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Presentation | Important Divides, Decoupling of Social Issues

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[10.13.2010]

Generational Divides, Ethnic Divides among Catholics, Decoupling of Social Issues

The American Values Survey (AVS) is a large, nationally representative public opinion survey of American attitudes on religion, values, and politics.  The 2010 poll is the third biennial AVS, which is conducted by PRRI every two years as the national election season is getting underway.

The new and expanded analysis summarized here supplements the initial report, Religion and the Tea Party in the 2010 Election, released on October 5, 2010. Results of the 2010 American Values Survey are based on telephone interviews conducted among a national random sample of 3,013 adults (age 18 and older) between September 1 and September 14, 2010.

▶ Read the full report here.
▶ View the presentation slides here.
▶ Read the Questionnaire, Topline Results and Survey Methodology here.

2010 Election and Voting Context

  • Two months before the election, 47% of registered voters say they are planning to vote for or are leaning towards the Democratic candidate in their election district, compared to 44% who favor the Republican candidate.
    • However, across nearly all religious groups, support for Democratic candidates lags significantly behind levels of support for President Barack Obama in 2008, particularly among white Catholics (8 points behind), white mainline Protestants (8 points behind), and the unaffiliated (11 points behind).
    • The Republican Party maintains a sizable advantage among all white Christian voters, while Democrats perform better among ethnic minority Christian voters and the unaffiliated.
  • A majority (54%) of voters say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported health care reform.
    • There are significant partisan differences, with 79% of Democratic voters and 51% of independent voters saying they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported health care reform. Nearly 6-in-10 (59%) Republican voters say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported health care reform.
    • A majority (55%) of Americans believe health care policy should be decided at the national level, compared to about 4-in-10 who say that it should be decided at the state level.

Increased Support for Same-Sex Marriage

  • Public support for same-sex marriage increased by 8 points from 2008 to 2010 (29% to 37%). An additional 27% support civil unions, and only one-third of Americans say there should be no legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships. Half of Democrats, 4-in-10 independents, and less than 1-in-5 (17%) Republicans support allowing gay and lesbian people to marry.
    • The generation gap on the issue of same-sex marriage is striking. Three-quarters of younger Americans (age 18-29) support either same-sex marriage (52%) or civil unions (23%); only 24% say there should be no legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships. In contrast, only a slim majority of older Americans (age 65 and older) support either same-sex marriage (22%) or civil unions (29%); a plurality (42%) say there should be no legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships.
    • When Americans are given a clarification that same-sex marriage would only apply to “civil marriages like you get at city hall,” support for same-sex marriage increases by 22 points, from 37% to 59%.

Broad Support for Increasing Minimum Wage & Immigration Reform

  • More than two-thirds (67%) of the American public support increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.00 an hour.More than one-third (35%) are strongly in favor.
    • Support remains strong across partisan divides, with the notable exception of those who identify with the Tea Party movement. Strong majorities of Democrats (82%) and independents (64%) are in favor of increasing the minimum wage. Republicans are less supportive, although a slim majority (51%) support an increase. Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement are most opposed and are split over the issue (47% in favor and 50% opposed).
    • A proposal to increase the minimum wage has solid support across every religious group.
  • Nearly 6-in-10 (58%) Americans favor a policy that provides a future path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for several years.
    • Immigration reform with a provision for citizenship for undocumented immigrants has majority support across religious groups with the exception of white evangelical Protestants, who are divided on the issue (48% favor, 50% oppose).
    • Two-thirds (67%) of Americans say immigration reform policies should be decided at the national level.

Generation Gaps

  • Younger Americans (age 18-29) hold significantly different views than older Americans (age 65 and older), not only on important political issues but also on the values that inform these issues.
  • Younger Americans are significantly more supportive than older Americans of rights for gay and lesbian people. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of young adults favor allowing gay and lesbian people to adopt children, a view held by only 35% of adults age 65 and older. Young adults are also twice as likely as older adults to say that their views on rights for gay and lesbian people have become more supportive over the last five years (26% to 13%).
  • Young adults are much more likely than older Americans to claim no formal religious affiliation and have much lower religious service attendance rates than their parents and grandparents. One-third of young adults report that they have no formal religious affiliation, more than three times the rate (10%) of older Americans.
  • Younger Americans are about half as likely as older Americans to say that America is and has always been a Christian nation (26% to 53%). More than 1-in-4 (26%) young adults say that America has never been a Christian nation.
  • Young adults are much more concerned about equal opportunity—that everyone be given an equal chance in life—than older Americans. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans under 30 say that one of the biggest problems in this country is that not everyone is given an equal chance in life. Less than half (44%) of Americans age 65 and older agree; a plurality (49%) of older Americans say that it is not really that big of a problem.
  • Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to see the need for a larger role for government in society. A majority (51%) say that government has gotten bigger over the years because the problems we face have become bigger. Only 36% of older Americans believe government has grown in response to greater problems. Nearly 6-in-10 (59%) say government has grown because it has gotten involved in things people should be doing for themselves.

Different Political Values of White and Latino Catholics

  • There are significant differences between white and Latino Catholics not only on issues, but on general political values.
    • Latino Catholics are significantly more likely than white Catholics to be concerned about equal opportunity in the country. Two-thirds (67%) of Latino Catholics agree that one of the biggest problems in the country is that not everyone is given an equal chance, compared to only 29% who say that it is not really that big a problem if some have more of a chance in life than others. White Catholics are nearly evenly divided, with 48% saying unequal chances are a big problem, and 45% disagreeing.
    • White Catholics are more likely than Latino Catholics to favor smaller government. More than 6-in-10 (62%) white Catholics say that the government has gotten bigger because it is involved in too many things that should be left to individuals, compared to 35% who say it has gotten bigger because the problems we face are bigger. Latino Catholics are evenly divided on this question, with 48% affirming each statement.
    • White Catholics are significantly more likely than Latino Catholics to say that the U.S. is a Christian nation. Approximately 6-in-10 (57%) white Catholics say that the U.S. is and always has been a Christian nation, and an additional 29% say that the U.S. was a Christian nation in the past but is not now; only 12% say the U.S. has never been a Christian nation. Among Latino Catholics, only about 4-in-10 (43%) say that the U.S. is and always has been a Christian nation, and an additional 32% say that the U.S. was a Christian nation in the past but is not now; only 19% say the U.S. has never been a Christian nation.

▶ Read the full report here.
▶ View the presentation slides here.
▶ Read the Questionnaire, Topline Results and Survey Methodology here.

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