Americans (53%) agree that they are “pretty well satisfied with the way things are going” for them financially, the lowest percentage expressing this opinion dating back to 1987. Two years ago, 61% said they were satisfied financially. A decade ago, amid the economic boom, 68% agreed that they were pretty satisfied financially.

The Better Off Are Feeling Worse Off

The decline in assessments of personal finances has been especially sharp among those at the top of the income ladder. They remain more positive than those from households making less money, but the well off are far less positive than they used to be. Today, 65% of those in the highest income category – those with family incomes of $75,000 or more – say they are pretty well satisfied financially, down from 85% two years ago. Just 37% of those in the lowest income category ($20,000 or less) are currently satisfied with their financial situation, unchanged from 2007.

The proportion of Republicans expressing satisfaction with their financial situation, which reached an all-time high of 81% in 2007, has fallen by 20 points in the current survey. There has been far less change in the views of independents and Democrats: Currently, 52% of independents and 49% of Democrats say they are pretty satisfied with their personal finances.

Only about a third of African Americans (34%) say they are pretty well satisfied financially, which is the lowest percentage in a values survey but largely unchanged since 2007. A majority of whites (57%) express satisfaction with their financial situations, compared with 65% two years ago. Among Hispanics, slightly more than half are satisfied (52%), compared with 56% in 2007.

Despite the decline in satisfaction with personal finances, the proportion saying they are having difficulty making ends meet has not increased – 42% say that currently, which is largely unchanged from 2007 (44%). Notably, far fewer agree that they “often don’t have enough money to make ends meet” today than did so in the early 1990s (54% in 1993, 52% in 1992).

People in the lowest income category (less than $20,000) are more than four times more likely than those in the highest income group ($75,000 or more) to say they often have trouble making ends meet (73% vs. 17%). Opinions about this issue across income groups have held fairly steady in recent years.

Fewer See Divide Between “Haves” and “Have-Nots”

A large majority of Americans (71%) agree with the axiom that the “rich just get richer while the poor get poorer.” While there are somewhat predictable differences across income categories, this view is widely shared: 80% of those with family incomes of $30,000 or less agree with this statement, but so do 62% of those with incomes of $100,000 or more. Opinions about a growing disparity between rich and poor have changed little over the past decade.

Yet there has been a decline in the share of Americans who believe American society is divided between “haves” and “have-nots.” Slightly more than a third (35%) say the society is divided between haves and have-nots, the lowest level in four years (38% in March 2005). Last October, 44% said the nation was divided along economic lines; in July 2007, a recent high of 48% expressed this view.

Fewer African Americans believe the country is divided between haves and have-nots than did so last October (75% then, 60% today). Still, about twice as many blacks as whites (29%) believe the country is split between haves and have-nots.

There also have been declines since late 2008 in the percentages of Democrats (11 points) and independents (11 points) who believe the country is economically divided; by contrast, there has been little change among Republicans (three points).

Generally, more people continue to see themselves as haves (48%) rather than have-nots (36%) – these perceptions have changed little in recent years. As might be expected, family income is strongly associated with whether people describe themselves as a have or have-not: 72% of those with family incomes of $75,000 or more describe themselves as haves, compared with just 30% of those with incomes of $30,000 or less.

Today, 43% of African Americans see themselves as haves; compared with 35% last October. A narrow majority of whites (54%) continue to view themselves as haves, which is largely unchanged from 2008 (50%).

Far more people believe the Obama administration does more to help the have-nots than said that about George W. Bush’s administration or the Reagan administration: 30% say the current administration does more to help the have-nots compared with just 4% for the Bush administration (in 2001 and 2004) and the Reagan administration. Those presidents were more widely viewed as helping the haves than Obama. Nearly half said Reagan’s administration did more to help the haves in 1988 and 47% expressed that view about the Bush administration in 2004. Fewer than one-in-ten say Obama’s administration does more to help the haves.

Personal Empowerment

Most Americans continue to reject the idea that “success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.” Nearly two-thirds (64%) disagree with the idea and almost one-in-four (24%) disagree completely. Just half as many people (32%) agree with this statement, with 10% agreeing completely.

Similarly, 65% disagree with the statement that “hard work offers little guarantee of success,” while 33% agree. Opinions about both measures relating to success have held steady for more than a decade. From the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, Americans were somewhat more inclined to agree with the idea of outside forces determining success. In 1993, for example, 41% agreed with that idea while 57% disagreed.

In values surveys since 1987, more blacks than whites have typically said that success is largely determined outside of an individual’s control. But the proportion of African Americans expressing this view has fallen since 2007. Currently, 38% agree that success is beyond one’s control, compared with 47% in 2007. Whites’ views about this issue have not changed (30% agree now, 29% in 2007).

A relatively large share of Hispanics (45%) believe that success is largely determined by forces outside of one’s control; this is little changed from 2007 (48%). About the same proportion of Hispanics (43%) say that hard work offers little guarantee of success.

In general, more people with low family incomes than those with higher incomes consistently say that success is largely outside of an individual’s control. This also is the case in opinions about the relationship between hard work and success.

Similarly, less educated people are much more likely than college graduates to say that success is outside of one’s control and that hard work offers little guarantee of success. In the current survey, 41% of those with no more than a high school education agree that success is generally beyond one’s control, compared with 16% of college graduates. The gap is about as large in opinions about hard work.

Work and Wealth

The vast majority of Americans continue to say they “admire people who get rich by working hard.” Nine-in-ten agree with this idea, virtually unchanged since the question was first asked in 1992. Almost half of Americans (49%) completely agree with the statement, down slightly from 2003, when 54% completely agreed.

Overwhelming proportions of Republicans (92%), Democrats (90%) and independents (90%) say they admire people who get rich by working hard. There are relatively modest racial, educational and income differences in these opinions.

A smaller majority (60%) agrees that “many people today think they can get ahead without working hard and making sacrifices,” while 37% disagree. These views also have remained very stable for over a decade.

