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For Release October 5, 2017 For FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 5, 2017 FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Carroll Doherty, Director of Political Research Jocelyn Kiley, Associate Director, Research Bridget Johnson, Communications Associate 202.419.4372 www.pewresearch.org RECOMMENDED CITATION Pew Research Center, October, 2017, “The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider” PEW RESEARCH CENTER About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. The Center studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. All of the Center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the survey from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. © Pew Research Center 2017 www.pewresearch.org PEW RESEARCH CENTER Table of Contents Overview ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Partisan divides over political values widen ...................................................................................... 7 2. Government, regulation and the social safety net ........................................................................... 15 3. Foreign policy views .......................................................................................................................... 21 4. Race and discrimination, opinions about immigrants ..................................................................... 31 5. Homosexuality, gender and religion ................................................................................................. 41 6. Economic fairness, corporate profits and tax policy ...................................................................... 49 7. Global warming and environmental regulation, personal environmentalism ................................ 57 8. Partisan animosity, personal politics, views of Trump .................................................................... 65 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 73 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 75 www.pewresearch.org PEW RESEARCH CENTER www.pewresearch.org PEW RESEARCH CENTER The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on fundamental political values – on government, race, Growing partisan gaps on immigration, national security, environmental protection and govt, race, immigration other areas – reached record levels during Barack Obama’s % who say … presidency. In Donald Trump’s first year as president, these gaps have grown even larger. And the magnitude of these differences dwarfs other divisions in society, along such lines as gender, race and ethnicity, religious observance or education. A new study by Pew Research Center, based on surveys of more than 5,000 adults conducted over the summer, finds widening differences between Republicans and Democrats on a range of measures the Center has been asking about since 1994, as well as those with more recent trends. But in recent years, the gaps on several sets of political values in particular – including measures of attitudes about the social safety net, race and immigration – have increased dramatically. Government aid to needy. Over the past six years, the share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying the government should do more to help the needy, even if it means going deeper into debt, has risen 17 percentage points (from 54% to 71%), while the views of Republicans and Republican leaners have barely changed (25% then, 24% today). However, Republicans’ opinions on this issue had shifted substantially between 2007 and 2011, with the share favoring more aid to the needy falling 20 points (from 45% to 25%). The result: While there has been a consistent party gap since 1994 on government aid to the poor, the divisions have never been this large. In 2011, about twice as many Democrats as Source: Survey conducted June 8-18 and June 27-July 9, 2017. PEW RESEARCH CENTER www.pewresearch.org 2 PEW RESEARCH CENTER Republicans said the government should do more for the needy (54% vs. 25%). Today, nearly three times as many Democrats as Republicans say this (71% vs. 24%). Racial discrimination. In recent years, Democrats’ views on racial discrimination also have changed, driving an overall shift in public opinion. Currently, 41% of Americans say racial discrimination is the main reason many blacks cannot get ahead – the largest share expressing this view in surveys dating back 23 years. Still, somewhat more Americans (49%) say blacks who cannot get ahead are mostly responsible for their own condition. When the racial discrimination question was first asked in 1994, the partisan difference was 13 points. By 2009, it was only somewhat larger (19 points). But today, the gap in opinions between Republicans and Democrats about racial discrimination and black advancement has increased to 50 points. Immigration. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say immigrants strengthen the country “because of their hard work and talents.” Just 26% say immigrants are a burden “because they take our jobs, housing and health care.” Views of immigrants, though little changed from a year ago, are more positive than at any point in the past two decades. As with views of racial discrimination, there has been a major shift in Democrats’ opinions about immigrants. The share of Democrats who say immigrants strengthen the country has increased from 32% in 1994 to 84% today. By contrast, Republicans are divided in attitudes about immigrants: 42% say they strengthen the country, while 44% view them as a burden. In 1994, 30% of Republicans said immigrants strengthened the country, while 64% said they were a burden. “Peace through strength.” About six-in-ten Americans (61%) say good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace, while 30% say peace is ensured by military strength. Opinions in both parties have changed since the 1990s; Democrats increasingly say peace is ensured by good diplomacy, while Republicans say it is military strength that ensures peace. Today, 83% of Democrats and Democratic leaners see good diplomacy as the way to ensure peace, compared with just 33% of Republicans and Republican leaners. The surveys were conducted June 8-18 among 2,504 adults and June 27-July 9 among 2,505 adults, with a follow-up survey conducted Aug. 15-21 among 1,893 respondents. This report was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the surveys from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. www.pewresearch.org 3 PEW RESEARCH CENTER The partisan shifts on political values over the past 23 years have had different trajectories across different sets of issues. While there has been greater movement among Democrats As partisan divides over political values widen, other gaps remain more modest than Republicans on several issues, on others Republicans Average gap in the share taking a conservative position across 10 political values, by key demographics have shown more change. In views of stricter Party environmental laws and 36 33 regulations, for example, 32 there has been a larger long- term change among 26 Republicans than Democrats. Republicans are far less supportive of stricter 17 environmental laws than they 15 15 Race were in the mid-1990s, while 14 14 Religious Democrats have become 11 attendance 11 somewhat more supportive. Education 9 10 Age 8 6 7 Gender But the bottom line is this: 5 Across 10 measures that Pew Research Center has tracked 1994 1999 2004 2009 2011 20142014 2017 on the same surveys since Notes: Indicates average gap between the share of two groups taking the conservative 1994, the average partisan position across 10 values items. Party=difference between Rep/Lean Rep and Dem/Lean Dem. Race=white non-Hispanic/black non-Hispanic. Education=college grad/non-college gap has increased from 15 grad. Age=18-49/50+. Religion=weekly+ religious service attenders/less often. percentage points to 36 Source: Survey conducted June 8-18 and June 27-July 9, 2017. PEW RESEARCH CENTER points. Two decades ago, the average partisan differences on these items were only somewhat wider than differences by religious attendance or educational attainment and about as wide as the differences between blacks and whites (14 points, on average). Today, the party divide is much wider than any of these demographic differences. www.pewresearch.org 4 PEW RESEARCH CENTER Partisan gaps have grown even on measures in which opinion in both parties has moved in the same direction, such as support for societal acceptance of homosexuality. Currently, 70% of Americans say homosexuality should be accepted – the highest percentage ever. For the first time, a majority of Republicans (54%) favor acceptance of homosexuality; just 38% did so in 1994. Yet over this period, the increase in the share of Democrats saying homosexuality should be accepted
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