Traditional American values on the decline, poll finds: Patriotism, faith, having children hold less importance to American people

A recent Wall Street Journal survey conducted with NORC at the University of Chicago found that long-held, traditional American values — including patriotism, religious faith, having children, and belonging to a community — are declining in importance for Americans.

The poll, released Monday, surveyed 1,019 people between March 1 and 13. It found that only 38% of Americans rate "patriotism" as "very important" to them, compared to 70% in 1998. Similarly, only 39% of U.S. citizens gave the same value of importance to religion, versus 62% in 1998.

Recently polled Americans also placed less importance on having children. Approximately 30% state that raising children was "very important" to them, compared to 59% 25 years ago.

The importance of community involvement for Americans dropped from 62% in 2019 to just 27% in the WSJ's most recent poll.

Roughly 58% of those surveyed stated that tolerance is "very important" to them, versus 80% in 2019.

Contrarily, the only value that increased in importance for Americans was money — 43% rated it as "very important" while only 31% stated the same 25 years ago.

The poll found that those under 30 were less likely than those 65 and older to hold traditional American values.

For example, only 23% of younger people stated that patriotism is "very important" while 59% of older people stated the same. Additionally, only 31% of those under 30 placed the same importance on faith, while 55% of those 65 and older agreed. Just 23% of young respondents valued having children as "very important," while 32% of seniors stated the same.

The polling gaps largely fell along political party lines, with more Republicans than Democrats deeming traditional American values as important.

Republican pollster Bill McInturff attributed the "dramatic" shift in values to the recent contentious political climate. He stated that the recent poll "paints a new and surprising portrait of a changing America."

"Perhaps the toll of our political division, COVID and the lowest economic confidence in decades is having a startling effect on our core values," McInturff told the WSJ.

The survey found that 63% of Americans do not want companies to take a stand on social and political issues. It also revealed that 43% of respondents feel that the country has "gone too far" with transgender issues, compared to 33% who feel society has not gone far enough. Additionally, half of Americans stated they do not like being asked to refer to someone by gender-neutral pronouns, such as "they" and "them."

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