Public’s Self-Confidence Up

Seven-in-ten Americans agree that, “as Americans, we can always find a way to solve our problems and get what we want,” up 12 points from 2007, when public confidence in the people’s abilities to solve problems fell to its lowest level since 1993.

In 2007, 56% of independents and 53% of Democrats expressed confidence in the American people – the lowest percentages expressing this view in the 22 years of values surveys. But today, increased proportions of Democrats (up 18 points) and independents (up 14 points) agree that Americans can solve problems and get what they want. There has been no change among Republicans since 2007.

Similarly, two years ago just 41% of blacks said that Americans could solve problems – among the lowest measures ever in a values survey. That has rebounded to 62% in the current survey. Whites continue to express more confidence in the people’s abilities than do African Americans, but the gap has narrowed considerably (from 19 points to eight points).

The share of women agreeing that people in this country can solve problems also declined sharply in 2007 – to 53% from 70% just five years earlier. In the current survey, two thirds of women (67%) say that Americans can solve problems and get what they want, up 14 points from 2007. More men also believe Americans can accomplish their goals than did so two years ago (74% now, 64% then).

More Republicans Doubt Unlimited Growth

Just more than half (54%) agree that “I don’t believe that there are any real limits to growth in this country today.” That is little changed from 2007 (57%), but down significantly from 2002 when 65% said there were no real limits to growth.

Fewer Republicans agree that there are no limits to growth than did so two years ago (70% in 2007, 60% today). By contrast, there has been little change in opinions among Democrats (53%) independents (54%).

Interestingly, the change in attitudes about prospects for unlimited growth has been especially notable at both ends of the ideological spectrum. Among conservative Republicans, 73% agreed there were no limits in 2007; 59% do today. Among liberal Democrats, 60% agreed there were no limits in 2007; 46% do today.

Nation of Patriots

As always, Americans see themselves as “very patriotic.” Almost nine-in-ten (88%) agree that they are very patriotic – a figure that has varied by no more than a few points since 1987. More than half (54%) completely agree that they are patriotic, which is up slightly from 2007 but in line with measures over the past two decades.

The proportion of women who completely agree with that statement fell nine points between 2003 and 2007 (from 53% to 44%), but has recovered to 52% in the current survey. Similarly, the proportion of those 65 and older who answered that way also declined in those years, but it has increased by 13 points since 2007.

Blacks have been consistently less likely than whites to completely agree that they are very patriotic, and that remains the case in the current survey; 35% of African Americans completely agree that they are very patriotic compared with 61% of whites. Overall, 93% of whites say they are very patriotic, compared with 75% each among blacks and Hispanics.

As in past values surveys, fewer young people than older Americans strongly express patriotic sentiment. Only about a third of those younger than 30 completely agree that “I am very patriotic,” compared with majorities in all older age groups.

Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats or independents to say they completely agree they are patriotic and the gap has grown since 2007. Currently, 71% of Republicans completely agree they are very patriotic, up from 61% two years ago. By contrast, 53% of independents and 46% of Democrats completely agree they are very patriotic.

The public continues to express considerable cynicism about politics and elected officials. More than three-quarters (76%) agree that “elected officials in Washington lose touch with the people pretty quickly.” More than half (51%) agree that “people like me don’t have any say about what the government does.”

Overall public opinion about these questions has not changed much in recent years. As is the case with views about government performance and the social safety net, however, bottom-line stability obscures substantial political and demographic movement. Much of this change has taken place over the last two years and is mostly a response to the change of political leadership in Washington.

On balance, Democrats have become more positive toward government, while Republicans have turned negative – a partisan pattern that is consistent with past changes in power in Washington. Moreover, young people and blacks – key elements of President Obama’s winning coalition last fall – express much more positive views of politics and government than they have in recent years.

Despite having low regard for the responsiveness of elected officials, the public still overwhelmingly believes that voting gives people a voice in politics. Nearly seven-in-ten (68%) agree that “voting gives people like me some say about how government runs things.” This sentiment is shared across partisan lines, though fewer Republicans express this view than in 2007. And on several key measures relating to voting and political participation, blacks and young people express more positive opinions than at any point in the 22 years of

Pew Research values polling.

Blacks More Positive about Politics

Overall, just 38% agree that “most elected officials care what people like me think.” But nearly half of non-Hispanic African Americans (47%) agree with this statement – the highest percentage in two decades. In 2007, just 36% of blacks expressed this view. By contrast, opinion among non-Hispanic whites has changed little over the past two years (35% currently). As a consequence, African Americans are now significantly more likely than whites to believe that elected officials care about their opinions – the first time this has occurred in a values survey.

The shifts in African Americans’ attitudes about voting are even more dramatic. For the first time in a values survey, more blacks than whites agree that “voting gives people like me some say about how government runs things.” Three-quarters of African Americans (75%) express this view, up from 63% two years ago. About two-thirds of whites (66%) believe that voting gives people like them a say in government, down from 73% in 2007.

As in the past, an overwhelming percentage of the public (90%) agrees with this statement: “I feel it’s my duty as a citizen to always vote;” this figure has changed little over the past two decades. However, the percentage that completely agrees with this statement has increased – from 61% in 2003 to 69% currently. The proportion of blacks completely agreeing that voting is a duty has increased over this period by 14 points, from 63% in 2003. The share of whites completely agreeing has risen by eight points (from 62% to 70%).

Young People Less Cynical

Young people hold more positive opinions about elected officials and a greater sense of duty to vote than they have in the recent past. Currently, 43% of those younger than 30 say that officials care what people like them think, up from 35% in 2007. People in this age group are now more likely than those over 30 to say that officials care about what people like them think. Two years ago, there were no significant age differences on this question. Similarly, there has been a nine-point decline in the proportion of young people who say elected officials quickly “lose touch” with the people, while the opinions of those over 30 on this question have not changed significantly.

A greater percentage of young people also now feel a sense of

obligation to participate in politics by voting. Roughly six-in-ten of those younger than 30 (61%) now completely agree that “it’s my duty as a citizen to always vote;” in 2007, fewer than half of those in this age group (46%) completely agreed with this statement. As in the past, young people are less likely than older Americans to express this sentiment, but the gap has narrowed considerably.

