Family values may be on the chopping block this election season. A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows a wide gulf between Trump and Biden supporters on the importance of marriage, family, and traditional values. The poll, released earlier this month as part of Pew’s wider report on cultural issues in the upcoming election, was conducted in a random group of 8,709 adults. The survey focused on hot topics surrounding marriage, family values, racial tension, immigration beliefs, and support for the Second Amendment. The differences were stark, if not entirely surprising.
In particular, the poll’s findings highlight much stronger support for prioritizing wedlock and child-raising among Trump supporters. The Pew report emphasizes this, noting: “Trump supporters (59%) are much more likely than Biden supporters (19%) to say that it is better if people prioritize marriage and children.”
Where Have All the Families Gone?
Many surveys and studies suggest that marriage and parenthood contribute to an increase in life satisfaction. In fact, marriage is the primary predictor of happiness compared to any other factor in life. "Both men and women who are married are almost twice as likely to be happy compared to their fellow Americans who are not married," Brad Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, explained. "We've seen the marriage rate fall by about 65% since 1970. And it looks like the value of marriage matters maybe even more than ever."
However, with fewer people marrying and fewer couples having children, America’s marriage rate and birth rate are in free fall. The US birth rate recently reached its lowest level in over a century and declined among all ethnic groups last year. The crucial number is now at 1.65, far below the replacement rate of 2.2. The Pew poll found that 47% of Trump supporters see this as a negative for society. Conversely, just 23% of Biden supporters see this as an issue, half are neutral, and the other 27% consider the rapidly declining birth rate to be positive for American society.
In addition to generally being neutral or positive about Americans choosing not to have kids, the Biden supporters polled were less likely to want parents to be able to opt out of LGBTQ curricula and activism in public schools. In total, 51% of Democrats surveyed in the Pew poll disagreed that parents should have the right to keep their kids out of lessons that teach and promote LGBTQ views. This was compared to 79% of Republicans surveyed who said parents should have that right.
Woke Subculture vs Judeo-Christian Values
In addition to clashes over the positivity of marrying, having children, and parental rights, Trump and Biden supporters disagreed strongly about abortion and woke culture. Over 89% of Biden supporters said abortion should be legal in “all or most” situations, with only 11% believing it should be illegal in most cases. By contrast, 61% of Trump supporters say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
The Pew poll points to the widening social polarization in American politics and American society more broadly. Tensions between socially conservative Americans and culturally liberal individuals have continued to widen, particularly with the growing power of the LGBTQ movement across society and corporate America, and the seismic shift of the overturning of Roe v. Wade at the federal level in June of 2022. The poll’s results make clear that Republicans have a stronger support of promoting marriage, protecting unborn life, upholding parental rights, and supporting traditional family values, while Democrats tend to have the entirely opposite view. How this will play out in this year’s upcoming election remains to be seen, but 38% of Americans currently identify as socially conservative, the highest rate in a decade. And as history shows, demographics are, more often than not, destiny.
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