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A handful of core values have guided America throughout the country’s history. But a recent survey suggests those bedrock principles are beginning to fade among the nation’s citizens.
Recently, a joint poll conducted by The Wall Street Journal and NORC at the University of Chicago found significant erosion in the percentage of Americans who say a handful of core values are important.
Coincidentally or not, the poll also found that just 12% of respondents describe themselves as “very happy,” the lowest share since NORC, a nonprofit research organization, started asking the question in 1972.
Following are the values that Americans are abandoning in droves.
Religion
Survey respondents who said this value is “very important” to them in:
- 2023: 39%
- 2019: 48%
- 1998: 62%
Polls have consistently shown that religious faith is on the wane in America and has been for some time. As the Pew Research Center stated in 2021:
“The secularizing shifts evident in American society so far in the 21st century show no signs of slowing.”
Patriotism
Survey respondents who said this value is “very important” to them in:
- 2023: 38%
- 2019: 61%
- 1998: 70%
From the founding of the nation, Americans have been proud of their homeland. Belief that America is a special place even has a name: “American exceptionalism.”
Today, that belief has taken a severe hit. It appears that a majority of the country’s citizens now believe America is just like anywhere else.
Having children
Survey respondents who said this value is “very important” to them in:
- 2023: 30%
- 2019: 43%
- 1998: 59%
Arguably, children bring more joy — and occasionally, heartache — to people than anything else in human history.
But vast numbers of people are now deciding that having offspring is not a priority.
Community involvement
Survey respondents who said this value is “very important” to them in:
- 2023: 27%
- 2019: 62%
- 1998: 47%
This is the one value that had not shown a steady decline over the past quarter-century. In fact, belief in the importance of community involvement increased significantly between 1998 and 2019.
But the percentage of Americans who believe community involvement is important has plummeted in the last four years. Perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic has created newfound fears of working closely with our fellow citizens. Or, other factors might be at work.
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