Tag: Pew Research Center

WASHINGTON—Saying they are now convinced the candidate is overwhelmingly qualified to lead the country, a majority of Americans have shifted their support to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 presidential race since learning he is a millionaire, a Pew Research Center poll found Wednesday. “I have my reservations about his policies, but if the guy’s a millionaire, he must know what he’s doing,” said Cleveland-area voter Glenn Mannix, 48, echoing the sentiments of 68% of the voting populace, who were reportedly impressed upon discovering the royalties Sanders has earned on sales of his books has pushed his net worth to seven figures. “Anyone who’s smart enough to make a million dollars has got to have some pretty great ideas about how to move our country in the right direction. You don’t get to be that rich and successful without having a really good head on your shoulders. The man has my vote!” According to the poll, the remaining 32% of voters agree with all of Sanders’ policies, but said they cannot bring themselves to cast their ballot for someone who owns three homes.

Learning how to have healthy conversations is the first step in finding meaning and compromise in relationships with conflicting ideals. She added that learning how to better communicate can lead to happier familial relationships and a better sense of meaning in one’s life. The popular answer from both surveys was simple and clear: Americans say that family is the thing that gives them the most meaning in life. Pew discovered that while family is important to most Americans, there are a plethora of sources that also provide meaning to Americans’ life. With so many different things important to different people, one can see why forming understanding around these things can be difficult. Pew found that Americans with higher incomes find friendships, health and travel as important sources of meaning. Evangelicals and black Americans are the most likely to find religion as a source of meaning, while atheists find meaning in activities and finances. In 2019, younger Americans also are finding less meaning in religion. Although politically conservative Americans often find meaning in religion, liberals tend to find meaning in creativity and philanthropic causes. The tendency in a conversation is for an individual to try and make the other person see them and that it is important to listen first, ask questions and try to understand rather than just getting angry.

The vast majority of users surveyed (74 percent) said they were not aware that Facebook lists their interests for advertisers and that these interests can be found in the “ad preferences” page on user profiles. One in five Facebook users (21 percent) report they are listed as having “multicultural affinity,” the Pew Research survey found. Of those, 43 percent were assigned an affinity to African-American culture and 43 percent assigned Hispanic culture, and 10 percent were assigned an affinity with Asian-American culture. Facebook is under federal investigation for privacy violations resulting from the Cambridge Analytica involvement. But it apparently has not communicated these tools well enough to users, he added, if only one in four users are aware of the ad preferences page. Osborne said Facebook often receives complaints from users that ads are not relevant, so the company tries to balance making ads useful while not violating user privacy. While we and the rest of the online ad industry need to do more to educate people on how interest-based advertising works and how we protect people’s information, we welcome conversations about transparency and control.” How to change your preferences: The list of interests Facebook thinks you have can be found under Settings>Ads>Your ad preferences. “We’re aware of the statement of interest filed and will respond in court; we’ll continue working directly with HUD to address their concerns.” Facebook still has a “multicultural affinities” listing on its ad preference page — meant to designate people who likely have an interest in a racial or ethnic culture, according to Pew. While Facebook has been the target of many investigations for such practices as of late, it is far from the only company that engages in these practices, said David Ginsburg, vice president of marketing at security firm Cavirin. “It really goes beyond Facebook and privacy,” he said.

Hope, a difficult virtue to maintain these days in the midst of political and religious strife where the future of our democracy seems uncertain and seemingly religious and political leaders have lost all credibility. Generally, religion has either become extraneous or a continued cause of conflict, rather than a source of healing, peace and reconciliation. In the modern world, as young people continue to retreat from religious affiliation, so does religious literacy, while religious enthusiasts leaning towards fanaticism battle against those who do not share their beliefs. As we end 2018, we see an inability to deal with the real issues of our day: climate change, economic imbalances and instabilities, racial injustice and conflict among peoples. This leads to my excitement about secular Americans, who have long ignored and been ignored in the realm of politics and religion. This is finally changing as this demographic is finally starting to be seen as a group to be reckoned with. According to Pew Research, 35 percent of millennials in the United States poll as religiously unaffiliated, comparted to 24 percent of the American population overall. This does not necessarily mean abandoning faith or exclusively being nonreligious, but creating spaces and challenging traditional notions of religion and spirituality that lead to transformative conversations and political action that engage both the religious and nonreligious. Will this demographic become the spiritual innovators to speak to the world and country with hope? How will this group - the “Nones” - the secularists, humanists and the religiously unaffiliated further find their voice and activism in 2019 in American politics life and globally?

Subscribe to E-news USC Dornsife experts explain how growing polarization in political and religious beliefs have made traditional holiday gatherings a challenge for families to navigate, and how to avoid a big blowout. Bitel notes that religious beliefs often overlap with political viewpoints. But public opinion surveys by the Pew Research Center have indicated that thread is fraying. Nearly a quarter of American adults in the most recent survey, released in 2015, had no religious affiliation, up from 16 percent in 2007. Politics is so much a part of the conversation these days. We should direct our anger towards things that actually deserve it.” Ever since that study, Kaplan has pondered how to prompt a change in the brain’s responses to bring people together. “What is your personal priority for this family gathering?” Margolin says. “Do you want to have a political discussion with somebody who sees things differently and turn this into an opportunity to learn something new? Or talk with new family members about their family traditions growing up?” Margolin says that even if someone else brings up divisive political issues, “be aware of your own hot buttons and don’t get drawn in on those discussions if you don’t want to have a political argument. You can think in advance about ways to sidestep the argument and guide the conversation in directions that you want it to go.” Ultimately, Margolin says, family gatherings over the holidays are intended to maintain family ties and history across generations.

