Every few months, I hear about some study claiming that Generation Z is either more conservative or less conservative than previous generations. You can’t have it both ways. So what is really going on with 14- to 22-year-olds?
First of all, Gen Z is still mostly teenagers. Many of them have not fully formed their political views yet, and don’t know enough about the issues to have a real opinion. I should know. When I was in high school, I ignored politics because it was something my brothers were into. Of course, I still began forming a strong conservative foundation by reading every issue of National Review cover to cover.
According to comprehensive polling from the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is trending to the left. Their views mirror those of Millennials. The conservative magazine Commentary warns, “Generation Z is a liberal tsunami.”
They believe in even higher numbers than Millennials that government should do more to solve problems, 70%. Only 30% approve of President Trump’s job performance, barely more than Millennials at 29%. In contrast, 38% of Generation X approves of his performance, 43% of Boomers and 54% of the Silent Generation.
When it comes to climate change, Gen Z is very similar to the Millennials and not that much different from Gen X. Over 50% of Gen Z and Millennials believe the earth is getting warmer due to human activity. Gen X isn’t far behind, with 48% believing that.
Gen Z is also very similar to the Millennials when it comes to how great they think the U.S. is. Only 14% think the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, and only 13% of Millennials. In contrast, 20% of Gen X believes the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, 30% of Boomers, and 45% of the Silent Generation.
Of course, Pew always muddles their polls with artificial questions and breakdowns (they love splitting evangelicals between white evangelicals and non-white evangelicals, which is ridiculous since they’re not that far apart, it’s just stoking the racial flames). The poll asked whether more racial/ethnic diversity is good for society. Gen Z and the Millennials both said yes in higher percentages than the older generations. But that’s no surprise. Democrats supported Jim Crow laws last century and fought passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The older generations are still tainted by that. Changing people’s minds on that is not less conservative. It’s less Democrat.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Rachel Alexander
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