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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Blackwell, Morton: Files
Folder Title: Connecticut Mutual Life
Report on American Values
Box: 5
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
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MORT Blackwey
Make fle
THE CONNECTICUT
MUTUAL LIFE REPORT
on American Values
in the '80s:
The Impact of Belief
CONDUCTED BY RESEARCH AND FORECASTS, INC.
COMMISSIONED BY CONNECTICUT MUTUAL
LIFE INSURANCE CO.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Preface
1
Introduction
3
Overview
15
Conclusion: Dangers and Opportunities
31
Research & Forecasts Staff Responsible For This Study
John Crothers Pollock, Ph. D.
Director of Research
Peter Finn
Director of Operations
Adam Snyder
Senior Writer
Sam Kingsley, Ph.D.
Associate Project Director
Michael Wolk
Writer
Kathy Bloomgarden
Analyst
Arthur Pfenning
Coordinator of Data Collection
Survey Advisers
Roy Amara
President
Institute for the Future
Harlan Cleveland
Director
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Morton Coleman
Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Osborne Elliot
Dean
Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University
Jack Ossofsky
Executive Director
National Council on the Agiing
For further information about this report please contact:
Research & Forecasts
110 East 59th Street
New York, New York 10022
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE
A total of 2,018 hour-long telephone interviews with members of the
general public were conducted. Of these, 1,610 were selected randomly
from the general population. In addition, Blacks, senior citizens (65
years or older), and youths (between the ages of 14 and 20) were
oversampled. These oversample interviews were conducted in order to
allow statistically reliable conclusions to be drawn concerning how these
groups differ from, and are similar to, the rest of the population. The
number of Blacks, senior citizens, and youth were weighted down to
correspond with their actual distribution within the U.S. population.
The number of respondents for most questions therefore totals approxi-
mately 1,600.
In addition to the survey of the general public, an eight-page question-
naire was mailed to 4,383 leaders in the following fields: business, law
and justice, education, government, military, news media, religion,
science, and voluntary associations. Responses from 1,762 leaders were
received, representing an extraordinarily high mail response rate from a
group of this sort. The responses from the leadership samples are
reported separately from those of the general public and can be found
in chapters six and seven of this report.
In all, approximately 1.5 million bits of information were collected in the
survey of the general public, and approximately 900,000 in the survey
of leaders. In our analysis of these data, thousands of relationships
between different variables (between age, for example, and factors such
as frequency of voting, belief that abortion is immoral, etc.) were
explored before coming to the conclusions documented in this report.
PREFACE
We are a life insurance organization and individual life means a lot to
us -- not only actuarially, but in terms of one's quality of life.
Individual opinions also mean a lot to us. In order to uncover key
values in a new decade, we decided to pursue a major undertaking -- a
nationwide survey -- to probe for the basic beliefs and core values of a
diverse cross sampling of Americans.
We believed that learning more about the desires, expectations and
judgments of individuals in America today would provide us with useful
insights about how people make decisions and how people ascribe values
to their actions and aspirations. But, we realized that Connecticut
Mutual was in no position to speak for America. So, we commissioned a
study on American values in the '80s "to let America speak for itself."
We plan to use the information developed from this survey to better
prepare ourselves to deal with the critical issues of the future. Our
hope is that others who read this survey will also benefit from it.
From the outset, the goal of this study was to go beyond a mere recita-
tion of America's most important and most deeply felt values. Rather,
we were interested in determining why Americans feel the way they do
by examining what factors contribute to their feelings about their
personal relationships, their work, their religious commitment, life in
their communities, and participation or lack of participation in our
political system.
Preface
In addition, we wanted to discover to what extent the public and their
leaders hold similar views and attitudes. Consequently, the study in
part explores the attitudes and behavior of nine different leadership
groups.
Some of what America had to say for itself surprised us. Some of what
America had to say concerned us. Some of what America had to say
made us feel confident that we are still a nation of individuals who have
retained the idealism and promise of our founding fathers.
