Millennials care less about country, religion and family

Monday, September 9th, 2019

Millennials don’t value patriotism, family and religion as passionately as previous generations, according to a new survey.

“The values that Americans say define the national character are changing, as younger generations rate patriotism, religion and having children as less important to them than did young people two decades ago,” Wall Street Journal reporter Chad Day wrote about the results.

Cartretta Dada, a 62-year-old Birmingham, Ala., resident, rated patriotism, religion and having children as very important to her.

She said her views have been heavily influenced by the religious commitment of the generation before her and her own experience as a parent.

“Because I had three black sons, then I had to be really particular in how I raised them so that they could succeed in a society that sometimes does not consider them human,” she said.

“It was important to me to give them the best that I could give them so that they can succeed in America.”

Megan Clark, a 31-year-old from Austin, Texas, said her experience as a child living overseas due to her father’s military career influenced her views on patriotism.

“Patriotism for the sake of patriotism means nothing to me,’’ she said.

“If you believe in the values that your country is expressing and following and you want to support those, then, sure. But just as a blind association with wherever you happen to be from, that just doesn’t seem logical.”

The survey, conducted by Wall Street Journal/NBC News, began 21 years ago when Americans were asked which values were most important to them and the majority responded that “principles of hard work, patriotism, commitment to religion and the goal of having children” were critical.

“Today, hard work remains atop the list, but the shares of Americans listing the other three values have fallen substantially,” Day wrote.

Patriotism being “very important” fell 9 percent, religion dropped 12 percent and having children fell a whopping 16 percent. Older participants still feel that patriotism is a priority, but younger people aren’t as enthusiastic.

“Among people 55 and older, for example, nearly 80 percent said patriotism was very important, compared with 42 percent of those ages 18-38 — the millennial generation and older members of Gen-Z,” Day noted before adding that the survey did find a few points of unity. Continue reading