How many people in America identify as liberals?
Modern liberalism in the United States
Liberal historian Eric Alterman notes that barely 20% of Americans are willing to accept "liberal" as a political label, but that supermajorities of Americans actually favor "liberal" positions time and again. Alterman points out that resistance to the label "liberal" is not surprising due to billions of dollars worth of investment poured into the denigration of the term. A 2004 poll conducted by the National Election Study found only 35% of respondents questioned identifying as liberal compared to 55% identifying as conservative; a 2004 Pew poll found 19% of respondents identifying as liberal, and 39% identifying as conservative, with the balance identifying as moderate. A 2006 poll found that 19% identified as liberal, and 36% conservative. In 2005, self-identifying moderates polled by Louis Harris & Associates were found to share essentially the same political beliefs as self-identifying liberals, but rejected the world "liberal" because of the vilification heaped on the word itself by conservatives. Alterman acknowledges political scientist Drew Westen's observation that for most Americans, the word "liberal" now carries meanings such as "elite", "tax and spend", and "out of touch".
American nationalism
Bonikowski and Dimaggio's analysis of these four groups found that "ardent nationalists" made up about 24% of their study, and was the larger of the two groups they describe as "extreme". Members of this group identified closely with the United States, were very proud of their country, and associated themselves strongly with factors of national hubris. However, although they felt that it was important that a "true American" speak English, and had lived most of their life in the U.S., they rejected the necessity of being Christian or being born in the country. Nevertheless, ardent nationalists perceived Jews, Muslims, agnostics and naturalized citizens as something less than truly American. The second class that Bonikowski and DiMaggio referred to as "extreme" was the smallest of the four classes, making up 17% of their respondents. "The disengaged" showed low levels of pride in the institutions of government and did not fully identify themselves with the United States. Their lack of pride extended to American democracy, American history, the political equality in the U.S., and the country's political influence in the world. This group was the least nationalistic of all four groups identified.
Christopher Hitchens
In 2009 Hitchens was listed by "Forbes" magazine as one of the '25 most influential liberals in the U.S. media'. The same article noted, however, that he would "likely be aghast to find himself on this list", as it reduces his self-styled radicalism to mere liberalism. Hitchens's political perspectives also appear in his wide-ranging writings, which include many dialogues. He said of objectivism, "I have always found it quaint, and rather touching, that there is a movement in the US that thinks Americans are not yet selfish enough."
Latin American diaspora
Over 55 million Hispanic and Latino Americans are residents of the United States, representing 16% of the US population. Hispanic Americans and Latino Americans ( , ) are American citizens who are descendants of immigrants from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America and the Iberian peninsula. More generally, it includes all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, whether of full or partial ancestry. For the 2010 US census, the American Community Survey, "Hispanic" or "Latino" were those who identified as one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the census or ACS questionnaire ("Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban") as well as those who indicated that they were "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." The peoples of countries considered as Hispanic or Latino American groups by the Census Bureau were the following: Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Census Bureau uses the terms Hispanic and Latino interchangeably. The Census office of the United States excluded Brazilian Americans from the Hispanic and Latino American population (Brazil is part of Latin America, but Portuguese is the official language rather than Spanish). Other US government agencies have slightly different definitions of the term, including Brazilians and other Portuguese-speaking groups.
Politics of Oregon
Key issues in Oregon include:Similar to the West Coast states of California and Washington, Oregon has a high percentage of people who identify as liberals. A 2013 Gallup poll that surveyed the political ideology of residents in every state found that people in Oregon identified as:Another study on the state's political ideology noted that the state's conservatives were the most conservative of any state (more so than Utah or Tennessee) and that the state's liberals were more liberal than any state (more so than Vermont or D.C.).
Libertarianism in the United States
As was true historically, there are far more libertarians in the United States than those who belong to the party touting that name. In the United States, libertarians may emphasize economic and constitutional rather than religious and personal policies, or personal and international rather than economic policies, such as the Tea Party movement (founded in 2009), which has become a major outlet for Libertarian Republican ideas, especially rigorous adherence to the Constitution, lower taxes and an opposition to a growing role for the federal government in health care. However, polls show that many people who identify as Tea Party members do not hold traditional libertarian views on most social issues and tend to poll similarly to socially conservative Republicans. Eventually during the 2016 presidential election, many Tea Party members abandoned more libertarian-leaning views in favor of Donald Trump and his right-wing populism. Additionally, the Tea Party was considered to be a key force in Republicans reclaiming control of the House of Representatives in 2010.
American nationalism
The two remaining classes were less homogeneous in their responses than were ardent nationalists and the disengaged. "Restrictive nationalists" had low levels of pride in American and its institutions, but defined a "true American" in ways that were markedly "exclusionary". This group was the largest of the four, including 38% of the study's respondents. While their levels of national identification and pride were moderate, they espoused beliefs that restricted who they considered to be "true Americans", excluding, for instance, non-Christians. The final group identified were "creedal nationalists", who made of 22% of the study. This group believes in liberal values, is proud of the United States, and held the fewest restrictions on who could be considered to be a true American. They identified closely with their country, which they felt "very close" to, and were proud if its achievements. Bonikowski and Dimaggio dubbed the group "creedal" because their beliefs most closely approximated the precepts of what is widely taken to be the American creed.
Libertarianism
Subsequently, a growing number of Americans with classical liberal beliefs in the United States began to describe themselves as "libertarian". One person responsible for popularizing the term "libertarian" in this sense was Murray Rothbard, who started publishing libertarian works in the 1960s. Rothbard describes this modern use of the words overtly as a 'capture' from his enemies, saying that "for the first time in my memory, we, 'our side,' had captured a crucial word from the enemy. 'Libertarians' had long been simply a polite word for left-wing anarchists, that is for anti-private property anarchists, either of the communist or syndicalist variety. But now we had taken it over".
Modern liberalism in the United States
Modern liberalism took shape during the twentieth century, with roots in Theodore Roosevelt's New Nationalism, Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Harry S. Truman's Fair Deal, John F. Kennedy's New Frontier, and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. American liberals oppose conservatives on most issues, but not all. Modern liberalism is historically related to social liberalism and progressivism, though the current relationship between liberal and progressive viewpoints is debated.
Political ideologies in the United States
The majority of Social Conservatives and Pro-Government Conservatives attended church services once a week. Weekly churchgoers were also in the plurality among the general population and all ideological demographics, except liberals. Of liberals, a plurality, 43% attended church services "seldom or never," compared to 25% of respondents overall. Conservatives were also more likely to be married than Liberals or the Democratic voter base in general. The vast majority, 77% of Enterprisers were married compared to 44% of Liberals.
Liberalism
Unlike Europe and Latin America, the word "liberalism" in North America almost exclusively refers to social liberalism. The dominant Canadian party is the Liberal Party and the United States' Democratic Party is usually considered liberal.
Left–right political spectrum
The terms left-wing and right-wing are widely used in the United States, but as on the global level there is no firm consensus about their meaning. The only aspect that is generally agreed upon is that they are the defining opposites of the United States political spectrum. Left and right in the U.S. are generally associated with liberal and conservative respectively, although the meanings of the two sets of terms do not entirely coincide. Depending on the political affiliation of the individual using them, these terms can be spoken with varying implications. A 2005 poll of 2,209 American adults showed that "respondents generally viewed the paired concepts liberals and left-wingers and conservatives and right-wingers as possessing, respectively, generally similar political beliefs", but also showed that around ten percent fewer respondents understood the terms left and right than understood the terms liberal and conservative.
