National pride is decreasing. Ahead of the nation’s semiquincentennial this July 4, a new Gallup poll finds just 33% of citizens polled are “extremely proud” to be American, a quarter century low in Gallup polling that started in 2001.
An additional 20% of respondents say they are “very proud,” which makes devotion to America a nearly 50-50 toss-up. Unsurprisingly then, the report found less than half of Americans (43%) say they display a flag outside their home.
Gallup’s early June poll shows a combined 46% of U.S. adults are only “moderately proud” (22%), “only a little proud” (15%), or “not at all proud” (9%) to be American. These percentages are down significantly from the post-9/11 peak with 65% to 70% of Americans expressing extreme pride up until 2004. The decline is driven by three major issues: high living costs, deep political divides, and a loss of faith in national systems.
National pride is split heavily along political lines. Only 14% of Democrats polled express extreme pride, compared to a strong majority of Republicans (70%) and 28% of Independents. The Democrat and Republican split mark a 56-point gap, a record low for the former.
The data also highlights a large gender gap. Extreme pride among women fell 13 points to 26%, while men’s pride stayed mostly the same at 42%. There is also an age difference when it comes to patriotism. Only 14% of young adults aged 18 to 34 say they are extremely proud to be American, compared to 30% of respondents aged 35 to 54 and 48% of seniors aged 55 and older.
“Pride has been falling for two decades, but the pace has quickened in recent years, with the latest reading down eight points from last year alone, one of the largest single-year drops in the trend,” Megan Brenan, the Senior Editor at Gallup, wrote. “This casts some uncertainty over how Americans will engage with the country’s 250th anniversary festivities.”
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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.