Similarly, 63% of those younger than 30 say they feel guilty when they don’t get a chance to vote. That is little changed from 2007 (61%), but significantly greater than the percentage saying this in 2003 (54%).

Partisan Changes in Views of Politics

The shifting opinions about politics and government among blacks and young people – two strongly Democratic groups – mirror the changes among Democrats generally. In 2007, only a third of Democrats (33%) agreed that most elected officials care what people like “me” think. In the current survey, 48% of Democrats agree with this statement, an all-time high in a values survey. Democrats are also less likely to say that elected officials quickly lose touch with the people than at any point in the last 22 years.

By contrast, Republican views of elected officials have soured significantly. More Republicans (86%) now say that officials in Washington lose touch with the people pretty quickly than at any time since 1994, the last period when Democrats controlled both the White House and Congress. Similarly, only about a third of Republicans (34%) now say that elected officials care what “people like me think;” in 2002, a majority of Republicans (54%) said elected officials care about what people like them think.

Moreover, the share of Republicans who agree that “people like me” have no say in what the government does has jumped from 40% in 2007 to 54% today. Additionally, for the first time, Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to say that voting gives them some say in how the government runs things (76% of Democrats vs. 70% of Republicans).

As partisans’ attitudes about politics have changed, the opinions of political independents have been relatively stable. Independents have typically been pessimistic about politics and voting, and the change of power in Washington has not significantly changed these views.

Interest in Politics Flat

Public interest in national affairs and local politics remains high, but appears to have been little changed by the 2008 presidential election. Nearly nine-in-ten (88%) say they are interested in keeping up with national affairs (50% completely agree). That is on par with the share expressing this view over the course of the past decade.

About eight-in-ten (78%) say they are pretty interested in following local politics. Over most of the last two decades, Republicans and Democrats have expressed more interest in both national affairs and local politics than have political independents. And while older Americans are somewhat more likely than younger people to express interest in public affairs, the age gap has narrowed steadily over the past decade.

The public’s interest in national affairs and local politics largely comports with the belief that issues discussed in Washington have some effect on them personally. More than seven-in-ten (72%) disagree with the statement: “most issues discussed in Washington don’t affect me personally.” Since 2003, a greater share of the public has disagreed with this statement than in the past.

Voting Attitudes and Behavior

A clear majority of the public continues to view voting as a civic duty. Nine-in-ten (90%) agree that it is their duty as a citizen to always vote (69% completely agree). Nonetheless, people do not always live up to their own expectations of civic duty. Just over half (51%) report always voting, another 21% say they nearly always vote, 9% vote part of the time, and 19% say they vote seldom, never or offer some other response. The current survey, conducted just a few months after the 2008 election, shows an increase in the proportion saying they always vote (from 45% in 2007 to 51% currently).

Just 36% of those under 30 say they always vote, despite a marked increase in the share of those in this age group who consider voting a duty; still, the proportion of young people saying they always vote has increased since 2007 (from 25%). Independents (43%), those with no college experience (42%), and those with household incomes under $30,000 a year (39%) are also among those least likely to report always voting.

At the other end of the spectrum, Republicans and Democrats, older people and those with higher incomes and greater education are among those most likely to say they always vote.

The public continues to express widespread support, in principle, for protecting the environment. Overall, a large majority (83%) agrees that stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment are needed, a view that has changed little over the past decade.

But there have been substantial declines in the proportions of Americans who view environmental protection as a priority if it means slower economic growth or higher prices. Currently, just 51% say that protecting the environment should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth and some job losses. That is down from 66% in 2007.

Similarly, 49% agree that people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment, a decline of 11 points since 2007 and the lowest percentage agreeing with this statement since the Pew Research Center began asking this question in 1992.

The partisan divide over environmental values has widened considerably since the early 1990s, as far fewer Republicans express support for protecting the environment. The current survey also shows fewer independents agreeing that environmental protection should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth and that people should be willing to pay higher prices to protect the environment. In addition, fewer young people support environmental protection when these economic tradeoffs are mentioned than in 2007.

Meanwhile, there has been no change in the public’s broad support for several proposals aimed at addressing the nation’s energy supply. Large majorities favor funding for alternative energy (82%), spending on mass transit (70%) and allowing more offshore drilling in U.S. waters (68%).

Public opinion about direct government investment in new energy technology breaks down along familiar partisan lines, with Democrats strongly in favor of such investments and Republicans saying that business will produce needed technology without government investment.

Long-Term Trends in Environmental Values

In 1992, 90% agreed that stricter environmental laws and regulations were needed; this percentage declined to 82% two years later and has remained relatively stable for over a decade. In addition, substantially fewer completely agree that tougher laws and regulations are needed than did so in 1992.

At that time, 55% completely agreed such laws and regulations were needed. That figure declined subsequently, reaching a low of 35% in 2007 before recovering somewhat to 41% in the current survey.

Opinions about whether people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment have changed dramatically in just the past two years. The public is now evenly divided on the question: 49% agree and 48% disagree that people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment. In 2007, 60% agreed and 37% disagreed, and as recently as 2003, 65% agreed that people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment.

In addition, far fewer Americans say protecting the environment should be given priority even if it means slower economic growth and some job losses. About half (51%) now agree that protecting the environment should be given priority while 43% disagree. Views have changed considerably since 2007 when 66% agreed and 30% disagreed; little change in views had occurred between 2002 and 2007.

These findings are consistent with those from the Pew Research Center’s annual review of the public’s policy priorities conducted in January where the percent saying the environment should be a top priority for the president and Congress was 41%, down from 56% in 2008. The percent who believe strengthening the nation’s economy should be a top priority increased from 75% in 2008 to 85% in 2009 and improving the job situation grew from 61% to 82%. As Americans have become more focused on the economy, there has been some decline in support for the environment, at least when economic issues are raised in the question. (For more information see Jan. 2009 Economy, Jobs Trump All Other Policy Priorities in 2009).