Modern liberalism in the United States
American liberals describe themselves as open to change and receptive to new ideas. For example, liberals typically accept scientific ideas that some conservatives reject, such as evolution and global warming.
Liberalism in the United States
Liberals criticized Nixon for reasons going back to his attacks on Alger Hiss, whom Nixon accused of being a spy for the Soviets. Criticism on Nixon continued the Vietnam War. And yet, as president, Nixon had many policy positions that can only be described as liberal. Before Nixon was elected, the liberal wing of his own party favored politicians such as Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton, while in the 1968 election Nixon appealed to a "silent majority" of conservatives, disgusted and frightened by soaring crime rates and widespread race riots. Nixon's Enemies List was composed largely of liberals. And yet, as president Nixon pursued many liberal policies, often through executive orders. Examples include the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, which he achieved without a vote in Congress, and the increase in funding for such liberal programs as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. One of his top advisers was liberal Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who said, "Nixon mostly opted for liberal policies, merely clothing them ... in conservative rhetoric." Nixon's conservative rhetoric rallied his base, but in addition to support for such liberal causes as the arts and the environment, he supported liberalization of laws against recreational drugs and even—to the astonishment of conservatives—imposed wage and price controls to counteract inflation. Noam Chomsky, who often attacks liberalism from the far left, has called Nixon, "in many respects the last liberal president". Historians increasingly emphasize the liberalism of his administration's policies, while not attributing them to Nixon personally.
Higher education in the United States
In 2016, psychologists Bill von Hippel and David Buss surveyed 335 members of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (along a 1-to-11 integer scale) and found that 89.3% of respondents self-identified as liberal, 8.3% self-identified as centrist or moderate, and 2.5% self-identified as conservative. 94.7% of respondents voted for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, 1.2% of respondents voted for Mitt Romney, and 4% of respondents voted for other candidates. After averaging the scores of the respondents on nine major political issues, 96% of respondents were categorized as left of center, 3.7% were categorized as centrist or moderate, and 0.3% were categorized as conservative.
Right-libertarianism
Libertarianism in the United States developed in the 1950s as many with Old Right or classical liberal beliefs in the United States began to describe themselves as libertarians. H. L. Mencken and Albert Jay Nock were the first prominent figures in the United States to privately call themselves "libertarians". They believed Franklin D. Roosevelt had co-opted the word "liberal" for his New Deal policies which they opposed and used "libertarian" to signify their allegiance to individualism. Mencken wrote in 1923: "My literary theory, like my politics, is based chiefly upon one idea, to wit, the idea of freedom. I am, in belief, a libertarian of the most extreme variety". However, the term "libertarianism" was first publicly used in the United States as a synonym for classic liberalism in May 1955 by writer Dean Russell, a colleague of Leonard Read and a classic liberal himself, who justified the choice of the word as follows:
Conservatism in the United States
Liberal and leftist viewpoints have dominated higher education faculties since the 1970s, according to many studies, whereas conservatives are better represented in policy-oriented think tanks. Data from a survey conducted in 2004 indicated that 72% of full-time faculty identify as liberal, while 9–18% self-identify as conservative. Conservative self-identification is higher in two-year colleges than other categories of higher education but has been declining overall. Those in natural sciences, engineering, and business were less liberal than those in the social sciences and humanities. A 2005 study found that liberal views had increased compared to the older studies. 15% in the survey described themselves as center-right. While the humanities and the social sciences are still the most left leaning, 67% of those in other fields combined described themselves as center-left on the spectrum. In business and engineering, liberals outnumber conservatives by a 2:1 ratio. The study also found that more women, practicing Christians, and Republicans taught at lower ranked schools than would be expected from objectively measured professional accomplishments. A study by psychologists Yoel Inbar and Joris Lammars, of the Netherlands' Tilburg University, published in September 2012 in the journal "Perspectives on Psychological Science", found that, in social and personality psychology, about a third of those surveyed say that they would to a small extent favor a liberal point of view over a conservative point of view. A 2007 poll found that 58% of Americans thought that college professors' political bias was a "serious problem". This varied depending on the political views of those asked. 91% of "very conservative" adults agreed compared with only 3% of liberals. That same year a documentary, "Indoctrinate U", was released which focuses on the perceived bias within academia.
Political ideologies in the United States
Beyond the simple left-right analysis, liberalism, conservatism, libertarianism, and populism are the four most common ideologies in the U.S., apart from those who identify as moderate. Individuals that embrace each ideology to widely varying extents. Liberals and progressives traditionally advocate strong civil liberties, social progressivism, cultural pluralism, and a mixed economy featuring more government intervention in the economy and social life (education, health care, etc...) than supported by most other Americans. Conservatives commonly defend the notional status quo of some point in the past, believing that the United States has deviated significantly from it and advocating more traditional stands on social issues, protection of gun rights and less government intervention in the economy. Libertarians, or classical liberals, tend to support strong civil liberties, peace, more freedom of choice including economic freedom, and are skeptical of government's ability to solve problems.
Religion and politics in the United States
The majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians (71%), while non-Christian religions (including Islam, Judaism, Hindiusm, and others) collectively make up about 6% of the adult population. Another 23% of the adult population identified as having no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%.
Do as I Say (Not as I Do)
Do as I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy () is a book written by author Peter Schweizer and published by Doubleday in 2005. The book profiles contradictions and hypocritical behaviors of several famous individuals in the United States who are liberals. People profiled in the book include Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ralph Nader, Al Franken, Cornel West, Michael Moore, George Soros, Noam Chomsky, Barbra Streisand and Gloria Steinem. Schweizer contends that many liberals publicly promote liberal values regarding the environment, affirmative action, racism, sexism and finance, but practice the opposite in their private and professional lives.
Political ideologies in the United States
Roughly one third of the American public self-identify as "conservative." Conservatives commonly outnumber liberals in the general public with both ideological groupings being outnumbered by centrists. The military-industrial complex in particular remains a conservative bastion. A 2003 survey by the Military Times found that the "military considers itself clearly more conservative and Republican." In a December 2006 poll, 46% of active personnel identified as Republican, down from 60% in 2004. In the 2000, 2004 and 2006 elections CNN exit polls found that roughly 80% of self-described conservatives voted Republican.
Catholic Church in the United States
In a 2015 survey by researchers at Georgetown University, Americans who self identify as Catholic, including those who do not attend Mass regularly, numbered 81.6 million or 25% of the population. 68.1 million or 20% of the American population are Catholics tied to a specific parish. About 25% of US Catholics say they attend Masses once a week or more, and about 38% went at least once a month. The study found that the number of US Catholics has increased by 3 to 6% each decade since 1965, and that the Catholic Church is "the most diverse in terms of race and ethnicity in the US," with Hispanics accounting for 38% of Catholics and blacks and Asians 3% each. The Catholic Church in the US represents perhaps "the most multi-ethnic organization of any kind, and so is a major laboratory for cross-cultural cooperation and cross-cultural communication completely within the nation's borders." It is as if it wishes to forge a broader ecclesial identity to give newcomers a more inclusive welcome, similar to the aspirations of 19th century church leaders like Archbishops John Ireland and James Gibbons who "wanted Catholic immigrants to become fully American, rather than 'strangers in a strange land.'" Only 2 percent of American Catholics go to confession on a regular basis, while three-quarters of them go to confession once a year or less often.
