Question of the day
Friday, Mar 6, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pew Research Center…
53% of U.S. adults say Americans have bad morals and ethics
Americans are more likely than people in other countries surveyed in 2025 to question the morality of their fellow countrymen, according to Pew Research Center surveys in 25 countries.
We asked people around the world to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country.
In nearly all countries surveyed, more people say that others in their country have somewhat or very good morals than say their compatriots display somewhat or very bad levels of morality.
The United States is the only place we surveyed where more adults (ages 18 and older) describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad (53%) than as good (47%).
Because we have never asked this question before, we don’t know whether a majority of Americans have long held a skeptical view of the ethics of fellow Americans, or if it’s something new – and if so, what’s driving it. But partisan politics appear to play a role.
Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party are much more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to rate fellow Americans as morally and ethically bad (60% vs. 46%). And previous research has shown that rising numbers of both Republicans and Democrats say people in the other party are immoral.
However, this partisan pattern is not unique to the U.S. In more than half of the countries surveyed, people who don’t support the governing party are particularly likely to view their fellow citizens as immoral.
Another possibility could be that Americans are more moralistic, in general, than people in other countries – that is, they’re more inclined to judge various behaviors to be immoral or sinful. But the results of other survey questions don’t support the idea that the U.S. public is especially judgmental.
* Chart…
* The Question: Generally, how would you rate the morality of Illinoisans – are their morals very good, somewhat good, somewhat bad or very bad? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
- H-W - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 12:35 pm:
I voted somewhat good.
Beyond Illinois, I have lived in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Louisiana. So my comparison group tends to be U.S. Southern subcultures. I would not say “all Southerners” or “most Southerners,” etc. But I would say relative to my interactions with people in other states, Illinoisans are more likely to withhold judgement of others. I think of it as a Midwestern thing although my only direct knowledge is of Illinoisans.
I find Illinoisans are more likely to listen before inserting their opinions. Clearly, some of my friends are not so reluctant. But I hang with farmers and small town people. These people tend to be more likely to attend church, less likely to assert superiority, and much less likely to espouse racist and sexist ideologies openly.
So we are somewhat gooder than other folks I have known.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 12:40 pm:
Somewhat good. I believe people are basically good and want to be perceived that way by others. That doesn’t mean they are always good, but for the most part, behave in ways that demonstrate they care about others.
We’re all sinners, so we make mistakes and behave selfishly at times. But on the whole, the people I have encountered in Illinois are overwhelmingly good and decent people who strive to act morally. It’s the striving that is important.
- Mason born - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 12:45 pm:
I wonder if this is like Congress (U.S.) most seem to think Congress is full of corrupt politicians. Yet incumbents win most of time. I.e. we think congress is corrupt but our Congress person is a great person.
I would be curious how many people find their neighbors as moral and trustworthy but those people over there you can’t trust them!
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 12:48 pm:
I voted somewhat good. I always encounter good and decent people whenever I travel outside of the Chicagoland area. I think people are basically moral even in the places of Illinois that are different than me politically. It is a troubling chart, however.
- Excitable Boy - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 12:53 pm:
I’m going with somewhat good. As a state overall I’d say a higher percentage of citizens are compassionate and committed to fairness and equality than in our surrounding states. I think Americans in general have been conditioned to be more selfish than people in other countries, and that leads to immoral decisions.
- JS Mill - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:06 pm:
Somewhat bad.
Too much ill will in the red area I live in. Very bitter angry people out in these parts.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:07 pm:
Selected very good. Has anyone seen what has been happening lately? /s The classic neocon Republican Party has returned, with Middle East war and failing economy blazing.
Illinoisans did not select this, they produced Barack Obama, someone with a very impressive job creation record, and who didn’t start global conflicts. They selected infrastructure improvement, legal cannabis, protecting abortion and union rights, higher minimum wage, balanced budgets, credit upgrades, the first Black president, the first woman presidential candidate, etc. That is a deep statement of values.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:17 pm:
===53% of U.S. adults say Americans have bad morals and ethics===
Right wing think tanks and other right wing organizations and politicians have spent billions of dollars over the last 50 years trying to convince a significant portion of Americans that political differences are moral failings. Besides the obvious human rights issues that would make me question the motives, ethics, and morality of my neighbors, there’s the less obvious ones like;
Help the poor? That’s a moral failing. The poor should work harder.
Tax the wealthy? That’s a moral failing. They deserve the riches they have been given by the grace of all holy god. How dare you question them. They are living saints.