Partisan Differences over the Environment

Democrats express far more support than Republicans for environmental protection and this gap has widened considerably since the early 1990s. In the current survey, nearly all Democrats (94%) agree that there needs to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment, compared with 64% of Republicans. In 2003, 96% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans said stricter environmental laws and regulations were needed. In 1992, the partisan gap was just seven points; since then, the proportion of Republicans agreeing with this statement has declined 22 points (from 86% to 64%), while Democratic opinions have fluctuated very little.

Independents’ opinions about the need for tougher environmental regulations have changed modestly since 1992. Currently, 82% of independents support stricter environmental laws and regulations, down slightly from 85% in 2007. In 1992, 91% of independents backed tougher rules to protect the environment.

There has been a decline across partisan lines in the percent who agree that people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment (60% to 49%), but the drop is steepest among independents and Republicans. About half of independents (49%) agree that people should pay higher prices to help protect the environment, a decline of 17 points since 2007. Slightly more than a third of Republicans (36%) say that people should be willing to pay more to protect the environment, down from 46% in 2007 and from 60% in 2003.

A majority of Democrats (59%) believe that people should pay higher prices to help protect the environment, only a slight decrease since 2007 (64%). The nine-point partisan gap on this issue in 2003 has now more than doubled to 23 points.

A similar pattern emerges on whether people think protecting the environment should be given priority even if it means slower economic growth and some job losses. The percent agreeing that protecting the environment should be given priority is down across party lines and the party gap on this issue remains wide. A majority of Democrats (63%) and independents (53%) agree that the environment should be given priority compared with 38% of Republicans. Democrats and Republicans have dropped 10 and 12 points respectively over the past two years, but the drop among independents has been even larger. In 2007, 72% of independents agreed that the environment should be given priority even if it means slower economic growth and some job losses but the percent agreeing with this statement has dropped 19 points in just two years.

Divides in Both Parties over the Environment

There are also large ideological differences within the two major parties over protecting the environment. Republicans are divided over the need for stricter environmental laws and regulations. More than three-fourths (77%) of moderate and liberal Republicans agree that tougher laws are needed compared with only 57% of conservative Republicans. By contrast, Democrats uniformly support more environmental protection.

Members of both parties differ over whether protecting the environment should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth and some job losses. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of liberal Democrats agree that environmental protection should be the priority compared with 57% of moderate and conservative Democrats, 44% of moderate and liberal Republicans and only 34% of conservative Republicans. There is a similar pattern in opinions about whether people should be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment.

Fewer Young People See Environment as Priority

There have been declines across most social and demographic groups in the percent who agree that protecting the environment should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth and some job losses and the share that says people should be willing to pay higher prices to help protect the environment. But the decline has been particularly steep among young people, the affluent and college graduates.

Currently, opinion among young people is divided on whether the environment should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth; 49% of those under 30 agree while 47% disagree. Two years ago 70% of people under 30 agreed and only 27% disagreed. In 2007, 71% of people with family incomes of $75,000 or more agreed that the environment should be a priority; 54% do so today. Similarly, 59% of college graduates say the environment should be a priority, a decline of 18 points over the last two years.

On the issue of whether people should be willing to pay higher prices to protect the environment, 46% of young people agree, down 17 points in two years. There has been no change in support among those with family incomes of less than $30,000, but the percent of

those who agree that people should be willing to pay higher prices has declined among those earning $30,000 or more. Support among college graduates is also down from 71% in 2007 to 57% now.

More than three-fourths of Americans (77%) recycle paper, plastic or glass from home. People who recycle express more support for environmental protection than those who do not recycle. More than eight-in-ten recyclers (84%) say there needs to be stricter environmental laws and regulations, compared with 77% of those who do not recycle. Similarly, 52% of recyclers say people should be willing to pay higher prices to help protect the environment, compared with 41% of those who do not recycle. This is similar to 2002 when more recyclers supported environmental protection than those who did not recycle.

Government Investment in Energy

Overall, a majority of Americans (58%) think that government investment is necessary to develop new energy technology while 32% say that businesses will produce the technology that is needed and 10% are unsure. Differences vary considerably across party lines. Three-fourths of Democrats and a majority of independents (56%) think that government investment is necessary compared with only 37% of Republicans. A majority of Republicans (51%) think businesses will produce the technology we need. There are also differences in opinion about government investment in energy technology by age. Among those under 30, seven-in-ten say that government investment is necessary, compared with 59% of those ages 30 to 49, 56% of those 50 to 64 and only 43% of those 65 and older.

There has been no change in the public’s support for various energy policies. A large majority continues to favor increasing federal funding for research on wind, solar and hydrogen technology (82%) and spending more on subway, rail and bus systems (70%). Opinions on alternative energy and mass transit have remained relatively stable over the past four years and these policies garner support across party lines.

Nearly seven-in-ten (68%) also support allowing more offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters, while 27% oppose this policy. These views have changed little since September 2008 but continue to differ by party affiliation. Nearly nine-in-ten Republicans (88%) favor allowing more offshore drilling, compared with 67% of independents and 56% of Democrats.

Americans are more divided on whether the government should promote the increased use of nuclear power (45% favor while 48% oppose). These numbers are similar to February of 2008 when 44% favored this policy but down slightly from the 50% in September of 2008 who favored the increased use of nuclear power. More than half of Republicans (57%) and half of independents favor expanding nuclear power, compared with only 35% of Democrats. Increasing taxes on gasoline to encourage conservation receives the lowest levels of support with only 24% favoring this policy, similar to last time it was asked in February 2008. About a third of Democrats (34%) favor this policy compared with only 22% of independents and 16% of Republicans.

Westerners Wary of Offshore Drilling

Opinions about energy policy also differ by region. There is greater support in the Northeast for increasing funding for wind, solar and hydrogen technology (90%) and spending more on mass transit (76%) than in the South. Although a majority in the West (55%) favors expanding offshore drilling, the share is significantly smaller than the share in the South and the Midwest. A greater share of those in the West (32%) favor increasing gas taxes compared with those living in the South (18%).