Freelancer
The total number of freelancers in USA is inexact, as of 2013, the most recent governmental report on independent contractors was published in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. At that time, there were approximately 10.3 million United States workers (7.4% of the workforce) employed as independent contractors of all sorts. In 2011, Jeffrey Eisenach, an economist at George Mason University, estimated that number of freelancers had grown by one million. While in 2012, the Aberdeen Group, a private research company, estimated that 26% (approx. 81 million) of the United States population was a part of the contingent workforce, a category of casual labor that includes freelancing.
Liberalism in the United States
Classical liberalism in the United States (also called "laissez-faire liberalism") is the belief that a free market economy is the most productive. It may be represented by Henry David Thoreau's statement "that government is best which governs least." Classical liberalism is a philosophy of individualism and self-responsibility. Classical liberals in the United States believe that if the economy is left to the natural forces of supply and demand, free of government intervention, the result is the most abundant satisfaction of human wants. Modern classical liberals oppose the concepts of social democracy and the welfare state.
Political ideologies in the United States
Disadvantaged and Conservative Democrats had the highest union membership rates, 23% and 18%, compared to an overall 14%, respectively, as well as the highest percentage of minorities (Disadvantaged Democrats 55% Black, Hispanic, and Other; Conservative Democrats 46% Black, Hispanic, and Other). In terms of gun ownership, the majority of Enterprisers and Social Conservatives had a gun at home, compared to just 23% of Liberals. Liberals were the most educated group with 49% being college graduates compared to an average of 26.5% among all the conservative groups (including the Democratic voting Conservative Democrats). Disadvantaged Democrats were the least educated with only 13% having a college degree.
History of conservatism in the United States
TIME stated there has been an identity crisis in U.S. conservatism growing since the end of the Cold War and the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. Supporters of classical liberalism—distinct from modern liberalism—tend to identify as "conservatives," and in the 21st century, classical liberalism remains a major force within the Republican Party and the larger conservative movement. In the 21st Century, only in the United States is classical liberalism a significant political ideology.
Liberal elite
Those Americans who equate intellectual pursuits and careers with elitism often point out American intellectuals, most of whom are upper middle class not upper class, are primarily liberal. , approximately 72% of professors identify themselves as liberals. At Ivy League Universities, an even larger majority, 87% of professors identified themselves as liberals. Those with post-graduate degrees are increasingly Democratic.
Americans
According to the 2010 Census, there are 5.2 million people who are Native Americans or Alaska Native alone, or in combination with one or more races; they make up 1.7% of the total population. According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), an "American Indian or Alaska Native" is a person whose ancestry have origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, or South America. 2.3 million individuals who are American Indian or Alaskan Native are multiracial; additionally the plurality of American Indians reside in the Western United States (40.7%). Collectively and historically this race has been known by several names; as of 1995, 50% of those who fall within the OMB definition prefer the term "American Indian", 37% prefer "Native American" and the remainder have no preference or prefer a different term altogether.
United States
According to a 2014 survey, 70.6% of adults in the United States identified themselves as Christians; Protestants accounted for 46.5%, while Roman Catholics, at 20.8%, formed the largest single denomination. In 2014, 5.9% of the U.S. adult population claimed a non-Christian religion. These include Judaism (1.9%), Hinduism (1.2%), Buddhism (0.9%), and Islam (0.9%). The survey also reported that 22.8% of Americans described themselves as agnostic, atheist or simply having no religion—up from 8.2% in 1990. There are also Unitarian Universalist, Scientologist, Baha'i, Sikh, Jain, Shinto, Confucian, Taoist, Druid, Native American, Wiccan, humanist and deist communities.
Higher education in the United States
A 2007 poll found that 58% of Americans thought that college professors' political bias was a "serious problem". This varied depending on the political views of those asked. 91% of "very conservative" adults agreed compared with 3% of liberals.
Tea Party movement
Although the Tea Party has a libertarian element in terms of some issue convictions, most American libertarians do not support the movement enough to identify with it. A 2013 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that 61% of identified libertarians stated they did not consider themselves part of the tea party. This split exists due to the strong Christian right influence in the movement, which puts the majority of the tea party movement at direct odds against libertarians on issues such as the war on drugs (with the aforementioned survey finding that 71% of libertarians support legalizing marijuana). Some libertarian leaning supporters have grown increasingly annoyed by the influx of religious social issues into the movement. Many in the movement would prefer the complex social issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and religion to be left out of the discussion, while instead increasing the focus on limited government and states' rights.
Liberalism in the United States
Exit polls show nearly 90% of liberals voted for Democrats in House elections since 2006. They voted 88% for Democrats in 2014; 88% in 2012; 93% in 2010; 89% in 2008; and 89% in 2006. Before that they were in the low 80s: 80% in 2004; 81% in 2002; 84% in 2000; 84% in 1998; 82% in 1996; 81% in 1994; and 81% in 1992.
Americans
People of European descent, or White Americans (also referred to as Caucasian Americans), constitute the majority of the 308 million people living in the United States, with 72.4% of the population in the 2010 United States Census. They are considered people who trace their ancestry to the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Of those reporting to be White American, 7,487,133 reported to be Multiracial; with largest combination being white and black. Additionally, there are 29,184,290 White Hispanics or Latinos. Non-Hispanic Whites are the majority in 46 states. There are four minority-majority states: California, Texas, New Mexico, and Hawaii. In addition, the District of Columbia has a non-white majority. The state with the highest percentage of non-Hispanic White Americans is Maine.
Conservative Democrat
A 2015 Gallup poll found that 19% of Democrats identify themselves as conservative, a decline of 6% from 2000.
In 2018, Gallup's ideology polling found that 35% of Democrats self-identified as moderate and 13% identified as conservative; 50% of Democratic respondents described their ideology as liberal.
Higher education in the United States
In 2012, Tilburg University psychologists Yoel Inbar and Joris Lammers conducted anonymous random surveys of 800 members of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and found that 85% of respondents self-identified as liberal and 6% self-identified as conservative. Respondents that self-identified as either conservative or moderate were found to be significantly more reluctant to express their political views to their colleagues for fear of negative consequences, and were more likely to believe that their colleagues would actively discriminate against them on the basis of their political beliefs. Self-identified conservative respondents were also more likely to feel that there was a hostile climate directed towards their political beliefs, while self-identified liberal respondents did not believe that there was a hostile climate directed towards conservative beliefs, and the more liberal the respondent self-identified as being, the less likely they were to believe that there was a hostile climate.
Independent voter
Although the number of self-identified independents has fallen slightly in the 1990s and 2000s, about 30 percent of American voters still say they are independents (as measured by self-identification).
The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America
Paul Weyrich of the conservative Free Congress Foundation commented that "Horowitz estimates that there are about 60,000 of these radical professors in every part of the nation... We are not talking about liberals here. Horowitz is clear that while he thinks liberals are wrong they are entitled to their opinions. Rather, we are talking about the most vile, America-hating Stalinist-style professors who will accept no dissent. They preach tolerance and then practice the opposite."
Lesbian
Lesbians in the U.S. are estimated to be about 2.6% of the population, according to a National Opinion Research Center survey of sexually active adults who had had same-sex experiences within the past year, completed in 2000. A survey of same-sex couples in the United States showed that between 2000 and 2005, the number of people claiming to be in same-sex relationships increased by 30%—five times the rate of population growth in the U.S. The study attributed the jump to people being more comfortable self-identifying as homosexual to the federal government.
