Story highlights
- Similar proportions identify as socially liberal and socially conservative in the United States.
- Economic conservatives have a significant advantage over economic liberals.
- Democrats have moved leftward on both types of issues over the past 20 years.
WASHINGTON, DC — Americans are more sharply divided on social issues than on economic issues, according to a description of topic positions by broad categories of Americans. Roughly the same percentage of U.S. adults now identify as socially liberal (34%), moderate (35%), or conservative (30%). In contrast, Americans are decidedly conservative on economic issues, with 41% identifying their economic views this way, compared to 25% liberals and 34% moderates. be.
A horizontal bar chart showing Americans’ ideology on social and economic issues. On social issues, 30% are conservative, 35% are moderate, and 34% are liberal. Regarding economic issues, 41% are conservative, 34% are moderate, and 25% are liberal.
These findings are from Gallup’s annual Values āāand Beliefs survey, conducted May 3-18.
Social issues deeply divide Americans
This is the first time since 2001 that Gallup trends indicate that more Americans identify as liberal than conservative on social issues. Although this 4 percentage point difference is not statistically significant, it represents a numerical milestone in a trend in which Americans’ social views have become more liberal over the past decade.
In most years from 2001 to 2012, social conservatives had a clear advantage over social liberals, with an average difference of 12 points. The Conservative Party’s lead shrank to 5 points in 2013, and has remained in single digits or tied between social conservatives and liberals ever since.
line graph. Annual trends from 2001 to 2021 for Americans who identify as conservative, moderate, or liberal in their position on social issues. The percentage of conservatives has fallen from 36% in 2001 to 30% now, and the percentage of liberals has increased from 24% to 34%. The moderate share has not changed much, recording 38% in 2001 and 35% today.
Conservatism continues to lead economic perspectives
The change in Americans’ stance on social issues since 2001 stands in contrast to their professed economic views. Over the past 20 years, these parties have been primarily conservative, with moderates a close second and liberals the smallest of his three.
Since 2019, economic conservatives’ lead over liberals has narrowed, rising from 18% in 2019 to 25% now, as more Americans identify as economically liberal. However, conservatives remained stable at about 40%, and moderates decreased slightly.
line graph. Annual trends from 2001 to 2021 of Americans’ self-proclaimed positions on economic issues as conservative, moderate, or liberal. Views have remained fairly stable over this period, with the percentage identifying as conservative rarely straying far from his average of 43% since 2001. Meanwhile, the percentage of moderates decreased slightly from 38% to 34%, and the percentage of liberals increased from 17% to 25%. .
Ideological views summarized by the Internet Conservative Index
Americans’ ideological views on both types of issues can be summarized by looking at the net conservatism index, defined as the percentage of conservatives minus the percentage of liberals on each dimension. A larger value indicates an advantage for conservatives, and a negative value indicates that liberals outnumber conservatives.
The numbers for pure conservatives were positive on both counts in 2001, but have gradually declined on social issues and are now slightly negative. Meanwhile, the overall trend was solidly positive on economic issues.
Horizontal line chart showing trends in online conservative views on social and economic issues from 2001 to 2021. The percentage of pure conservatives is the percentage who identify as conservative on each issue minus the percentage who identify as liberal. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who are pure conservatives has declined in their economic and social views. But while pure conservative numbers are now negative on social issues, they remain solidly positive on economic issues.
Democrats accelerate the decline of social conservatism
The decline in online conservatism on social issues over the past decade is primarily due to a decline in the number of Democrats who identify as social conservatives, while at the same time, descriptions of social views among Republicans and independents have remained unchanged. is the cause.
Democrats have also become less conservative on economic issues, while Republicans have become slightly more conservative on economic issues, while independents have seen little change. As a result of these offsetting trends, Americans’ economic views have changed less than those of society as a whole.
A horizontal line chart showing trends in Americans’ online conservative views on social and economic issues by party ID from 2001 to 2021. Republicans have solidly positive pure conservative views on both issues, while independents are more balanced on economic issues, while being neutral on social issues. Democrats have become less and less conservative on both issues, and are now more liberal than conservative on either.
Social conservatism is on the decline even among college graduates
Similarly, pure conservatism has declined among college graduates, but at the same time remains fairly even among college graduates. From 2001 to 2012, college graduates were generally evenly divided in their views on social issues, with numbers for pure conservatives hovering around the zero midpoint. Since then, the index has fallen into decidedly negative territory among college graduates, indicating that more people identify as socially liberal than conservative.
The views of college graduates are relatively conservative on economic issues and do not change much over time. But this year marks the first time his conservative net index has fallen into single digits.
Horizontal line chart showing trends in Americans’ purely conservative views on social and economic issues by education from 2001 to 2021. College-educated Americans are less conservative than non-college-educated Americans on both issues, but the gap has consistently widened on social issues. Currently, college graduates’ net conservative scores are negative on social issues but neutral on economic issues. Non-college graduates have slightly more positive net conservatism scores on social issues and stronger net conservatism scores on economic issues.
Race and age differences persist despite slight changes
Since 2001, to varying degrees, white Americans have generally been more conservative than nonwhite Americans on social and economic issues, a pattern consistent with Americans’ partisan leanings.
Still, over time, both racial groups became less conservative on social issues, with white Americans and nonwhite Americans at about the same rate of decline. When it comes to economic issues, there has been some decline in online conservatism among nonwhite Americans, while there has been little overall change among white Americans.
A horizontal line chart showing trends in Americans’ online conservative views on social and economic issues by race from 2001 to 2021. White Americans consistently have higher net conservative scores on both issues compared to nonwhite Americans, but both groups are more conservative on economic issues than on social issues. Currently, white Americans are neutral on social issues, while non-white Americans are somewhat more liberal. When it comes to economic issues, white Americans are somewhat conservative on balance, while non-white Americans are neutral.
Online conservatism is consistently correlated with age, being higher among adults aged 55+ and 35 to 54 than among those aged 18 to 34.
Young and middle-aged adults became less conservative on both types of issues over time, while older adults did not change much.
About social issues:
- Adults ages 18 to 34 were almost evenly divided on their social views in the early 2000s, with a net conservatism score near zero, but now their net conservatism score is significantly negative at -21. .
- Adults ages 35 to 54 went from being slightly conservative on social issues in 2001 to becoming slightly more liberal than conservative in 2021.
- Older people, those over 55, are slightly less conservative, going from +23 in 2001 to +13 now.
When it comes to economic issues, young people’s opinions are now split almost evenly in favor of conservatives. Although middle-aged adults have moved from solid conservatives to moderate conservatives, older adults’ net conservative scores remain high.
A horizontal line chart showing trends in Americans’ purely conservative views on social and economic issues by age from 2001 to 2021. Americans ages 55 and older and adults ages 35 to 54 have consistently higher net maintenance scores on both issues than adults ages 18 to 34. All three groups are more conservative on economic issues than on social issues. Currently, when it comes to social issues, adults 55 and older are on balance somewhat conservative, while 35-54 year olds are somewhat liberal, and 18-34 year olds are significantly more liberal than conservative. Currently, when it comes to economic issues, adults 55 and older and their 35-54 year olds are somewhat conservative, while adults 18-34 are neutral.
conclusion
Broadly speaking, Americans are far from unified on economic and social issues. But given Americans’ center-right leanings, they are more likely to find common ground on economic issues of the two, as opposed to their highly divided views on social issues.
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