Gen Z is the Loneliest Generation — and It’s Their Parents Fault
Insider
April 11, 2022
Generation Z is impressive by any measure. They have more years of formal education and lower high-school dropout rates than any previous generation. They are more likely to avoid drug use and have lower rates of teen pregnancy. They are savvy consumers of information and users of technology. They are less prone to traffic in misinformation and conspiracy theories. But despite all
Stop Blaming Young People for Leaving Religion
National Review
April 10, 2022
Over the last decade, there has been a steady stream of news stories about how young people are abandoning their formative faith commitments. These articles frequently argue that despite their parents’ best efforts, young people are bent on forgoing any association with organized religion, along with all the benefits that come with it. This story is compelling, and
For Gen Z, Religious Pluralism Will Require Bridging the Religious-Secular Divide
The Aspen Institute
April 5, 2022
For Generation Z, American religious life has been defined by its diversity. And religious pluralism has been as much practice as principle. Young adults today have close friends and family members spanning a variety of religious identities and beliefs. In a survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, we found that nearly one in five
We Live in a Nation of Strangers. That Needs to Change
Deseret News
March 13, 2022
Diversity is not the source of our current problems; our troubling incuriosity about our neighbors is driving disconnection.
Why Are White Liberals So Pessimistic About Politics?
FiveThirtyEight
February 23, 2022
No one seems happy about politics these days. A new survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life, which I lead, found that less than half the American public felt optimistic about the country’s future. But there is a fairly stark divide among Americans on this question, with white Americans expressing far
Why The Republican Party Isn’t Concerned With Popularity
FiveThirtyEight
January 4, 2022
After Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election, the Republican National Committee published what became known as the “GOP autopsy report,” an effort to identify and address the party’s ongoing political weaknesses. But eight years later, after losing another close race, the GOP appears wholly uninterested in reviewing or reforming its agenda. In fact, despite capturing
Why Crime Likely Won’t Be An Issue In The 2022 Midterms
FiveThirtyEight
November 29, 2021
Violent crime is up. Data from the FBI found that the murder rate increased nearly 30 percent in 2020. And homicides continue to rise in 2021 as well, if not by quite as much. Americans have noticed. A Gallup poll released in November 2020 found that 78 percent of Americans thought that the national crime rate was higher than the year
We Asked Hundreds of Unemployed Americans What’s Keeping Them Out of Work — It’s Not Unemployment Benefits
Insider
July 25, 2021
The Survey Center for American Life’s new survey shows a difference in needs between the pandemic unemployed and the chronically unemployed. Continue reading on Insider
Can Married Men and Women be Friends? Marriage, Friendship, and Loneliness
Institute for Family Studies
July 20, 2021
The time we invest on our relationships, whether it is with a partner, spouse, or a friend, is likely the most important thing we can do to ensure a long, healthy, and fulfilling life.
American Men Suffer a Friendship Recession
National Review
July 6, 2021
After a prolonged period of social isolation, Americans are dusting off their social calendars. But as Americans try to rebuild and reconnect, a new survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life finds that the social landscape is far less favorable than it once was.