Liberal education
Ronel B. Esquivel said only eight percent of colleges provide a liberal education to four percent of students in the United States. Liberal education revived three times in the United States during periods of industrialization and shifts of social preoccupations—before World War I, after World War II, and in the late 1970s—perhaps as a reaction against overspecialization in undergraduate curricula.
Liberal conservatism
Nevertheless, in the United States conservatives often combine the economic individualism of classical liberals with a Burkean form of conservatism that emphasizes the natural inequalities between men, the irrationality of human behavior as the basis for the human drive for order and stability and the rejection of natural rights as the basis for government. However, from a different perspective, American conservatism (a "hybrid of conservatism and classical liberalism") has exalted three tenets of Burkean conservatism, namely the diffidence toward the power of the state, the preference of liberty over equality, and patriotism while rejecting the three remaining tenets, namely loyalty to traditional institutions and hierarchies, scepticism regarding progress and elitism. Consequently, in the United States the term "liberal conservatism" is not used. American "modern liberalism" happens to be quite different from European liberalism and occupies the centre-left of the political spectrum, in contrast to many European countries where liberalism is often more associated with the centre-right and social democracy makes up a substantial part of the centre-left. The opposite is true in Latin America, where economically liberal conservatism is often labelled under the rubric of neoliberalism both in popular culture and academic discourse.
Higher education in the United States
A 2007 study criticized some recent surveys, such as the above 2005 study, on methodological grounds as well as being motivated by conservative concerns. It also pointed to the influence of conservative think tanks outside academia. In its own survey, it found that while conservatives were rare, there was a large centrist group between those self-identifying as liberals or conservatives. More moderate views were more common in younger professors, although also in this age group liberals were several times more common than conservatives. The age group with most liberal professors were the professors who were teenagers or young adults in the radical 1960s. Of all surveyed, 3% identified themselves as Marxists with the highest numbers being in social sciences (17%) and humanities (5%).
Political ideologies in the United States
Political ideologies in the United States refers to the various ideologies and ideological demographics in the United States. Citizens in the U.S. generally classify themselves as adherent to positions along the political spectrum as either liberal, progressive, moderate, or conservative. Modern American liberalism aims at the preservation and extension of human, social and civil rights as well as the government guaranteed provision of positive rights. It combines social progressivism and to some extent, ordoliberalism and is highly similar to European social liberalism. American conservatism commonly refers to a combination of economic liberalism and libertarianism, and social conservatism. It aims at protecting the concepts of small government and individual liberty, while promoting traditional values on some social issues.
US public opinion on the North American Free Trade Agreement
According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, when prompted on whether or not NAFTA was good or bad for the U.S., 56% of all respondents viewed NAFTA as good for the U.S. Similar results were found in a survey run by the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, where 53% of respondents thought that NAFTA was good for the U.S. (and its economy in particular). Categorically, respondents with greater education had more pro-NAFTA views. Overwhelmingly, 70% of postgraduates viewed NAFTA as good for the U.S. In contrast, 57% of college graduates, 52% with some college, and 54% with a high school education or less held the same view. However, along ideological (i.e. partisan) lines, conservative respondents were more likely to hold unfavorable views of NAFTA whereas liberal respondents were more likely to hold favorable views of NAFTA. Numerically, a survey done by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 71% of Democrats had a positive view on NAFTA and that 34% of Republicans had a positive view on NAFTA. In the Pew Research Center's survey, 74% of respondents who identified as "liberals" thought that NAFTA was good and that 31% of respondents who identified as "conservatives" had the same view as the liberals.
Political views of American academics
Rothman, Kelly-Woessner, and Woessner also found in 2010 that 33% of conservative faculty say they are "very satisfied" with their careers, while 24% of liberal faculty say so. Over 90% of Republican-voting professors said that they would still become professors if they could do it all over again. The authors concluded that, although such numbers are not definitive as to how faculty members feel that they have been treated, they provide some evidence against the idea that conservative faculty members are systematically discriminated against. Woessner and Kelly-Woessner also examined what might have given rise to the differences in the numbers of liberals and conservatives. They looked at the choices made by undergraduate students when planning future careers. They found that there were no differences in intellectual ability between conservative and liberal students, but that liberal students were significantly more likely to choose to pursue PhD degrees and academic careers, whereas conservative students of identical academic accomplishments were more likely to pursue business careers. They concluded that the greater numbers of liberal than conservative professors could be accounted for by self-selection in career paths, rather than by bias in hiring or promotion.
Sexuality in the United States
In 2016, roughly 4.1% of American adults identified themselves as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Roughly 99% of the adult U.S. population is allosexual (experiences sexual desires) while 1% is the opposite, asexual (experiences no sexual desires). One study has shown that there is no correlation between sexlessness and unhappiness, with sexually active and sexually inactive adult Americans showing roughly equal amounts of happiness. Vicenarian women are slightly more likely to engage in infidelity than vicenarian men at 11 to 10 per cent respectively.
Democratic Party (United States)
According to a Pew Research poll, the Democratic Party has become more socially liberal and secular compared to how it was in 1987. Based on a poll conducted in 2014, Gallup found that 30% of Americans identified as Democrats, 23% as Republicans and 45% as independents. In the same poll, a survey of registered voters stated that 47% identified as Democrats or leaned towards the party—the same poll found that 40% of registered voters identified as Republicans or leaned towards the Republican party.
Political ideologies in the United States
Even though liberals as a whole tend to be the most educated ideological demographic (as indicated by Pew research), moderates tend to become increasingly conservative with increased economic prosperity, causing the professional class to be split between Republicans and Democrats. Among those who do identify as either liberal or conservative few identify as "far left" or "far right." Most Americans either identify as "moderate" or as "somewhat" liberal or conservative.
White Hispanic and Latino Americans
In the 2010 United States Census, 50.5 million Americans (16.3% of the total population) listed themselves as ethnically Hispanic or Latino. Of those, 53.0% (26.7 million) self-identified as racially white. The remaining respondents listed their races as: some other race 36.7%, two or more races (multiracial) 6.0%, Black or African American 2.5%, American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%, Asian 0.4%, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 0.1%.
Modern liberalism in the United States
Conservative activists since the 1970s have employed "liberal" as an epithet, giving it an ominous or sinister connotation, while invoking phrases like "free enterprise", "individual rights", "patriotic", and "the American way" to describe opponents of liberalism. Historian John Lukacs noted in 2004 that then-President George W. Bush, confident that many Americans regarded "liberal" as a pejorative term, used it to label his political opponents during campaign speeches, while his opponents subsequently avoided identifying themselves as liberal. During the presidency of Gerald Ford, First Lady Betty Ford became known for her candid and outspoken liberal views in regard to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), pro-choice on abortion, Feminism, equal pay, decriminalization of certain drugs, gun control, and civil rights. She was a vocal supporter and leader in the Women's movement and Ford was also noted for bringing breast cancer awareness to national attention following her 1974 mastectomy. Her outspoken liberal views led to ridicule and opposition from the conservative wing of the Republican Party and by conservative activists who referred to Ford as "No Lady" and thought her actions were unbecoming of a First Lady in an increasingly conservative Republican Party.
