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Despite the country's deep political polarization, most Americans share many core beliefs about what it means to be an American, according to a new poll.The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults say the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to privacy are extremely important or very important to the United States' identity as a nation. The survey also found that 84% feel the same way about the freedom of religion.The results, which included perspectives on a number of different freedoms and rights, have only small variances between Republicans and Democrats except on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/personal-freedoms/second-amendment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the right to bear arms</a>, which Republicans are more likely to see as core to the nation's identity. The overall findings are striking because they come at a time of extreme partisanship when political agreements seem rare and concerns are heightened over the potential for violence during a volatile presidential election year.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/elections/polls#:~:text=Illegal%20immigration%2C%20terrorism%20concerns%20increase%20among%20US%20citizens%3A%20Gallup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, TERRORISM CONCERNS INCREASE AMONG US CITIZENS: GALLUP</a>"If you get a bunch of normal people at random and put them in a room together and chat about issues, there’s a lot more convergence than you might imagine," said Michael Albertus, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.A more pessimistic assessment of the country was reflected in another finding — that only about 3 in 10 Americans believe the nation's democracy is functioning well. About half say the U.S. is a poorly functioning democracy, while 14% say the U.S. is not a democracy.The tension between the broad consensus on the country's fundamental values and discontent with how well its form of government is working is not a surprise, experts say."Part of it is really our leaders are not reflecting the electorate, and they behave in a way that’s much more polarized than what the electorate is," said Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University.Most Americans, she said, "are pretty moderate, but they’ve been riled up to hate people of the other party for being different from them culturally, racially and religiously."The AP-NORC poll also found broad agreement on the importance of some key values for the U.S.’s identity as a country. About three-quarters of U.S. adults agree that a democratically elected government is extremely or very important, and about 8 in 10 think the same about the ability of people living in the U.S. to get good jobs and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6350094654112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieve the American dream</a>.But what achieving that dream means — and which values are most fundamental to American culture — isn’t something all Americans agree on.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/american-values-small-town-america-saying-american-dream-getting-hard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AMERICAN VALUES: WHAT SMALL TOWN AMERICA IS SAYING ABOUT THE AMERICAN DREAM, 'GETTING TOO HARD'</a>Democrats are more likely than Republicans — 71% to 38% — to believe that the ability to come to the U.S. from elsewhere in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is core to the country’s identity. A majority of Republicans, 58%, think a culture grounded in Christian values and beliefs is an essential characteristic, compared to only 18% of Democrats.Juan Sierra, 51, a naturalized citizen whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic after a hurricane destroyed his father’s cement business, said it is very important to him that the U.S. be seen as a place of opportunity.The industrial technician in Port St. Lucie, Florida, said he believes democracy is working and will continue to do so "as long as there are good people in government."Sierra also said it was extremely important that people have freedom of religion, although he had concerns over the nation’s identity being tied to Christianity."We’re seeing what happens right now when laws are passed and decisions are made based on someone’s religion," he said, citing the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that frozen embryos can be considered children and be afforded legal protections, a decision that temporarily halted IVF procedures in the state.Susan Johnson, a 76-year-old Republican living in the Dallas suburbs, said the nation’s standing as a beacon to others who need refuge is very important, but said that could not override concerns about border security."We need people working," she said. "We just need them to come the right way."Johnson also said she believes it's extremely important that the nation’s identity be grounded in spirituality."Whether or not you’re Mormon or a Muslim or a Christian, they just have to have some higher power to reach up to," she said. "The country is going to fall apart if we don’t believe in God."<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/elections/polls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The poll found</a> few divisions on democracy as a system in theory, but it identified one notable gap: younger Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 were less likely than those 60 and older to say the U.S. is a well-functioning democracy. They’re also less likely than older Americans to believe that some characteristics are essential to the U.S.’s character as a nation, including having a democratically elected government. About 6 in 10 younger adults see this as important, compared to about 9 in 10 older adults.Palakjot Singh, a 21-year-old college student in Fresno, California, identified himself as a Republican and said he had a better quality of life when Donald Trump was president. He said the U.S. is not a well-functioning democracy in part because people are not open to debating different points of view compared to previous generations."There is not good communication," he said. "Nobody is sitting together trying to get to one point."Howard Lavine, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, said the generational split is understandable. Many younger people don’t remember a time when those with opposing views and from different political backgrounds could get together and "come over to your house." Their frame of reference is the hyper partisanship of the Trump years, he said.Joe Lagle, 55, a retired Air Force veteran in Colorado Springs who said he has not voted for either President Joe Biden or Trump, said the nation’s various rights are "all important" but believes they are being eroded by intolerance and well-meaning but shortsighted people.Mike Maloy, 41, an engineer in Greensboro, North Carolina, said having those rights and freedoms "doesn't necessarily mean the U.S. is a functioning democracy.""Everything is run by a handful of people and their corporations," he said. "That's not a democracy."A Democrat, Maloy cited as an example this year's presidential primary in North Carolina, when Biden was the lone candidate on the ballot. He called that "frustrating" and said the result was that voters "had no choice."

