Economic Insecurity, Rising Inequality, and Doubts about the Future: Findings from the American Values Survey 2014

Despite the fact that it has been over five years since the official end of the Great Recession, Americans report high levels of economic insecurity and are pessimistic about the current economic outlook. Indeed, many believe the United States is still in recession. A large new survey (N=4,500 interviews) by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) takes an in-depth look at Americans’ attitudes toward the economy by exploring opinions on economic policy and priorities and by asking Americans about their personal financial experiences. The survey explores attitudes about economic and racial inequality and examines how divided Americans are over the role of religion in public life. The survey also provides a window into the upcoming mid-term elections, including a look at the continuing influence of the Tea Party, and its relationship to the Republican Party, and the Christian Right.

On September 23, the religion, policy and politics project at Brookings and PRRI held a discussion of PRRI’s fifth annual American Values Survey (AVS), a large national, multi-issue survey on religion, values and public policy. Co-moderated by Brookings Senior Fellows E.J. Dionne Jr. and William A. Galston, the event featured a presentation of the survey findings by PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones and insights from Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University, and Henry Olsen, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.