Media bias in the United States
That has changed. Gallup Polls since 1997 have shown that most Americans do not have confidence in the mass media "to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly". According to Gallup, the American public's trust in the media has generally declined in the first decade and a half of the 21st century. Again according to Ladd, "In the 2008, the portion of Americans expressing 'hardly any' confidence in the press had risen to 45%. A 2004 Chronicle of Higher Education poll found that only 10% of Americans had 'a great deal' of confidence in the 'national news media,'" In 2011, only 44% of those surveyed had "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust and confidence in the mass media. In 2013, a 59% majority reported a perception of media bias, with 46% saying mass media was too liberal and 13% saying it was too conservative. The perception of bias was highest among conservatives. According to the poll, 78% of conservatives think the mass media is biased, as compared with 44% of liberals and 50% of moderates. Only about 36% view mass media reporting as "just about right".
Libertarian Party (United States)
In the Libertarian Party, some donors are not necessarily "members" because the party since its founding in 1972 has defined a "member" as being someone who agrees with the party's membership statement. The precise language of this statement is found in the party Bylaws. As of the end of 2017, there were 138,815 Americans who were on record as having signed the membership statement. A survey by David Kirby and David Boaz found a minimum of 14 percent American voters to have libertarian-leaning views.
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
The book takes aim at "liberals [who are] snooty, snobby know-it-alls, who have gotten angrier and angrier in recent years and who think they're not only smarter, but also "better", than everyone else, especially everyone else who lives in a 'red state'—a population they see as hopelessly dumb and pathetically religious" (p. x). While the book mainly criticises liberals, there are a few moderate and even conservative individuals mentioned, notably Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh.
Higher education in the United States
Research since the 1970s has consistently found that professors are more liberal and Democratic than the general population. Surveys conducted in the last 10 years indicate that between 44–62% faculty self-identify as liberal, while 9–18% self-identify as conservative. Conservative self-identification is higher in two-year colleges than other categories of higher education but has been declining overall. Those in natural sciences, engineering, and business were less liberal than those in the social sciences and humanities. A 2005 study found that liberal views had increased compared to the older studies. 15% in the survey described themselves as right of center. While the humanities and the social sciences are still the most left leaning, 67% of those in other fields combined described themselves as left of center. In business and engineering, liberals outnumber conservatives by a 2:1 ratio. The study also found that more women, practicing Christians, and Republicans were employed to teach at lower ranked schools (such as two-year community colleges or medium-sized universities) than would be expected from their professional accomplishments, measured objectively. One conservative critic has suggested that liberal "Groupthink" explains why liberals appear to be overrepresented.
Demography of the United States
A 2011 report by the Institute estimated that 4 million adults identify as gay or lesbian, representing 1.7% of the population over 18. A spokesperson said that, until recently, few studies have tried to eliminate people who had occasionally undertaken homosexual behavior or entertained homosexual thoughts, from people who identified as lesbian or gay. (Older estimates have varied depending on methodology and timing; see Demographics of sexual orientation for a list of studies.) The American Community Survey from the 2000 U.S. Census estimated 776,943 same-sex couple households in the country as a whole, representing about 0.5% of the population.
Modern liberalism in the United States
While the media often called them "Rockefeller Republicans", the liberal Republicans never formed an organized movement or caucus, and lacked a recognized leader. They promoted economic growth and high state and federal spending, while accepting high taxes and much liberal legislation, with the provision they could administer it more efficiently. They opposed the Democratic big city machines while welcoming support from labor unions and big business alike. Religion wasn't high on their agenda but they were strong believers in civil rights for African Americans and Women's Rights, and most liberals were pro-choice. They were also strong environmentalists and they supported higher education. In foreign policy they were internationalists, throwing their support to the moderate Dwight D. Eisenhower over the conservative leader Robert A. Taft in 1952. They were often called the "Eastern Establishment" by conservatives such as Barry Goldwater. The Goldwater conservatives fought this establishment, defeated Rockefeller in the 1964 primaries, and eventually retired most of its members, although some became Democrats, for example Senator Charles Goodell and Mayor John Lindsay in New York. As President, Richard Nixon adopted many of the liberals' positions regarding the environment, welfare, and the arts. After Congressman John B. Anderson of Illinois bolted the party in 1980 and ran as an independent against Reagan, the liberal GOP element faded away. Their old strongholds in the Northeast are now mostly held by Democrats.
Irreligion in the United States
According to the 2010–2014 wave of the World Values Survey, 67% of Americans considered themselves as a religious person, 27.3% were not a religious person, and 4.4% were a convinced atheist. In the 2005–2009 wave: 69% of Americans considered themselves as a religious person, 23.4% were not a religious person, and 3.4% were a convinced atheist.
Atheism in the United States
A June–September 2014 Pew Research Center survey found that 69% of atheist Americans identity as Democratic or lean Democratic, 17% have no lean, 15% identity as Republican, 56% liberal, 29% moderate, 10% conservative, and 5% don't know. Among Americans who don't believe in god/gods, 65% identity as Democratic or lean Democratic, 17% have no lean, 18% identity as Republican, 50% liberal, 31% moderate, 13% conservative, and 6% don't know. That makes atheist and nonbelievers in god/gods Americans as belief groups to be the most politically liberal belief group in America and the least politically aligned belief group with Republicans and conservatism in the United States.
Modern liberalism in the United States
A 2005 Pew Research Center study found that liberals were the most educated ideological demographic and were tied with the conservative sub-group the "enterprisers" for the most affluent group. Of those who identified as liberal, 49% were college graduates and 41% had household incomes exceeding $75,000, compared to 27% and 28% as the national average, respectively. Liberalism has become the dominant political ideology in academia, with 44-62% identifying as liberal, depending on the exact wording of the survey. This compares with 40-46% liberal identification in surveys from 1969 to 1984. The social sciences and humanities were most liberal, whereas business and engineering departments were the least liberal, though even in the business departments, liberals outnumbered conservatives by two to one. This feeds the common question whether liberals, on average, are more educated than their political counterparts––conservatives. Two Zogby surveys from 2008 and 2010 indeed affirm that self-identified liberals tend to go to college more than self-identified conservatives. Polls have found that young Americans are considerably more liberal than the general population. As of 2009, 30% of the 18-29 cohort was liberal. In 2011, this had changed to 28%, with moderates picking up the two percent.
Black liberalism
Black liberalism, also known as African-American liberalism is a political and social philosophy within the United States of America's African-American community that aligns with primarily liberalism, most commonly associated with the Democratic Party. Modern liberalism is a core value of the Democratic Party, which has consistently received 85-95% of the African-American vote since the 1960s due to the support of the Civil Rights Movement by U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Liberalism in the United States
The United States of America was the first country to be founded on the liberal ideas of John Locke and other philosophers of the Enlightenment, with no monarchy, no hereditary aristocracy, and no established religion. The American Bill of Rights guarantees every citizen the freedoms advocated by the liberal philosophers: equality under the law, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to gather in peaceful assembly, the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and the right to bear arms, among other freedoms and rights. In this sense, virtually all Americans are liberals. However, questions arose, both before and after the country was founded. In the Dred Scott decision of 1856–57, the Supreme Court ruled that these rights only applied to White men, and that Blacks had no rights whatsoever that any White man was obliged to respect. Therefore, the constitution was amended several times to extend these rights to ever larger classes of citizens, to all citizens in 1868, then specifically to Blacks in 1870, to women in 1919, and to people unable to afford a poll tax in 1964.
