Thursday, October 27, 2016

New Survey Findings On Religion and American Culture and Politics

The Public Religion Research Institute this week released its findings from the 2016 American Values Survey in a 48-page report titled The Divide Over America's Future: 1950 or 2050?. While the report is wide-ranging, portions dealt with religion and American culture and politics.Here are some excerpts from the report's Executive Summary:
Americans are divided about whether American culture and way of life have changed for worse (51%) or better (48%) since the 1950s.....
No group has a dimmer view of American cultural change than white evangelical Protestants: nearly three-quarters (74%) say American culture has changed for the worse since the 1950s....
In 2016, Americans’ social networks are strongly segregated by party loyalties.... There is also evidence that American churches are highly segregated by party. More than eight in ten (83%) Trump supporters who attend religious services at least weekly estimate that most of their fellow church members are supporting Trump. Similarly, more than three-quarters (78%) of Clinton supporters who attend religious services at least weekly estimate that most of their fellow church members are supporting Clinton.