For 20 years, Americans have viewed the state of the nation’s morals as poor. What different this year is that they think our moral values have gone from bad to worse. That’s according to Gallup, which says that negative view is the the highest ini the 20 years it has been tracking the issue.
This appears to be normal since 2017, although there was an improvement in 2020 when former President Donald Trump was seeking reelection. Gallup found that since 2002, 43% of adults in the country have said the moral values are poor, 38% said fair and 18% said excellent/good.
It should be noted that the sharp rise in the “poor/negative” rating by Republicans is at 72%, its highest point since former President Trump left office. Simultaneously, 36% of Democrats say the state of moral values is poor.
While feeling uneasy about the current state of moral values, Americans appear to be largely cynical about the future. Gallup found 78% say things are only getting worse, while only 18% see it getting better. This is largely in line since 2002 but is higher than the past two years’ 67% and 68% readings.
While both parties appear to believe the state of moral values is decreasing, Republicans are far more negative since the inauguration of Joe Biden as President in 2021. The 68% of Democrats who say values are getting worse in 12 points lower than when George W. Bush and Trump were in office though they have become more worried since the completion of Biden’s first year.