Evangelicalism in the United States
John C. Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, used polling data to separate evangelicals into three broad camps, which he labels as "traditionalist", "centrist" and "modernist":The 2004 survey of religion and politics in the United States identified the evangelical percentage of the population at 26.3 percent while Roman Catholics are 22 percent and mainline Protestants make up 16 percent. In the 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States, the figures for these same groups are 28.6 percent (evangelical), 24.5 percent (Roman Catholic), and 13.9 percent (mainline Protestant.) The latter figures are based on a 2001 study of the self-described religious identification of the adult population for 1990 and 2001 from the Graduate School and University Center at the City University of New York. A 2008 study showed that in the year 2000 about 9 percent of Americans attended an evangelical service on any given Sunday. The Economist estimated in May 2012, that "over one-third of Americans, more than 100 M, can be considered evangelical," arguing that the percentage is often undercounted because many black Christians espouse evangelical theology but prefer to refer to themselves as "born again Christians" rather than "evangelical." These estimated figures given by The Economist agree with those in 2012 from Wheaton College's Institute for the Studies of American Evangelicals.
Born again
The Gallup Organization reported that "In 2003, 42% of U.S. adults said they were born-again or evangelical; the 2004 percentage is 41%" and that, "Black Americans are far more likely to identify themselves as born-again or evangelical, with 63% of blacks saying they are born-again, compared with 39% of white Americans. Republicans are far more likely to say they are born-again (52%) than Democrats (36%) or independents (32%)."
Irreligion in the United States
Self-identification among the Nones is also diverse. For instance, according to Pew study in 2009, only 5% of the total US population did not have a belief in a god. Out of all those without a belief in a god, only 24% self-identified as "atheist", while 15% self-identified as "agnostic", 35% self-identified as "nothing in particular", and 24% identified with a religious tradition. The Nones tend to be more politically liberal and their growth has resulted in some increases in membership of secular organizations. However, the overwhelming majority of those without religion are not joining secular groups or even aligning with secularism.
Modern liberalism in the United States
Politicians
Intellectuals
World's Smallest Political Quiz
On August 23, 2000, Portrait of America conducted a national telephone survey of 822 likely voters. Using the same questions and scale, the survey found 32% of American voters are centrists; 16% are libertarians; 14% are authoritarians; 13% liberal; 7% are conservative; and, 17% border one or more categories. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on what many see as the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process, and equality under the law are widely accepted as a common foundation across the spectrum of liberal thought.
Modern liberalism in the United States
Liberal Republicans have voiced disappointment over conservative attacks on liberalism. One example is former governor of Minnesota and founder of the Liberal Republican Club Elmer L. Andersen, who commented that it's "unfortunate today that 'liberal' is used as a derogatory term". After the 1980s, fewer activists and politicians were willing to characterize themselves as liberals. Historian Kevin Boyle explains, "There was a time when liberalism was, in Arthur Schlesinger's words 'a fighting faith' ... Over the last three decades, though, liberalism has become an object of ridicule, condemned for its misplaced idealism, vilified for its tendency to equivocate and compromise, and mocked for its embrace of political correctness. Now even the most ardent reformers run from the label, fearing the damage it will inflict". Republican political consultant Arthur J. Finkelstein was recognized by Democratic political consultants for having employed a formula of branding someone as a liberal and engaging in name-calling by using the word "liberal" in negative television commercials as frequently as possible, such as in a 1996 ad against US Representative Jack Reed: "That's liberal. That's Jack Reed. That's wrong. Call liberal Jack Reed and tell him his record on welfare is just too liberal for you."
Conservatism in the United States
In addition, some American libertarians, in the Libertarian Party and even some in the Republican Party, see themselves as conservative, even though they advocate significant economic and social changes—for instance, further dismantling the welfare system or liberalizing drug policy. They see these as conservative policies because they conform to the spirit of individual liberty that they consider to be a traditional American value. However, many libertarian think-tanks such as the Cato Institute, and libertarian intellectuals such as David Boaz describe libertarianism as being "socially liberal and fiscally conservative."
Democratic Party (United States)
This ideological group differs from the traditional organized labor base. According to the Pew Research Center, a plurality of 41% resided in mass affluent households and 49% were college graduates, the highest figure of any typographical group. It was also the fastest growing typological group between the late 1990s and early 2000s. Liberals include most of academia and large portions of the professional class.
List of liberal theorists
Since then liberalism has broadened to include a wide range of approaches from Americans Ronald Dworkin, Richard Rorty, John Rawls and Francis Fukuyama as well as the Indian Amartya Sen and the Peruvian Hernando de Soto. Some of these people moved away from liberalism, while others espoused other ideologies before turning to liberalism. There are many different views of what constitutes liberalism, and some liberals would feel that some of the people on this list were not true liberals. It is intended to be suggestive rather than exhaustive. Theorists whose ideas were mainly typical for one country should be listed in that country's section of liberalism worldwide. Generally only "thinkers" are listed, politicians are only listed when they, beside their active political work, also made substantial contributions to liberal theory.
Political ideologies in the United States
Over the past decades, the political outlook of Americans has become more progressive, with those below the age of thirty being considerably more liberal than the overall population. According to recent polls, 56% of those age 18 to 29 favor gay marriage, 68% state environmental protection to be as important as job creation, 52% "think immigrants 'strengthen the country with their hard work and talents,'" 62% favor a "tax financed, government-administrated universal health care" program and 74% "say 'people's will' should have more influence on U.S. laws than the Bible, compared to 37%, 49%, 38%, 47% and 58% among the general population.
The Media Elite
Concerning political beliefs: 54 percent of the journalists described their views as left of center, 29 percent as "middle of the road," and only 17 percent as right of center. The authors argue that this ratio of more than three liberal journalists for each conservative contrasts sharply with the distribution among the American public: every relevant poll conducted in the decade from 1975 to 1985 found conservatives outnumbering liberals in the electorate, often by a ratio of three to two or more.
Episcopal Church (United States)
According to ARIS/Barna, 3.5 million Americans self–identified as Episcopalians, highlighting "a gap between those who are affiliated with the church (on membership rolls), versus those who self-identify [as Episcopalians]". Church Pension Group also cited having 3.5 million adherents in 2002. More recently, in 2014, Pew Research found that approximately 1.2 percent of 245 million U.S adults, around 3 million people, self–identified as mainline Episcopalian/Anglican.
Modern liberalism in the United States
A 2015 Gallup poll found that socially liberal views have consistently been on the rise in America since 1999. As of 2015, there is a roughly equal number of socially liberal Americans and socially conservative Americans (31% each), and the socially liberal trend continues to rise.
Nolan Chart
In August 2011, the libertarian "Reason" magazine worked with the Rupe organization to survey 1,200 Americans by telephone and place their views within the Nolan chart categories. The Reason-Rupe poll found that "Americans cannot easily be bundled into either the 'liberal' or 'conservative' groups". Specifically, 28% expressed conservative views, 24% expressed libertarian views, 20% expressed communitarian views and 28% expressed liberal views. The margin of error was ±3.
History of liberalism
Liberalism, the belief in freedom and human rights, is historically associated with thinkers such as John Locke and Montesquieu. It is a political movement which spans the better part of the last four centuries, though the use of the word "liberalism" to refer to a specific political doctrine did not occur until the 19th century. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 in England laid the foundations for the development of the modern liberal state by constitutionally limiting the power of the monarch, affirming parliamentary supremacy, passing the Bill of Rights and establishing the principle of "consent of the governed". The 1776 Declaration of Independence of the United States founded the nascent republic on liberal principles without the encumbrance of hereditary aristocracy—the declaration stated that "all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", echoing John Locke's phrase "life, liberty, and property". A few years later, the French Revolution overthrew the hereditary aristocracy, with the slogan "liberty, equality, fraternity" and was the first state in history to grant universal male suffrage. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, first codified in 1789 in France, is a foundational document of both liberalism and human rights. The intellectual progress of the Enlightenment, which questioned old traditions about societies and governments, eventually coalesced into powerful revolutionary movements that toppled what the French called the Ancien Régime, the belief in absolute monarchy and established religion, especially in Europe, Latin America and North America.