College graduates are significantly more likely than those with lower levels of education to favor increasing funding for alternative energy, spending more on mass transit, promoting the increased use of nuclear power and increasing taxes on gasoline. Nine-in-ten college graduates favor increasing funding for wind, solar and hydrogen, compared with 76% of people with a high school degree or less education. College graduates also are more likely to favor promoting the increased use of nuclear power (60%) than those with only a high school education (38%). More than twice as many college graduates favor increasing gasoline taxes as non-college graduates.

Who Recycles?

More than three-fourths of Americans (77%) recycle paper, plastic or glass from home, up from 70% in 2002. Recycling is up among virtually all demographic groups.

In general, slightly more women than men recycle (79% vs. 74%). There are no age differences in who recycles but significantly more young people are recycling than in 2002. Similar to 2002, more college graduates recycle than those who have not graduated from college.

Unlike many environmental policies, there are no differences in recycling by partisan affiliation or ideology. Fewer people living in the South recycle (67%) than those who live in other regions although recycling is up since 2002 in all regions except the Northeast.

Amid the growing popularity of social networking web sites, the public expresses mixed opinions about people sharing personal information online. About as many say it is a bad thing (44%) that the internet enables people to share pictures and other personal things about themselves with others as see this as a good thing (43%).

As might be expected, there are sizable age differences in opinions about the online sharing of personal information: 62% of those younger than 30 see this as a good thing – but this is the only age category in which a majority expresses a positive view. By greater than three-to-one (66% to 19%), those 65 and older express a negative opinion of the sharing of pictures and other information online.

Men have a more positive view of the online sharing of personal information than do women (49% vs. 37%). And while a majority of college graduates (57%) see online exchanges of personal information as a good thing, only about a third of those with no more than a high school education (34%) agree.

People who go online – 79% of the public – are more positive about the online sharing of personal information than are those who do not go online (50% online vs. 17% not online). The demographic patterns of opinion among online users are similar to those of people who do not go online. For instance, among the roughly half (46%) of those 65 and older who go online, 28% say the sharing of online personal information is a good thing, the lowest percentage of any age group.

Those who engage in online social networking through sites like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter are far more likely than those who do not use these sites to say that sharing pictures and personal information online is a good thing. Two-thirds (67%) of social networking web site users view online sharing as a good thing, compared with only 23% of those who do not use these sites.

Social Networking More Popular

Growing numbers of Americans are signing onto web sites like MySpace, Facebook or Twitter for social networking opportunities with friends and family or to connect with others who share their interests. A third of Americans (33%) say they use an online social networking site, up from 28% last October and 22% in December 2007.

Social networking sites continue to be most popular with those younger than 30, but nearly all of the recent growth in social networking has come among older people. Currently, 70% of those younger than 30 say they use a social networking site; that is virtually unchanged from December 2007 (67%). Meanwhile, the proportion of those in their 30s has approximately doubled since then (from 21% in December 2007 to 43%). Among those in their 40s, 29% now say they use a social networking site, up from just 11% in December 2007.

The proportion of college graduates who say they use social networking sites has more than doubled since December 2007 from (20% to 42%). The share of those with no more than a high school education who use these sites has grown more modestly, from 16% to 24%.

Checking In Daily, Or More Often

For many who engage in social networking online, visiting one or more of these sites is part of a daily routine. Nearly one-in-five of those who use social networking sites (19%) say they visit these sites several times a day, while another 24% say they visit about once a day; 39% say they use social networking sites every few days or once a week, while 18% visit less often.

While there continues to be a sizable age divide in the overall use of social networking sites, there are more modest differences in the frequency with which younger and older social networkers access these sites. Nearly a quarter of social networkers who are younger than 30 (23%) say they use these sites several times a day, while another 25% use them about once a day. Social networkers in their 30s check in with only somewhat less frequency; 15% use sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter several times a day, while 26% check about once a day. The figures are similar for social networkers 40 and older.

Views of Science and Technology

Public opinion about the impact of science and technology on both society and peoples’ own lives remain overwhelmingly positive. Most Americans do not worry about science having a harmful effect on society, nor are they concerned that technological advances over-complicate their lives.

Roughly one-in-three Americans (34%) agree that they are “worried that science is going too far and is hurting society rather than helping it,” while a solid majority (61%) disagree with this view of science. These figures are largely unchanged from 2007. Earlier in the decade, a somewhat higher percentage expressed concern about the impact of science on society (42% in 2002 and 2003).

Education is a major factor in concerns about science: 45% of those with no more than a high school education say they worry about science going too far, as do about a third (32%) of those with some college; just 17% of college graduates agree. There also are substantial racial differences in these views. Nearly half of African Americans (47%) say they worry that science is going too far and hurting society, similar to Hispanics (44%), and much higher than whites (29%).

There are only modest partisan differences in concerns about science. About four-in-ten Republicans (39%) say they are concerned that science is going too far and is hurting society rather than helping it; that is up substantially from 2007 (28%) but is about the share of Republicans expressing this opinion in 2003 (37%). About a third of Democrats (34%) and 30% of independents say they are worried that science is going too far and is hurting society, which is little changed from 2007.

About three-in-ten Americans (29%) agree with the statement: “Technology is making life too complicated for me” while 69% disagree. These opinions have been fairly stable since the question was first asked in 2002. Older Americans, particularly those 65 and older, express concerns about technology. Half (50%) of those 65 and older – including 59% of women in this age group – say technology is making life too complicated. Far fewer people in younger age groups express this view.

Civil Liberties and Terrorism

Public attitudes about civil liberties have remained fairly constant when it comes to views about permitting free speech for terrorist sympathizers, and allowing warrantless searches of homes of those who may be sympathetic to terrorists.

However, there has been a substantial change in opinions about whether the average person will have to give up some civil liberties in order to curb terrorism in the United States. Currently, just 27% say it will be necessary for the average person to give up some civil liberties, while 65% say this will not be necessary. This is the lowest percentage saying it will be necessary for average citizens to give up some liberties to fight terrorism in the past decade.