Edward B. Bates, Chairman
Denis F. Mullane, President
2
INTRODUCTION
The Connecticut Mutual Life Report on American Values in the '80s:
The Impact of Belief was initiated as a broad survey intent on investi-
gating the extent to which traditional American values have remained
prevalent in contemporary society. The study additionally sought to
identify the beliefs and attitudes of leaders, and to compare them to
those of the public.
This study, however, goes far beyond simply identifying the values
likely to assume significance in the coming decades. Rather, it also
explores the foundations which support belief in American values. What
factors affect and predict the way Americans feel about themselves and
about the society in which we live? And to what extent are our leaders
in harmony with the public?
In order to identify the foundations of contemporary American values,
the impact of traditional explanatory factors, such as age, gender,
race, education and income were analyzed. Age, for example, was
found to positively affect a number of American values and behavior,
including community involvement (older Americans are more likely than
younger Americans to vote, attend community meetings, etc.). Similarly,
although to a lesser extent, one's education, occupational status, politi-
cal orientation, income, and place of residence also affect certain
attitudes.
5
Introduction
Yet in investigating major aspects of American life -- community in-
volvement, political and moral beliefs, personal relationships, and work --
time and again, systematic analysis led to the one factor that consis-
tently and dramatically affects the values and behavior of Americans.
This factor is level of religious commitment.* The initial intention of
this study was not to prepare a report on the impact of religion on
American life, but the pattern of responses was compelling.
It is widely accepted that political-religious groups such as the Moral
Majority and the Christian Voice were a significant force in recent
Congressional and Presidential elections. But no evidence has yet been
collected that systematically documents the origins, popularity and
consequences of their striking appeal to moral and religous participation
in political affairs. The Connecticut Mutual Life Report discovers that
the impact of religious belief reaches far beyond the realm of politics,
and has penetrated virtually every dimension of American experience.
This force is rapidly becoming a more powerful factor in American life
than whether someone is liberal or conservative, male or female, young
or old, or a blue-collar or white-collar worker.
*The measure of religious commitment used throughout this report goes
beyond participation in organized religion. Rather, it is based on a
sophisticated scale composed of eight items: feeling that God loves
you, engaging in prayer, attending religious services, reading the
Bible, having a religious experience, participating in a church social
activity, encouraging others to turn to religion, and listening to re -
ligious broadcasts.
6
Introduction
This report identifies a cohesive and powerful group of Americans,
approximately 45 million strong,* as "intensely religious," and demon-
strates that religious Americans are likely to vote often and to become
highly involved in their local communities. As a consequence, the
effect of this group is spreading across the nation. These Americans
have been able to inject religious and moral issues directly into political
discourse, extending their influence far beyond that which their numeri-
cal strength alone would suggest. The Connecticut Mutual Life Report
investigates in detail the characteristics and impact of this religious and
related moral current.
This study also identifies a large pool of Americans of all ages who can
be considered "latently" religious, and therefore susceptible to a call to
faith. Approximately three out of every four U.S. citizens describe
themselves as religious and say that religion would become a more
important factor in their lives if they knew they had only six months to
live. Our findings suggest that the increasing impact of religion on
our social and political institutions may be only the beginning of a
trend that could change the face of America.
Evidence for growing involvement of morality in politics is abundant.
Organized political-religious groups demand that candidates take clear
positions on moral issues. They seek to defeat specific candidates who
are not considered sufficiently moralistic on selected issues, and even
promote single issue candidates for office.
*The 10% of the population identified as "highest" in their religious
commitment, and the 16% identified as "high," combine to total 26% of
the 174 million Americans 14 years and older (Department of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census), or approximately 45 million people.
7
Introduction
This development is in striking contrast with one of the characteristics
of early American religious practice. Writing in the 1830s, the French
philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville noted that the fragmentation of Ameri-
can religion into innumerable sects prevented it from developing a
preeminent authority. A religion could only be destroyed, he believed,
by involvement in the shifting currents of political controversy.