Modern liberalism in the United States
Ronald Reagan's ridicule of liberalism is credited with transforming "liberal" into a derogatory epithet that any politician seeking national office would avoid. His speechwriters repeatedly contrasted "liberals" and "real Americans". For example, Reagan's then-Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt said "I never use the words Republicans and Democrats. It's liberals and Americans." Reagan warned the United States of modern secularists who condoned abortion, excused teenage sexuality, opposed school prayer, and attenuated traditional American values. His conviction that there existed a single proper personal behavior, religious worldview, economic system, and proper attitude toward nations and peoples not supporting US interests worldwide, is credited by comparative literature scholar Betty Jean Craige with polarizing America. Reagan persuaded a large portion of the public to dismiss any sincere analyses of his administration's policies as politically motivated criticisms put forth by what he labeled a "liberal" media.
Modern liberalism in the United States
In reaction to ongoing financial crisis that began in 2008, protest politics continued into the Obama administration, most notably in the form of Occupy Wall Street. The main issues are social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. The OWS slogan, "We are the 99%", addresses the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the US between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. Although some of these were cited by liberal activists and Democrats, this information did not fully become a center of national attention until it was used as one of the ideas behind the OWS movement. A survey by Fordham University Department of Political Science found the protester's political affiliations to be overwhelmingly left-leaning: 25% Democrat, 2% Republican, 11% Socialist, 11% Green Party, 12% Other, and 39% independent. While the survey also found that 80% of the protestors self-identified as slightly to extremely liberal, Occupy Wall Street, and the broader Occupy movement, has been variously classified as a "liberation from liberalism" and even as having principles that "arise from scholarship on anarchy".
Democratic Party (United States)
A large majority of liberals favor universal health care, with many supporting a single-payer system. A majority also favor diplomacy over military action, stem cell research, the legalization of same-sex marriage, stricter gun control and environmental protection laws as well as the preservation of abortion rights. Immigration and cultural diversity is deemed positive as liberals favor cultural pluralism, a system in which immigrants retain their native culture in addition to adopting their new culture. They tend to be divided on free trade agreements and organizations such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Most liberals oppose increased military spending and the mixing of church and state.
LGBT demographics of the United States
A Gallup report published in October 2012 by the Williams Institute reported that 3.4% of US adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Minorities were more likely to identify as non-heterosexual; 4.6% of blacks, 4.0% of Hispanics and 3.2% of whites. Younger people, aged 18–29, were three times more likely to identify as LGBT than seniors over the age of 65, the numbers being 6.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
LGBT demographics of the United States
In the first large-scale government survey measuring Americans’ sexual orientation, the NHIS reported in July 2014 that 1.6 percent of Americans identify as gay or lesbian, and 0.7 percent identify as bisexual. 1.5 percent of women self-identify as lesbian and 0.9 consider themselves bisexual, while 1.8 percent of men consider themselves gay and 0.4 percent identify as bisexual.
Hispanic and Latino conservatism in the United States
More than 9% of eligible voters nationwide are Latino. The majority support for Democratic candidates continues a pattern among Hispanic voters. In a December 2011, 67% of Hispanics said they were Democrats, and 20% of Hispanics said they were Republicans.
Godless: The Church of Liberalism
If liberals are on Red Alert with one born-again Christian in the cabinet of a Christian president, imagine how they would react if there were five. Between 25 and 45 percent of the population calls itself "born-again" or "evangelical" Christian. Jews make up less than 2 per cent of the nation's population, and yet Clinton had five in his cabinet. He appointed two to the Supreme Court. Now guess which administration is called a neoconservative conspiracy?
Atheism
According to the World Values Survey, 4.4% of Americans self-identified as atheists in 2014. However, the same survey showed that 11.1% of all respondents stated "no" when asked if they believed in God. In 1984, these same figures were 1.1% and 2.2%, respectively. According to a 2014 report by the Pew Research Center, 3.1% of the US adult population identify as atheist, up from 1.6% in 2007; and within the religiously unaffiliated (or "no religion") demographic, atheists made up 13.6%. According to the 2015 General Sociological Survey the number of atheists and agnostics in the US has remained relatively flat in the past 23 years since in 1991 only 2% identified as atheist and 4% identified as agnostic and in 2014 only 3% identified as atheists and 5% identified as agnostics.
Liberalism in the United States
While it is difficult to gather demographic information on ideological groups, recent surveys by the "New York Times" and CBS News indicate that between 18% and 27% of American adults identify as liberal, versus moderate or conservative. In the 2008 presidential election, exit polls showed that 22% of the electorate self-identified as "liberal." According to a 2004 study by the Pew Research Center, liberals were tied with the conservative sub-group, the "Enterprisers", for the most affluent group, and were the ideological demographic with the highest rate of college education. Of those who identified as liberal, 49% were college graduates and 41% had household incomes exceeding $75,000, compared to 27% and 28% as the national average, respectively.
Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)
A 2015 Gallup annual average based on January though December 2015 as part of Gallup's monthly Gallup Poll Social Series surveys found a record 45% of Democrats identify as liberals—a rise from 29% in 2000. A 2015 Public Religion Research Institute found 82% of liberal Democrats opposed legally permitting small business owners to discriminate by refusing products and services to gay and lesbian people; including on the basis of their religious beliefs, while 15% supported allowing this and 3% did not know or refused to answer. A March 2015 Pew Research Center poll found 75% of liberal Democrats believed cannabis should be legal while 22% were opposed and 3% did not know. A March 2016 Pew Research Center poll found 84% of liberal Democrats support same-sex marriage while 12% oppose same-sex marriage and 87% believe homosexuality should be accepted by society while 8% believe it should be discouraged. A May 2016 Gallup poll found that more Democrats identified as liberal on social issues (57%) than liberal on economic issues (41%). The 57% of Democrats who currently say they are liberal on social issues is up from 35% in 2001.
Democratic Party (United States)
Social liberals (modern liberals) and progressives constitute the majority of the Democratic voter base. Liberals thereby form the largest united demographic within the Democratic base. According to the 2012 exit poll results, liberals constituted 25% of the electorate, and 86% of American liberals favored the candidate of the Democratic Party. White-collar college-educated professionals were mostly Republican until the 1950s, but they now compose a vital component of the Democratic Party.
Liberal, Missouri
Liberal is a city in Barton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 759 at the 2010 census.
George Walser founded the city as an atheist utopia in 1880.
He named the city after the Liberal League in Lamar, Missouri, to which he belonged.
It was to be a city without churches or saloons. Instead it offered experimental programs, such as liberal Sunday morning instruction for children and intellectual lectures for adults on Sunday evenings. 
Christians arrived as missionaries, first holding religious services in town and later moving to property just outside the city limits.
Mestizos in the United States
It is difficult to know the exact number of Latino Americans self-identifying as Mestizo, in part because "Mestizo" is not an official racial category in the Census. According to the 2010 United States Census, 36.7% of the 52 million Hispanic/Latino Americans identify as "some other race", and most of the remainder consider themselves white. Further complicating matters is the fact that many federal agencies such as the CDC or CIA do not even recognize the "some other race" category, including this population in the white category.