Two years ago, 40% said it would be necessary to sacrifice some civil liberties to curb terrorism. In the months following the 9/11 attacks, majorities expressed this view (55% in mid-September 2001, and January 2002).

Fewer Republicans, in particular, believe it will be necessary for the average citizen to give up civil liberties to curb terrorism. Roughly half (51%) of Republicans expressed this view in January 2007; only about a third (34%) do so today. There have been smaller declines in the proportions of Democrats and independents (10 points each) who believe it is necessary to sacrifice civil liberties to curb terrorism.

Rights for Terrorist Sympathizers?

Just a third of Americans (33%) agree that “the police should be allowed to search the houses of people who might be sympathetic to terrorists without a court order”; 64% disagree with this statement. Opinions about this issue have changed little since the question was first asked in 2003.

There are substantial educational differences in views about whether the police should be allowed to search the houses of possible terrorist sympathizers without a court order. More than four-in-ten (43%) of those with no more than a high school education say such searches should be permitted, compared with just 19% of college graduates.

The political differences over this issue are more modest: 42% of Republicans, 34% of Democrats and 30% of independents believe the police should be allowed to search the houses of those who might be sympathetic to terrorists without a court order. In addition, there are only modest age differences in these opinions.

The public is more evenly divided over denying freedom of speech to

groups that are sympathetic to terrorists. Nearly half (49%) agree that “freedom of speech should not extend to groups that are sympathetic to terrorists”; 45% disagree. As with opinions about police searches of those who might be sympathetic to terrorists, views about denying free speech for groups that sympathize with terrorists have remained fairly stable since 2003.

More women (55%) than men (44%) believe that freedom of speech should not extend to groups that are sympathetic to terrorists. And while majorities of those with no more than a high school education (58%) and some college (52%) favor denying freedom of speech to terrorist sympathizers, just a third of college graduates (33%) agree. But the political differences on this issue are slight, with comparable percentages of Republicans (52%), Democrats (48%) and independents (51%) saying that free speech should not extend to groups that are sympathetic to terrorists.

The 2009 political values study finds that the deep partisan fissures in values and core attitudes have continued to widen. Across 48 value questions asked consistently over the past 22 years, the average difference between the opinions of Democrats and Republicans has grown from nine percentage points as recently as 1997 to a new high of 16 points today. In many cases, already existing partisan divides have increased in size. In other cases, the change in administration has caused Republican and Democratic opinions about government to diverge. The net effect is a widening difference of opinion between the two constituencies.

As they grow in numbers, the role of political independents becomes increasingly important. As a group, independents remain difficult to pin down. They are clearly left-of-center when it comes to religiosity and issues of moral values – independents’ views on homosexuality, gender roles, censorship and the role of religion in politics are clearly closer to those of Democrats than Republicans. They also tend to have more in common with Democrats with respect to foreign policy and military assertiveness. At the same time, their views on broader economic issues have taken a turn to the right in the latest survey. In particular, they are now more conservative on questions relating to the role of government in providing a social safety net and the government’s overall effectiveness and scope. They are also less aligned with Democrats than at any point in the past in their attitudes toward big business.

Some of these changes among independents undoubtedly reflect their changing political composition: As Republicans depart from the ranks of the GOP and become independents they bring a more conservative political ideology along with them. Yet there is not a consistent rightward drift to the views of independents, and as in past values surveys, independents’ opinions typically fall somewhere between those of Republicans and Democrats.

The Biggest Partisan Divides in 2009

The starkest shift in partisan values in 2009 comes on values items related to government effectiveness and impact. The single widest gap in opinions among Republicans and Democrats comes in response to the statement: “I am concerned about the government becoming too involved in healthcare.” Just over two-thirds (68%) of Republicans agree, compared with just 29% of Democrats – a 39-point partisan gap.

More generally, Republicans express much greater skepticism about government than they did two years ago. In fact, by many measures Republicans feel as negatively toward government today as they did in 1994, just months before the GOP ended the Democrats’ four decades of control of Congress. Three-quarters of Republicans (75%) today agree that “government regulation of business usually does more harm than good” – up from 57% two years ago. About the same number (74%) say when something is run by the government “it is usually inefficient and wasteful,” up from 61% in 2007. In both cases, Republican skepticism is near its previous peak in 1994.

Meanwhile, Democrats feel as positively about government as at any previous point in the 22-year history of this study. Just 41% of Democrats believe government regulation of business does more harm than good; two years ago, as many Democrats as Republicans (57% each) expressed this view. Notably, only 42% of Democrats believe the government is usually inefficient and wasteful, the lowest percentage in 22 years.

The net effect of these changes is a level of polarization over government never before seen in the history of this study. There is at least a 30-point gap between the percentage of Democrats and Republicans agreeing with each of these questions. Independents fall squarely in the center on these items.

One of the widest partisan divides among the values questions is over whether “the government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper into debt.” Nearly two-thirds of Democrats (65%) agree, compared with just 29% of Republicans – a 36-point gap. Unlike the views about government described above, where partisan divisions ebb and flow depending on which party controls the White House, this has been a long-standing difference of opinion between Democrats and Republicans. In fact, over the 22-year course of this project, the gap between Democrats and Republicans on this question has never been below 20 percentage points. But the 36-point gap in 2009 is the largest on record, reflecting a slow but steady widening of the partisan divide. The pattern is virtually identical on other items related to the government’s responsibility to provide a social safety net for those in need.

The overall balance of public opinion on the government’s responsibility to provide for the needy has shifted to the right in the latest survey. The share of Americans overall who favor helping more needy people even if it means greater debt has fallen from 54% in 2007 to 48% today, and there is a comparable drop in the share who say the government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep (from 69% in 2007 to 62% today). This rightward shift is starkest among independents. Today, just 43% of independents say the government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper into debt, down 14 points since 2007. And over this period the number of independents who favor guaranteeing food and shelter for all has fallen 13 points from 71% to 58%.

Independents, on balance, now share more in common with Republicans than Democrats when it comes to the social safety net, and both independents and Republicans express more opposition to this kind of government role than at any point since 1994.

