Americans are more likely to see their fellow citizens as morally bad, polls show
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American adults are more likely than others to view their fellow citizens as morally corrupt, with more than half agreeing with this view in a new Pew Research Center survey of 25 countries.
The survey, released earlier this month, was the first time it had raised the question, meaning Pew didn’t have data to publish to show whether this was a long-held belief or a recent phenomenon.
“What we’re really seeing is an increase in the lack of public trust, right? That’s generally, Americans live in communities where there are high levels of anti-Americanism. [who] they say they don’t trust those around them,” JP De Gance, founder and president of Communio, told Fox News Digital.
Communio is a non-profit organization that works with churches to strengthen families and communities by promoting healthy marriages and relationships.
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Demonstrators hold signs during a demonstration calling for an “end to the violence of imperialism” amid the ongoing war with Iran outside MacDill Air Force Base, where the headquarters of the US Central Command is based, in Tampa, Florida, on March 12, 2026. (Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)
De Gance cited the rise of single-parent families as the main reason for the decline in public trust.
“I think this is the result of a long-term escape from that institution that best practices morality, which is marriage and family,” said De Gance. “In the 1960s, you separated the sexes from marriage, marriage from parenthood. And the United States leads the developed world in single-headed, single-parent families. And it is the home, often the complementarity between mother and father, that helps shape young men and women in their behavior.”
Countries discussed include the US, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Pew found that 53% of US adults see their own citizens as morally bad. The US was followed by Turkey with 49% and Brazil with 48%. Meanwhile, Canadians are the most likely to view their fellow citizens as well behaved, with 92% saying so.
Pew also asked respondents in 25 countries about nine behaviors: celibacy, marijuana use, pornography, gambling, abortion, homosexuality, alcohol consumption, divorce and contraceptive use. The survey showed that 90% of Americans consider extramarital sex to be wrong, much higher than other acts such as viewing pornography (52%), abortion (47%) and homosexuality (39%). Smaller shares said the same about gambling (29%), using marijuana and getting divorced (23% each), drinking alcohol (16%) and using contraceptives (8%).
De Gance cited the rise of single-parent families as the main reason for the decline in public trust. (Stock)
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When broken down by political party, Pew found that 60% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults say their fellow Americans are bad morally and ethically, compared to 46% of Republicans and Republican-leaning adults. Pew noted that a previous poll from August 2022 found increasing hostility, with 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats saying that members of the opposition party behave worse than other Americans.
De Gance lamented the number of Democrats and Republicans who see their fellow Americans as morally evil, saying the percentage is “very high.” He told Fox News Digital that major political divisions are the result of the breakdown of “institutions that create social trust,” such as strong institutions.
“If you don’t trust the person who helped bring you into the world, that has bad consequences, doesn’t it?” De Gance said.
De Gance believes the answer to healing America’s infidelity is strengthening families.
“Families are a place where we can learn trust and love,” said De Gance. “I think being able to have regular dinners as a family is an important part of it. Having conversations with our loved ones about the world around us, about what they might be dealing with every day and helping them think about that morally is a big part of the equation.”
The Communist president also emphasized the important role fathers play in building social trust, saying that when fathers are always absent, “a big part of the puzzle is missing.”
Communio founder and president JP De Gance believes strong families can restore trust in America. (monkeybusinessimages via Getty Images)
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However, he says that this starts long before the children enter the picture. De Gance argued that young people looking for a mate should think of themselves as students who study another person’s behavior to see what the future might hold for them.
“Being a spectator there will help you to get into a good relationship, to build a healthy marriage where we can raise our children in a married home,” said De Gance. He also encouraged those who are in a situation where they are single parents to find ways to build a healthy relationship between parents if possible.
“All those good private decisions have good consequences for the community,” said De Gance.
