Two years after an initial analysis, a new national survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and E Pluribus Unum (EPU) reappraises American attitudes toward Confederate monuments. This year’s survey finds Americans remain divided over their memorialization in public spaces but express support for repairing the damage of past discrimination.
The survey found a marginal majority of Americans (52%) express support for the preservation of the Confederacy’s legacy. More than other Americans (50%), Southern Americans are more likely (58%) to support preservation efforts.
Confederate memorials and monuments continue to be a source of division for Americans. Of the more than 5,500 Americans polled, 35% of respondents say Confederate monuments should be kept in public spaces but with added contextual information.
On the other hand, 28% of U.S. adults polled say the monuments belong in museums, not public spaces. Just over a quarter of respondents (26%) say they should remain “as-is” and 9% say the Confederate memorials and monuments should be destroyed.
“In 2022, PRRI’s pathbreaking survey with E Pluribus Unum found that while Americans expressed broad support for telling the truth about the history of slavery, violence, and discrimination against racial minorities in their communities, their views on the legacy of the Confederacy were deeply divided by race, religion, and party,” said Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., CEO of PRRI. “Those divisions largely persist today. Yet, new analysis along generational divides finds younger Americans are less supportive of efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy in public spaces and more supportive of renaming public schools and mascots with racist connotations.”
To read the full report, click here.
Director of The Raceless Gospel Initiative, an associate editor, host of the Good Faith Media podcast, “The Raceless Gospel” and author of Take Me to the Water: The Raceless Gospel as Baptismal Pedagogy for a Desegregated Church.
