While political polarization in the U.S. has made it hard to even bring up politics with friends, poll results released this week reveal that Americans might agree more than we realize.
According to the AP-NORC poll of 1,282 adults conducted March 21 to March 25, the vast majority of Democrats (83%) and Republicans (78%) believe the ability of people living here to get good jobs and achieve the American dream is important to the nation’s identity.
That’s not the only thing they agree about. People from both parties also believe that a democratically elected government (89% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans), the right to vote (83% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans), the right of everyone to equal protection under the law (80% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans), freedom of speech (68% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans), the right to privacy (62% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans), freedom of religion (63% of Democrats and 66% of Republicans) and the right of people to assemble peacefully (63% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans) are important to U.S. identity.
“Large majorities of the public agree when it comes to the importance of many of the rights and freedoms provided in the Bill of Rights, various laws, or court rulings,” said AP-NORC.
However, there are some subjects where the parties had a large divide. Most Democrats (60%) think that freedom of the press is important and only 45% of Republicans agreed. Regarding the right to bear arms, 60% of Republicans said it was important, compared to just 19% of Democrats.
There were other differences too. Democrats were much more likely to believe that the mixing of cultures and values from around the world is important at 78%, compared to 37% of Republicans. A majority of Democrats (71%) also said the ability of people to come to the U.S. from other places to escape violence and find economic opportunities is important, compared to 38% of Republicans.
On the other hand, 58% of Republicans said a culture grounded in Christian beliefs is important, compared to 18% of Democrats. More Republicans (66%) also said that shared American culture and a set of values is important, compared to 52% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans said a capitalist free market is important, compared to 53% of Democrats.
Overall, Democrats and Republicans are on the same page when it comes to concerns about how well our democracy is functioning.
“Most Democrats and Republicans agree that democracy is a good system of government even though it sometimes has problems (71% vs 66%), and 53% of both Democrats and Republicans believe democracy is functioning poorly in the U.S.,” said AP-NORC.