A Pew Research study finds that America has never been more
polarized, and more than ever, it’s politics, not race or class,
that divides us. The study, which looks at trends in American
values-based beliefs from 1987 through 2012 finds that the
“values gap” between Republicans and Democrats has never been
wider. As the poll’s top-line memo states: “Republicans are most
distinguished by their increasingly minimalist views about the
role of government and lack of support for environmentalism.
Democrats have become more socially liberal and secular.
Republicans and Democrats are most similar in their level of
political engagement.” Among the key findings: - The average
partisan gap on values issues has doubled from 1987 to 2012,
from 10 percent to 18 percent. - Nearly all of the increases
have taken place during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama
presidencies, and during both terms, the base of the respective
parties have criticized their party for not standing up for
traditional partisan beliefs. According to