Care for the sick? Why didn’t the sick take better care of themselves. Why weren’t they responsible enough to have health insurance?
The decision to hitch the Republican Party to right wing Christianity in my opinion has a lot to do with this number being where it is.
People in our country get painted the enemy for wanting a better standard of living for themselves and their neighbors. When they’re painted the enemy, their core being is attacked as those desires are presented as a failing of their moral character.
Some of our leaders even declare war after their wife favorably quotes Hitler right before the United States Capitol is stormed in the effort to stop the lawful transition of power.
I still rated somewhat good. Some of my neighbors are very easily lead astray, but for the most part I think we’re doing okay. We’ve made some progress.
It’s a little while since we’ve had our last lynching. It has been a little while since we’ve had our last race riot. It has been a little while since we executed an innocent person that was framed to help win elections. We’re moving to a place where we’re getting better at holding power and authority accountable for abuse of that authority.
There are some folks that live here that want to take a step backwards. There are some folks that live here that want to pretend like our state’s history isn’t complicated. Folks that want to pretend that it was all just ice cream and bad haircuts.
- Norseman - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:21 pm:
Struggled, but ended with “Somewhat Bad”. I view red as bad and recognize that not all blue is good, hence somewhat bad.
- 40,000 ft - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:25 pm:
somewhat good
Culturally, for a long time, there has been promotion of immorality, via various media. Immorality is the joke, the plot, the entertainment value.
That’s a lot of social conditioning from the top.
My adult kids still tell funny stories of me pausing shows and commercials pointing out wrong-minded and immoral promotion.
They were important “teachable moments” to me.
It’s very creepy when people lie easily, promote casual thievery, encourage destructive vices, and similar.
The crosstabs in the linked data regarding those that pray at least once a day, and then tag something as immoral, is telling. (I would have a different list of immoral things)
Great question.
- Frida's Boss - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:25 pm:
Sadly politics has been leaning into hating the other side for the last 2-3 decades. Children are being brought up now being told one party or the other is all about hatred, and anything else you can imagine. How many friends have you seen on social media telling people they’ve known for years and been friends or family with, that they will never talk to them again? How much pride do you see when activists say they saw someone who they knew supported X candidate and they mocked them for their beliefs? An entire generation is being taught to hate other people specifically because they don’t think the same. To look down on those who don’t believe the same things and to attach political views to moral equvilancy not character of actions. Some will say how you vote is the character of your action but is it? Your day to day interactions, your consistency of kindness and helping people doesn’t count? Only your vote? That’s what is being said in every campaign commercial I’m seeing from the left. Lifelong Democrats being villified for having taken money from someone who once did something or supported something, now that person is considered an enemy of the left because of a friendship or a campaign check, not their longtime consistency of actions.
@JS Mill you can say it happens in the Red areas, it does, but look on network TV and it’s happening all over Northern Illinois in Bright Blue Cook County and all the collars. It’s not just one side.
- Iron Duke - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:36 pm:
John Mc Cain picked Sarah Palin to be his nominee for Vice President.
Was this a deep statement of values or a political calculation?
The country was at war with Iraq and Afghanistan during the entire Obama presidency.
He did not start either war but he did surge 33,000 troops in Afghanistan in 2010 and started conflicts in Libya and Syria.
He also killed American citizens via drone in Yemen and Pakistan without due process.
- JS Mill - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:37 pm:
=It’s not just one side.=
I am not unaware of the rest of the world. But the ‘both sides’ scenario has a leader and it is maga red.
- clec dcn - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:38 pm:
I voted I don’t know. It could depend on who you hang around with and work with each day. Just looking at the news and opinions does not necessarily tell me what I need to know to define good. It can be your world view in sense. As a Christian my world view can easily be figured out but does it really mean I am a good person or anyone else. I think just making it about Illinois is too small in thinking, but I understand that is the question. So again I don’t know.
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:48 pm:
“Sadly politics has been leaning into hating the other side for the last 2-3 decades.”
Newt Gingrich, Frank Luntz, GoPAC.
- Proud Papa Bear - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:51 pm:
“ Some will say how you vote is the character of your action but is it?”
Kerry vs Bush? No
McCain vs Obama? No
Romney vs Obama? No
Trump vs anyone? Yes
I voted yes for Illinois because most of us here are standing up to tyranny.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:52 pm:
===Lifelong Democrats being villified for having taken money from someone who once did something or supported something===
I think this is a fair line of political attack. Part of why it is happening is because the candidates don’t have much sunlight between a lot of their positions. If there were big policy differences between the candidates I don’t think you’d see these kinds of arguments.