Whether you’re hosting or being hosted, the old rule of not discussing religion, money or politics serves as a reminder of the issues which can divide even those who love each other the most. Is this overly divisive and ever-present political tension healthy for society? If the idea of wading into a political subject with friends or family with whom you disagree gives you a sinking feeling of dread during the most wonderful time of the year, you’re not alone. Among individuals leaning to the left, only 28 percent find that discussing politics with those leaning to the right can be interesting and informative. This divisive picture is darkened by the fact that nearly one in four Americans feel that their relationships with friends, family or co-workers have been strained by voting for opposing candidates. With the polarization of the 2018 midterm elections, who knows how much worse these measurements will look just in time for your Thanksgiving dinner? If these intimate relationships are torn apart by politics, is there anything that isn’t in the line of fire in the battle of red versus blue? The best time to start on this journey toward reconciliation is at the holiday table with those you love. If you want to make a change within society, the best place to start is within yourself. Despite this, applying the holiday season’s themes of love, charity and kindness to our individual political engagement, especially when addressing individuals of differing views, is a step in the right direction.

This new record shatters the 1992 “year of the woman” in which five women were elected to serve in the Senate. Here are three things to keep in mind about women and politics as a new Congress prepares to take office. If you look at gender alone, 54 percent of women identify as Democrats or lean Democrat, and only 38 percent of women identify as Republican or lean Republican. This thin margin among white women was clear in the 2016 presidential election: 45 percent of white women voted for Hillary Clinton and 47 percent voted for Donald Trump. Conservative feminism Experts have found that conservative women and conservative women’s groups consider themselves part of the “women’s movement” even as they reject the traditional goals of that movement: equal rights legislation, legal abortion, some forms of birth control and the ability of women to serve in combat. Concerned Women for America founder Beverly LaHaye, whose late husband was a politically prominent evangelical minister and conservative activist, saw her organization as a way to represent more traditional and religious values in the women’s movement. The efforts of powerful conservative women’s groups including Concerned Women for America help explain why voters in Alabama elected its first female governor, Kay Ivey, with 60 percent of the vote and passed socially conservative measures. For example, Nevada and South Carolina are politically mixed states but vary dramatically in their ranking on women’s equality and political empowerment. Only two of the seven female candidates (both Republicans) won in South Carolina. This is not true of South Carolina, where it was seen as an achievement in 2016 when just four women were elected to the state Senate, which has 46 seats.

President Donald Trump says he plans to end "birthright citizenship" in the US by executive order. In an interview with Axios President Trump claimed that he was working on an end to birthright citizenship, the 150-year-old principle that says anyone born on US soil is an American citizen. You don't," Mr Trump said. 1) What is 'birthright citizenship'? In 1898, the US Supreme Court affirmed that birthright citizenship applies to the children of immigrants in the case of Wong Kim Ark v United States. Wong successfully argued that because he was born in the US, his parent's immigration status did not impact the application of the Fourteenth Amendment. 3) Can Trump end birthright citizenship by executive order? "Wong's parents were authorised or we might say legal immigrants. 5) Do other countries have birthright citizenship? 6) Who uses birthright citizenship?

A new survey conducted by Jolt Texas, a left-leaning voter mobilization group, found that it may be a combination of factors, including mistrust of the political process and not having enough information about elections, that contributes to low Latino voter turnout in the state. Half of those polled said they feel cynical about politics and a third say they don’t trust politicians. Other responses highlighted a disconnect between respondents and civic participation: Almost 40 percent said they lacked confidence or trust in the political process. But she said that motivating them to get to the polls is the responsibility of candidates and political parties vying for their votes. She said she’s voted in almost every election since 2010. “Go to where we live because if you really want us to turn out for you, then you have to make the effort to come out to us,” Roman said. Earlier this year, a national Quinnipiac poll found that 60 percent of Latino voters in the U.S. said they had not been contacted by a candidate or political party about registering to vote. That cyclical neglect is what keeps many Latinos out of the political process, said Indiana University political science professor Bernard Fraga. “It tells them that their issues are not important enough to be discussed.” Fraga said he feels it’s not too late to communicate with Latinos to get them to go from apathy and mistrust to being fully or somewhat engaged in the political process. Less than half (46 percent) of all Latinos in the state have both citizenship and are over 18 years old.

Argentina Kenya Brazil Mexico Greece Nigeria Hungary Philippines Indonesia Poland Israel South Africa Italy Tunisia To better understand public attitudes toward civic engagement, Pew Research Center conducted face-to-face surveys in 14 nations encompassing a wide range of political systems. The survey finds that, aside from voting, relatively few people take part in other forms of political and civic participation. Still, some types of engagement are more common among young people, those with more education, those on the political left and social network users. And certain issues – especially health care, poverty and education – are more likely than others to inspire political action. With at least 9-in-10 reporting they have voted in the past, participation is highest in three of the four countries with compulsory voting (Brazil, Argentina and Greece). In 10 of the nations polled, people ages 50 and older are more likely than 18- to 29-year-olds to say they have voted in at least one election. Young people are also more likely to take action around the issue of discrimination in 10 countries, and notable age gaps are also found on poor-quality schools, police misconduct, poverty, government corruption and poor health care. And in six countries, they are more likely to participate in a political protest. Poverty is the one issue where there are relatively few differences between those who have more education and those with less education. For instance, in 13 of 14 countries, people who use social networking sites are more likely than those who don’t to say they might take political action on the issue of free speech.