A Marquette Law School Poll of voters nationwide provides wide-ranging measures of public understanding and opinion of the United States Supreme Court. Among the findings: A majority of respondents have more confidence in the Court than in other parts of the federal government; few see the Court as taking extremely […] Read more »
Most Americans Trust the Supreme Court, But Think It Is ‘Too Mixed Up in Politics’
Most Americans see the U.S. Supreme Court as a trusted institution, according to the latest Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey. Two-thirds (68%) of those surveyed trust the Supreme Court to operate in the best interests of the American people, while 7 in 10 (70%) say that that court has “about the […] Read more »
Why Americans Don’t Fully Trust Many Who Hold Positions of Power and Responsibility
People invest their trust in institutions and those who have power for a variety of reasons. Researchers have found that people’s confidence in others and organizations can include their judgments about the competence, honesty and benevolence of the organizations or individuals they are assessing, as well as factors such as […] Read more »
Americans’ Civics Knowledge Increases But Still Has a Long Way to Go
The past few years have seen contention between Congress and the president over budgets and immigration, disputes over the limits of executive power, contested confirmation hearings for two Supreme Court justices, and lawsuits involving members of Congress and the president. The good news is that amid all this, the American […] Read more »
Trust and Distrust in America
Trust is an essential elixir for public life and neighborly relations, and when Americans think about trust these days, they worry. Two-thirds of adults think other Americans have little or no confidence in the federal government. Majorities believe the public’s confidence in the U.S. government and in each other is […] Read more »
Why Are Americans Losing Confidence in Organized Religion?
Americans’ confidence in organized religion is down again this year, continuing the gradual deterioration evident over the past several decades. … Organized religion has lost its exceptionalism, and Americans now view it little differently than they view a number of other institutions in contemporary U.S. society. Confidence in organized religion […] Read more »