There also are substantial partisan divides over the government’s role in improving the position of minorities, protecting the environment, and providing for national security, as well as over the value of labor unions to working Americans.

More than three times as many Democrats as Republicans (45% vs. 13%) agree that “we should make every possible effort to improve the position of blacks and other minorities, even if means giving them preferential treatment.” As with government assistance for the poor, this has long been an issue on which Democrats and Republicans have differed, but the gap is as large today as it has ever been.

When it comes to environmental protection, Democrats almost universally agree that “there needs to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment” (94% agree, 6% disagree); Republican opinion is less universal (64% agree, 33% disagree). The increased political polarization of environmental attitudes has been driven almost entirely by declining support for further environmental protection among Republicans. When the question was first asked in 1992, 86% of Republicans favored stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment, just seven points fewer than among Democrats at that time.

Foreign policy also makes the list of largest partisan divides: Republicans are 32 percentage points more likely than Democrats (75% vs. 43%) to say they believe the best way to ensure peace is through military strength. The parties have always differed on this question, but, like others, the gap is continuing to grow.

Republicans and Democrats have long differed over the importance of labor unions, but again the gap is larger today than ever before, due largely to dropping union support among Republicans. Currently, 80% of Democrats say that labor unions are necessary to protect the working person – a figure largely unchanged over the past 22 years. But for the first time, fewer than half (44%) of Republicans take this view, down from 53% just two years ago. This makes the partisan gap over unions (36 percentage points) one of the largest in the survey.

Democrats are also far more likely than Republicans to say it’s really true that the rich just get richer while the poor get poorer (84% vs. 53%). Despite the recent economic crisis involving growing unemployment, falling housing prices and scandals about executive salaries at some of America’s largest companies, opinions on this item have not moved.

This focus on the questions that demonstrate the largest partisan divides highlights the broad drifting apart of the political parties. But there are a number of other areas in which partisanship is less of a factor. And more importantly, the relative position of independents, particularly as they grow in size, is of at least as much importance as the relative gaps between Republicans and Democrats.

Independents’ Values

On the vast majority of political and social values included in the study, independents fall somewhere between Republicans and Democrats. But the proximity of the opinions of independents to the opinions of Democrats and Republicans has shifted over the years.

There are three broad areas where the views of independents today are closer to those of Republicans than to Democrats: the social safety net; the government’s role in ensuring equal opportunity for all Americans; and public confidence in the electoral process and the responsiveness of elected officials. This is seen using a series of indices constructed from survey questions on each topic.

Independents are consistently skeptical about the electoral process and the responsiveness of officials; with a new Democratic administration, Republicans have now come to share this perspective. When George W. Bush was president, it was the Democrats who shared the independents’ skepticism on this dimension. The views of independents about the social safety net have taken a conservative turn over the last few years, now bringing them closer to those of Republicans.

On three other value dimensions, the views of independents are closer to Democrats than Republicans. In an index of questions about personal religiosity, independents and Democrats express virtually identical views. For much of the past 22 years, independents were the least religious of the three groups, but religiosity among Democrats has declined substantially since the late 1990s.

On a related index of questions about social and moral values, independents also share more in common with Democrats, and have consistently done so over the years. The third area where independents’ values come closer to those of Democrats is national security and foreign policy assertiveness. The opinions of independents and Democrats in this area have tracked closely in recent years, while Republicans have increasingly come to support a more assertive approach to foreign policy and national security.

Independents’ attitudes fall squarely in between those of Democrats and Republicans on most other value dimensions. The one exception is an index of political interest and engagement, on which independents score far lower than either Democrats or Republicans.

A Shift Since 2007

In the 2007 values survey, independents shared more in common with Democrats on nine of the 13 value dimensions and there were no dimensions where independents were closer to Republicans. Independents today continue to share more in common with Democrats on national security, religiosity and social conservatism, but they have moved away from Democrats when it comes to attitudes about business, environmentalism, personal efficacy (whether individuals have the power to get ahead) and the social safety net.

The 2007 survey was not an anomaly in this respect. The following page provides the full historical perspective on these 13 broad dimensions of core political attitudes and beliefs. The relative proximity of independents and Democrats in many of the charts – along with the changes in 2009 – is clearly evident.

The Values Indices

To provide a summary measure of some of the areas covered by the values study, questions about a related topic are combined into indices using a technique called factor analysis. This statistical procedure combine questions that are related to a common concept (e.g., religiosity) into a single scale, giving each question a weight in the index that reflects how similar it is to the concept being measure. Each person in the survey is assigned a score on the scale that summarizes their answers to these related questions. These scores can then be aggregated for comparisons over time or across groups (e.g., between Democrats and Republicans).

The following pages show the full 22 year trend for 12 values indices first developed in 1987 (and a 17 year trend for an index on environmentalism developed in 1992) among Republicans, Democrats and independents. Each index is based on between two and five individual survey questions that are highly correlated with each other. For some questions, agree and disagree answers were reversed to make the index internally consistent (this is noted in italics following each question). The percentage who agreed or disagreed with each question in 2009 is shown for reference purposes. The factor indices take into account the full variance on each question, including strength of agreement.

To view the Values Indices go to page 105 of the Complete Report PDF.

ABOUT THE VALUES SURVEY DATA

The values project draws on a series of large national surveys conducted since 1987. The project was initiated by the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press in 1987 and continued by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press since 1996. Over this period, 14 surveys have been conducted with a total of 32,570 interviews. In the 2009 survey, interviews included 77 questions about political and social values, plus questions about current issues and political figures. Surveys since 2003 include interviews conducted in English and Spanish.

Results for the 2009 values survey are based on telephone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates among a nationwide sample of 3,013 adults, 18 years of age or older, from March 31-April 6, 2009 and April 14-21, 2009 (2,260 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 753 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 271 who had no landline telephone). Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. Both the landline and cell phone samples were provided by Survey Sampling International.