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--- !ruby/object:Feedjira::Parser::RSSEntry
published: 2024-04-03 13:38:10.000000000 Z
carlessian_info:
 news_filer_version: 2
 newspaper: US - Fox News
 macro_region: USA
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 guid: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/americans-agree-most-core-values-democracy-functions-poorly-poll-finds
title: Americans agree on most core values, think our democracy functions poorly,
 poll finds
categories:
- 243dd3a4-f015-519e-8819-c566afe15bc0
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content: 'Despite the country''s deep political polarization, most Americans share
 many core beliefs about what it means to be an American, according to a new poll.The
 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that
 about 9 in 10 U.S. adults say the right to vote, the right to equal protection under
 the law and the right to privacy are extremely important or very important to the
 United States'' identity as a nation. The survey also found that 84% feel the same
 way about the freedom of religion.The results, which included perspectives
 on a number of different freedoms and rights, have only small variances between
 Republicans and Democrats except on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/personal-freedoms/second-amendment"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">the right to bear arms</a>, which Republicans are
 more likely to see as core to the nation''s identity. The overall findings are striking
 because they come at a time of extreme partisanship when political agreements seem
 rare and concerns are heightened over the potential for violence during a volatile
 presidential election year.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/elections/polls#:~:text=Illegal%20immigration%2C%20terrorism%20concerns%20increase%20among%20US%20citizens%3A%20Gallup"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, TERRORISM CONCERNS INCREASE
 AMONG US CITIZENS: GALLUP</a>"If you get a bunch of normal people
 at random and put them in a room together and chat about issues, there’s a lot more
 convergence than you might imagine," said Michael Albertus, a political science
 professor at the University of Chicago.A more pessimistic assessment of the
 country was reflected in another finding — that only about 3 in 10 Americans believe
 the nation''s democracy is functioning well. About half say the U.S. is a poorly
 functioning democracy, while 14% say the U.S. is not a democracy.The tension
 between the broad consensus on the country''s fundamental values and discontent
 with how well its form of government is working is not a surprise, experts say."Part
 of it is really our leaders are not reflecting the electorate, and they behave in
 a way that’s much more polarized than what the electorate is," said Lilliana Mason,
 a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University.Most Americans, she said,
 "are pretty moderate, but they’ve been riled up to hate people of the other party
 for being different from them culturally, racially and religiously."The AP-NORC
 poll also found broad agreement on the importance of some key values for the U.S.’s
 identity as a country. About three-quarters of U.S. adults agree that a democratically
 elected government is extremely or very important, and about 8 in 10 think the same
 about the ability of people living in the U.S. to get good jobs and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6350094654112"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieve the American dream</a>.But what achieving
 that dream means — and which values are most fundamental to American culture — isn’t
 something all Americans agree on.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/american-values-small-town-america-saying-american-dream-getting-hard"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">AMERICAN VALUES: WHAT SMALL TOWN AMERICA
 IS SAYING ABOUT THE AMERICAN DREAM, ''GETTING TOO HARD''</a>Democrats
 are more likely than Republicans — 71% to 38% — to believe that the ability to come
 to the U.S. from elsewhere in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities
 is core to the country’s identity. A majority of Republicans, 58%, think a culture
 grounded in Christian values and beliefs is an essential characteristic, compared
 to only 18% of Democrats.Juan Sierra, 51, a naturalized citizen whose family
 immigrated from the Dominican Republic after a hurricane destroyed his father’s
 cement business, said it is very important to him that the U.S. be seen as a place
 of opportunity.The industrial technician in Port St. Lucie, Florida, said
 he believes democracy is working and will continue to do so "as long as there are
 good people in government."Sierra also said it was extremely important that
 people have freedom of religion, although he had concerns over the nation’s identity
 being tied to Christianity."We’re seeing what happens right now when laws
 are passed and decisions are made based on someone’s religion," he said, citing
 the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that frozen embryos can be considered
 children and be afforded legal protections, a decision that temporarily halted IVF
 procedures in the state.Susan Johnson, a 76-year-old Republican living in
 the Dallas suburbs, said the nation’s standing as a beacon to others who need refuge
 is very important, but said that could not override concerns about border security."We
 need people working," she said. "We just need them to come the right way."Johnson
 also said she believes it''s extremely important that the nation’s identity be grounded
 in spirituality."Whether or not you’re Mormon or a Muslim or a Christian,
 they just have to have some higher power to reach up to," she said. "The country
 is going to fall apart if we don’t believe in God."<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/elections/polls"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">The poll found</a> few divisions on democracy as
 a system in theory, but it identified one notable gap: younger Americans between
 the ages of 18 to 29 were less likely than those 60 and older to say the U.S. is
 a well-functioning democracy. They’re also less likely than older Americans to believe
 that some characteristics are essential to the U.S.’s character as a nation, including
 having a democratically elected government. About 6 in 10 younger adults see this
 as important, compared to about 9 in 10 older adults.Palakjot Singh, a 21-year-old
 college student in Fresno, California, identified himself as a Republican and said
 he had a better quality of life when Donald Trump was president. He said the U.S.
 is not a well-functioning democracy in part because people are not open to debating
 different points of view compared to previous generations."There is not good
 communication," he said. "Nobody is sitting together trying to get to one point."Howard
 Lavine, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, said the generational
 split is understandable. Many younger people don’t remember a time when those with
 opposing views and from different political backgrounds could get together and "come
 over to your house." Their frame of reference is the hyper partisanship of the Trump
 years, he said.Joe Lagle, 55, a retired Air Force veteran in Colorado Springs
 who said he has not voted for either President Joe Biden or Trump, said the nation’s
 various rights are "all important" but believes they are being eroded by intolerance
 and well-meaning but shortsighted people.Mike Maloy, 41, an engineer in Greensboro,
 North Carolina, said having those rights and freedoms "doesn''t necessarily mean
 the U.S. is a functioning democracy.""Everything is run by a handful of people
 and their corporations," he said. "That''s not a democracy."A Democrat, Maloy
 cited as an example this year''s presidential primary in North Carolina, when Biden
 was the lone candidate on the ballot. He called that "frustrating" and said the
 result was that voters "had no choice."'
summary: A new AP-NORC poll found that, despite variations across political party
 and age, most Americans agree on what rights are important to the United States&apos;
 identity as a nation.
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url: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/americans-agree-most-core-values-democracy-functions-poorly-poll-finds
image: https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/931/523/AP-Poll-Democracy-Identity.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

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