Conservative Values Reach 10-Year High, New Poll Reveals
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new Gallup poll found that conservative values are on the rise in America.
Conservative views on social issues are at their highest in America since 2012. Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey found that 38% of Americans identify themselves as conservative or very conservative when it comes to social issues, up from last year’s 33%. Furthermore, only 29% of Americans identified as liberal or very liberal on social issues, down from 34% last year.
When it comes to economic beliefs, conservative values always rank above liberal values, and this year’s poll saw conservative values rise to 44% from last year’s 40%, while liberal economic beliefs remained at 21%. Gallup explains that a large factor in these numbers come from a majority of republicans (79%) strongly valuing conservative economic beliefs, while democrats do not hold liberal economic beliefs nearly as strongly (48%).
Importantly, conservative values are on the rise in younger age brackets. 35% of Americans aged 30-49 years old align with conservative values, rising from only 22% in 2021. While 46% of Americans aged 50-64 years old hold conservative values, up from 35% in 2021.
This large change in social values has led to a political climate where conservative-leaning social legislature can more easily pass. This is especially important given that many of the current social issues relate to child safety, such as limiting access to abortions, prohibiting transgender surgeries on youth, and regulating the topics discussed in the classroom.
The entertainment industry is feeling the effects of this social shift too, as moral and family-friendly content continues to outperform at the box office.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Streaming services and Hollywood alike have finally acknowledged that the boost of uplifting content seen during the pandemic persists. Faith and family brands like UP Entertainment, Pureflix, and Great American Family are performing better than ever. Warner Bros.
As a result, major streamers like Discovery’s upcoming streaming rebrand to Max, are planning to include more family-friendly content in their catalog of movies and shows.
“The more people that use it in the family, the more engaged people are, the broader the offering, the lower the churn,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, David Zaslov said.
It is encouraging to see the entertainment industry finally respond to the trend that has been pervasive over the last couple of years. The industry always follows the money and right now, the money is with moral and uplifting content.
“Family-friendly content never left; I just think people are putting more money into productions of it,” Charley Humbard, CEO of UPtv said. “Hollywood is eaten up with making these edgy R-rated movies, but they are not the ones bringing in the big dollars right now. With COVID, we was a resurgence of the family brand. People wanted their comfort food, they wanted hope in society and human kindness, and they continue to seek the positive.”
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