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PRRI – The Divide Over America’s Future: 1950 or 2050?

The Divide Over America’s Future: 1950 or 2050? Betsy Cooper, Ph.D., Daniel Cox, Ph.D., Rachel Lienesch, Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., 10.25.2016

“Pessimism about the direction of the country is considerably higher today (74%) than it was at this time during the 2012 presidential race, when 57% of the public said the country was off on the wrong track.

  • Americans are more likely to say that things veered off track some time ago than to believe it occurred in the last few years (44% vs. 30%).
    A majority (53%) of Americans approve of how President Barack Obama is handling his job as president, up from a 38% job approval rating just before the 2014 midterm elections.
  • Americans are divided about whether American culture and way of life have changed for worse (51%) or better (48%) since the 1950s.

About seven in ten likely voters supporting Donald Trump (72%) say American society and way of life has changed for the worse since the 1950s, while seven in ten likely voters supporting Hillary Clinton (70%) say things have changed for the better.

  • A majority (56%) of white Americans say American society has changed for the worse since the 1950s, while roughly six in ten black (62%) and Hispanic (57%) Americans say American society has changed for the better.
  • Class differences among whites are pronounced. A majority (56%) of white college-educated Americans say American society is generally better now than it was in the 1950s, while nearly two-thirds (65%) of white working-class Americans say things are now worse.
  • No group has a dimmer view of American cultural change than white evangelical Protestants: nearly three-quarters (74%) say American culture has changed for the worse since the 1950s…”

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