Demographics of Filipino Americans
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the 2007 American Community Survey, identified approximately 3.1 million persons as "Filipino alone or in any combination." The census also found that about 80% of the Filipino American community are United States citizens. According to a study published in 2007, 11% of single-heritage Filipinos did not mark "Asian" as their race; this number was greater among multiracial Filipinos. Also in 2011, the U.S. State Department estimated the size of the Filipino American community at 4 million, or 1.5% of the United States population. There are no official records of Filipinos who hold dual citizenship; however, during the 2000 Census data indicated that Filipino Americans had the lowest percentage of non-citizens amongst Asian Americans, at 26%. Additionally, although historically there had been a larger number of Filipino American men than women, women represented 54% of the Filipino American adult population in the 2000 Census.
Democratic Party (United States)
A study on the political attitudes of medical students, for example, found that "U.S. medical students are considerably more likely to be liberal than conservative and are more likely to be liberal than are other young U.S. adults. Future U.S. physicians may be more receptive to liberal messages than current ones, and their political orientation may profoundly affect their health system attitudes". Similar results are found for professors, who are more strongly inclined towards liberalism and the Democratic Party than other occupational groups. The Democratic Party also has strong support among scientists, with 55% identifying as Democrats, 32% as independents and 6% as Republicans and 52% identifying as liberal, 35% as moderate and 9% as conservative.
Liberalism in the United States
Thomas Jefferson believed that America should remain a nation of small farmers. As the American economy began to shift to manufacturing and services, liberals began to fear threats to liberty from corruption and monopolies (called "trusts" at the time). During the Progressive Era of the early 20th century, laws were passed restricting monopolies and regulating railroad rates. According to James Reichley, it was during this era that the term "liberal" took on its current meaning. Prior to the early 1900s, the term had usually described classical liberalism, which emphasizes limited government and the free market. During the 1920s, the term "progressive" became associated with politicians such as Robert La Follette, who called for government ownership of railroads and utilities in his 1924 third-party presidential bid, and Theodore Roosevelt who came out of retirement to run again for president under a third party called Progressive Party. Later, political figures such as Franklin Roosevelt adopted the term "liberal" to describe an individual in favor of some government activism but opposed to more radical reforms.
Black conservatism in the United States
According to a 2004 study, 13.7% of blacks identified as "Conservative" or "Extremely Conservative" with another 14.4% identifying as slightly conservative. However, the same study indicated less than ten percent identified as Republican or Republican leaning in any fashion. Likewise, a 2007 Pew Research Center survey showed that 19% of blacks identify as Religious Right. In 2004, the Pew Research Center indicated only 7% of blacks identify as Republican.
Political positions of Hillary Clinton
At a Democratic primary debate in June 2007, in response to the question of whether she would describe herself as a liberal, Clinton said: "I consider myself a modern progressive, someone who believes strongly in individual rights and freedoms, who believes that we are better as a society when we're working together and when we find ways to help those who may not have all the advantages in life get the tools they need to lead a more productive life for themselves and their family. So I consider myself a proud modern American progressive, and I think that's the kind of philosophy and practice that we need to bring back to American politics."
Black liberalism
African-American support for abortion is strong, 67% believing that it should remain legal in all or most cases, 57% saying it should be in all communities and 66% expressing the view that abortion clinics were safe, according to a July 2012 poll. African-Americans account for 30% of America's abortions, Caucasian-Americans accounting for 36%, a noted disparity that commentators have addressed with varying opinions. According to the Center of Disease Control, African-American women accounted for 36% of all abortions in 2009. African-American conservatives have criticized the disparity, Clenard H. Childress calling it "black genocide" and niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. Alveda King questioning how his "dream" could be sustained with what she called killing the child, adding, "Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate."
Modern liberalism in the United States
Starting in the twentieth century, there has been a sharp division between liberals, who tend to live in denser, more heterogeneous communities, and conservatives, who tend to live in less dense, more homogeneous communities. Liberals as a group are referred to as "the Left" and conservatives "the Right". The Democratic Party is considered liberal, and the Republican Party is considered conservative.
Political ideologies in the United States
It is also shown by the Pew Research Center that conservatives tend to have stronger belief in personal empowerment than liberals. Among the wealthiest and most educated group of conservatives, the Enterprisers, 95% believed that most people can get ahead in life if they work hard. Despite having similar income and education levels, only 53% of Liberals agreed with Enterprisers on the issue while 39% disagreed and another 5% refused to answer. Even among the poorest and least educated groups of both the conservatives (the Pro-Government Conservatives) and the left-wing (the Disadvantaged Democrats), these differences in opinion about personal empowerment are apparent. While 74% of Pro-Government Conservatives believed that people can get ahead with hard work, only 14% of Disadvantaged Democrats agreed while 79% disagreed and the other 7% refused to answer.
List of libertarians in the United States
This is a list of notable libertarians in the United States. It includes people who have identified themselves as members of the Libertarian Party or as libertarian in their political or social philosophy.
Affirmative action in the United States
According to a study by Dr. Paul Brest, Hispanics or "Latinos" include immigrants who are descendants of immigrants from the countries comprising Central and South America. In 1991, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans made up 80% of the Latino population in the United States. Latinos are disadvantaged compared to White Americans and are more likely to live in poverty. They are the least well educated major ethnic group and suffered a 3% drop in high school completion rate while African Americans experienced a 12% increase between 1975–1990. In 1990, they constituted 9% of the population, but only received 3.1% of the bachelors's degrees awarded. At times when it is favorable to lawmakers, Latinos were considered "white" by the Jim Crow laws during the Reconstruction. In other cases, according to Paul Brest, Latinos have been classified as an inferior race and a threat to white purity. Latinos have encountered considerable discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and education. Brest finds that stereotypes continue to be largely negative and many perceive Latinos as "lazy, unproductive, and on the dole." Furthermore, native-born Latino-Americans and recent immigrants are seen as identical since outsiders tend not to differentiate between Latino groups.
Transgender rights movement
In recent years, there have been several housing crises among transgender people, especially transgender people of color. According to a 2016 Gallup poll, 10.052 million people in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or transgender, and millennials, or those born between 1980 and 1998, drive virtually all of all of the increases overall LGBT self-identification. As the millennial generation has entered the college age, trans individuals have seen difficulty in securing basic housing rights and needs. There is a definite predominance of sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and housing where transgender people regularly are denied access, and are harassed and challenged for their gender identity.] Most of the time, they are forced to “pick” a gender, even though they do not necessarily identify with it. Most universities operate on the premise that gender is binary and static, and this can be especially problematic with either poorer transgender individuals or transgender people of color, since 55% of college students in the United States are white and the average income for families with college students is $74,000 – 60% higher than the national average of $46,326.
Bisexuality in the United States
Significant reports about bisexuals were also released in this decade. In 2002, a survey in the United States by National Center for Health Statistics found that 1.8 percent of men ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 2.3 percent homosexual, and 3.9 percent as "something else". The same study found that 2.8 percent of women ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 1.3 percent homosexual, and 3.8 percent as "something else". A 2007 report said that 14.4% of young US women identified themselves as bisexual/lesbian, with 5.6% of the men identifying as gay or bisexual. Also in 2007, an article in the 'Health' section of "The New York Times" stated that "1.5 percent of American women and 1.7 percent of American men identify themselves [as] bisexual."