Who a politician takes money from has been a matter of discussion for a long time. It isn’t especially new and folks like Barack Obama ran in 2008 by rejecting Corporate PAC money. I think people might just be more sensitive this cycle because some organizations have gradually shifted from what they used to be. Throwing money at G HW Bush is different from throwing money at Trump.
- FormerParatrooper - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 1:54 pm:
I believe most people are moral and ethical as defined by our society. I have been all over Illinois, and in many other places in the Country and the world and I have found most people have good morals and ethics. Illinois is about average in my experience.
- Norseman - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:02 pm:
=== It’s not just one side. ===
No, it’s not. But it is asymmetrically worse on the red side than the blue. The leadership class of the red is a great proxy measure for this point.
- Demoralized - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:05 pm:
I’m honestly not sure. Increasingly I’m viewing a good number of Americans (including Illinoisians) as lacking morality - or maybe more aptly proclaiming to be morally superior to everyone else (which I view as immoral). I cannot stand the hate not only being spewed towards but legislated against our fellow citizens. Legislatures are trying to legislate away the existence of gay and transgender people. It’s hard to think well of people like that. And based on the level of support a good portion of Americans are giving ideas like this its hard not to feel like they are immoral people.
- 48th Ward Heel - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:06 pm:
I voted Illinois as “somewhat good” because we generally don’t reward hateful people and herostrats, and while we have a genial toleration for public corruption we also have strong mechanisms for investigating and sanctioning it. Most of us want to look after our neighbors in both the personal and political spheres.
Every year, a few of the worst public figures in Illinois loudly declare that they can no longer stand to live here and make a scene storming off to Texas or Florida or somewhere. I consider that a ringing endorsement of our collective public morality.
- Flapdoodle - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:17 pm:
Somewhat bad. I could write a book on what leads me to this conclusion, but for now will observe (in agreement with several other commenters) that we are surrounded by anger, resentment, and frustration and that these conditions do not conduce to everyday moral behavior. I would add that everyday moral behavior also becomes more difficult in individualist achievement-oriented societies as people try to cope daily frustrations and shortcomings.
- DarkestBeforeDawn - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:21 pm:
Somewhat good. Living in the city and seeing the power of community has been a boon in this national political climate. I think Midwestern values come into play here. I am originally from an east coast city and I wouldn’t necessarily rank it the same.
- Pot calling kettle - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:22 pm:
Somewhat good. We all have flaws, but I think most people try to be good most of the time. (They may have a different idea of what constitutes “good,” but I think most people are trying.)
- JB13 - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:57 pm:
– Right wing think tanks and other right wing organizations –
– asymmetrically worse on the red side than the blue –
The report literally said Democrats are the most likely people in the US to rate their countrymen as bad.
And study after study show left wing Americans are far less likely to tolerate the presence of people who disagree with them than the other way around.
You all continue to prove the point
- Yuge - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 2:58 pm:
Somewhat good. Illinoisans have a relatively accepting and non judgmental attitude toward others but suffer from what is increasingly common among many Americans which is a tendency to focus their political will and desires on resentment.
Too many people seem to care less about real solutions to problems and more about punishing the people they blame for their problems. It is a terrible look, and more than that it prevents the development of civic virtue.
- Techie - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 3:17 pm:
I voted somewhat good. Most people are doing what they believe the be the right thing most of the time. In my experience, Illinoisans are generally decent and willing to help other people.
Regarding the Pew survey, it’s not hard to understand why. Our media and politicians by and large work for corporations, and they can keep the people in check by pitting us against each other, and they certainly make efforts to do that. Unfortunately it is working.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 3:20 pm:
===The report literally said Democrats are the most likely people in the US===
The report also literally said this: However, this partisan pattern is not unique to the U.S. In more than half of the countries surveyed, people who don’t support the governing party are particularly likely to view their fellow citizens as immoral.
Your selectivity is revealing itself again.
- Steve - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 3:24 pm:
Very bad. I based this on the decades long corruption problems that voters tolerated. But, I actually think things are going to get better and will improve.
- James of Little Italy - Friday, Mar 6, 26 @ 3:49 pm:
Somewhat good. It seems that the people of Illinois finally have admitted to themselves that Illinois can’t be IL but tax like IN.