The following table shows the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the 2009 survey:

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

Figures in this report may not add to 100% due to rounding. References to white respondents include only non-Hispanic whites, blacks include only non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics may be of any race.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY IN DETAIL

The typical Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey selects a random digit sample of both landline and cell phone numbers in the continental United States. As the proportion of Americans who rely solely or mostly on cell phones for their telephone service continues to grow, sampling both landline and cell phone numbers helps to ensure that our surveys represent all adults who have access to either. We sample landline and cell phone numbers to yield a ratio of approximately three landline interviews to each cell phone interview. This ratio is based on an analysis that attempts to balance cost and fieldwork considerations as well as to improve the overall demographic composition of the sample (in terms of age, race/ethnicity and education). This ratio also ensures a minimum number of cell only respondents in each survey.

The design of the landline sample ensures representation of both listed and unlisted numbers (including those not yet listed) by using random digit dialing. This method uses random generation of the last two digits of telephone numbers selected on the basis of the area code, telephone exchange, and bank number. A bank is defined as 100 contiguous telephone numbers, for example 800-555-1200 to 800-555-1299. The telephone exchanges are selected to be proportionally stratified by county and by telephone exchange within the county. That is, the number of telephone numbers randomly sampled from within a given county is proportional to that county’s share of telephone numbers in the U.S. Only banks of telephone numbers containing three or more listed residential numbers are selected.

The cell phone sample is drawn through systematic sampling from dedicated wireless banks of 100 contiguous numbers and shared service banks with no directory-listed landline numbers (to ensure that the cell phone sample does not include banks that are also included in the landline sample). The sample is designed to be representative both geographically and by large and small wireless carriers.

Both the landline and cell samples are released for interviewing in replicates, which are small random samples of the larger sample. Using replicates to control the release of telephone numbers ensures that the complete call procedures are followed for the entire sample. The use of replicates also ensures that the regional distribution of numbers called is appropriate. This also works to increase the representativeness of the sample.

When interviewers reach someone on a landline phone, they ask to speak with “the youngest male, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home.” If there is no eligible male at home, interviewers ask to speak with “the youngest female, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home.” This method of selecting respondents within each household improves participation among young people who are often more difficult to interview than older people because of their lifestyles. Unlike a landline phone, a cell phone is assumed in Pew Research polls to be a personal device. For those in the cell sample, interviewers ask if the person who answers the cell phone is 18 years of age or older to determine if the person is eligible to complete the survey but no request is made to interview other household members.

Sampling error results from collecting data from some, rather than all, members of the population. For each of our surveys, we report a margin of sampling error for the total sample and sometimes for key subgroups analyzed in the report (e.g., registered voters, Democrats, Republicans, etc.). For example, the sampling error for a typical Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey of 1500 completed interviews is plus or minus 3 percentage points with a 95% confidence interval. This means that in 95 out of every 100 samples of the same size and type, the results we obtain would vary by no more than plus or minus 3 percentage points from the result we would get if we could interview every member of the population. Thus, the chances are very high (95 out of 100) that any sample we draw will be within 3 points of the true population value.

At least 7 attempts are made to complete an interview at every sampled telephone number. The calls are staggered over times of day and days of the week (including at least one daytime call) to maximize the chances of making contact with a potential respondent. Interviewing is also spread as evenly as possible across the field period. An effort is made to recontact all interview breakoffs and refusals in order to attempt to convert them to completed interviews.

Response rates for current Pew Research polls range from 18 to 25%; these response rates are comparable to those for other major polls. The response rate is the percentage of known or assumed residential households where a completed interview was obtained. The response rate we report is equivalent to the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s (AAPOR) Response Rate 3 (RR3). Fortunately, low response rates are not necessarily an indication of nonresponse bias. Nonresponse in telephone interview surveys can produce biases in survey-derived estimates. Survey participation tends to vary for different subgroups of the population, and these subgroups are likely to also vary on questions of substantive interest. In order to compensate for these known biases, the sample data are weighted for analysis.

The combined landline and cell phone sample is first weighted to account for the fact that respondents with both landline and cell phones have a greater probability of being included in the sample. Respondents with only a landline or only a cell phone are given a weight of 1, respondents with both a landline and cell phone are given a weight of .5 and respondents whose phone status is unknown are given an average weight for the sample based on which phone we reached them on.

The sample is then weighted using population parameters for all households with adults 18 years of age or older from the U.S. Census Bureau. The parameters for age, education, race/ethnicity, and region are from the Current Population Survey’s March 2008 Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the parameter for population density is from the Decennial Census. These population parameters are compared with the sample characteristics to construct the weights. In addition to the demographic parameters, the sample is also weighted to match current patterns of telephone status and relative usage of landline and cell phones (for those with both), based on extrapolations from the July-December 2007 National Health Interview Survey. The final weights are derived using an iterative technique that simultaneously balances the distributions of all weighting parameters.

Weighting cannot eliminate every source of nonresponse bias. Nonetheless, properly-conducted public opinion polls have a good record in achieving unbiased samples. In particular, election polling – where a comparison of the polls with the actual election results provides an opportunity to validate the survey results – has been very accurate over the years.

ABOUT THE PARTY IDENTIFICATION DATABASE

The analysis of changes in party identification over time is based on a compilation of 240 surveys and more than 380,000 interviews among the general public conducted by the Pew Research Center from January 1990 to April 2009. These surveys are combined into one large data file that can be sorted according to a range of demographic characteristics, with comparisons made across different time periods. Yearly totals are calculated by combining all surveys for the calendar year, with appropriate weights applied. The table below shows the number of surveys and interviews conducted each year as well as the margin of error for each yearly sample.

Long term trends in party identification from 1939 to 1989 were compiled from surveys conducted by the Gallup Organization as archived in the Gallup Brain database searching for the standard phrases “consider yourself a Republican” or “consider yourself a Democrat” coupled with the word “independent” to exclude any surveys that did not offer an explicit independent option. Yearly averages are computed by taking the simple average of the percent Republican, Democrat and independent across all surveys available in each calendar year. The questions used to identify party identification in Gallup surveys prior to 1955 varied but are roughly comparable. Since 1955 the Gallup question has been standardized and is identical to the one used by the Pew Research Center.