Tocqueville considered the American doctrine that exalted separation of
church and state a healthy buffer, allowing religion to flourish rela-
tively isolated from controversy.
To characterize the growing visibility of religion today as a completely
new phenomenon, however, is to overlook several striking continuities
in America's cultural-religious tradition. As Americans we hold ambiva-
lent feelings, and engage in paradoxical behavior, concerning the role
of religion in our private and political lives. On the one hand, the
doctrine of separation of church and state is deeply imbedded in our
national heritage. On the other hand, religion has always been a
powerful force in the private and public lives of Americans. Religious
commitment, for example, was one of the most dominant characteristics
of American colonists and immigrants in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. In Democracy in America, based on visits to the United
States in the 1830s, de Tocqueville observed that:
America is still the place where the Christian religion
has kept the greatest real power over men's souls...
The religious atmosphere of the country was the first
thing that struck me on arrival in the United States.
The longer I stayed in the country, the more conscious I
became of the important political consequences resulting
from this novel situation.*
*Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy In America. N.Y.: Harper &
Row, 1966.
8
Introduction
This dramatic role of religion in America apparent to de Tocqueville as
an outsider in the 1830s is equally evident to the objective observer
today. In a 1976 international Gallup poll conducted for the Charles F.
Kettering Foundation, the United States was found to be more religious
than any other industralized country in the world. According to the
poll, 56% of adult Americans consider religion to be very important to
them, compared with 27% of Western Europeans.
As a legacy of our religious traditions, ground swells of religious
moralism have periodically emerged in American politics. In the mid to
late nineteenth century, for example, religion had injected moral issues
into our political dialogue. The abolition of slavery, prohibition, blue
laws, and teaching the Bible in the classroom had become the leading
political issues of the day. As a consequence of the Industrial Revo-
lution, however, economic and social issues, affected by class and
progressivism, suddenly overrode all other questions. But the possi-
bility of moral issues finding political expression remains a recurrent
theme in American politics. Indeed, The Connecticut Mutual Life Report
finds that today it is once again moral issues that have, via religion,
vaulted to the forefront of the political dialogue, and suggests that this
reawakening of moral activism carries a special significance as the
United States enters the eighties.
9
Introduction
Disillusion With Leaders
As we celebrated the Bicentennial in 1976, Americans registered a
sobering disaffection with traditional political institutions and leader-
ship. Whatever our degree of private cynicism, we learned publicly,
after the Bay of Pigs, that presidents could lie to us on matters of
supreme importance to our survival. President Johnson's subsequent
justification for the deployment of U.S. Marines to the Dominican
Republic in 1965 was challenged in our own press, an unusual event.
The Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968, the publication of the Pentagon
Papers, Watergate, and the impeachment proceedings against former
President Nixon, produced a level of disillusionment rarely witnessed in
American history.
Numerous articles and opinion polls have documented this widespread
alienation from political institutions. Indeed, this survey demonstrates
that there is a dramatic gap between leaders and the public in a num-
ber of respects. They disagree strongly, for example, on moral,
political and family issues. They are also dramatically different in
terms of their level of religious commitment, their community involve-
ment, and their attitudes toward work.
Our diminished national self-confidence, however, takes on special
foreboding in the context of a condition readily apparent as we enter
the eighties: an economy in trouble. It is this special combination of
very
point
political turmoil and economic decline that makes the swelling support
for traditional values, as well as its spillover into direct political action,
so compelling as a contemporary concern. Something unusual is
happening.
up 10 1.1 as VI lovich cays
Introduction
A Search for Equilibrium
The growing impact of religious belief is the product of far more,
however, than a reaction to the alienation and confusion of the 1960s
and 1970s. Modern religious commitment is far more than a temporary
fad or response to recent events. It represents something more
profound.
Although rooted in the purposes many American ancestors espoused in
deciding to immigrate here, the continued significance of religious man
owes itself less to the immediacies of Watergate than to the uncertainties
and dilemmas of modern existence in a society saturated with choices.
We live in a relentlessly egalitarian society that encourages self-interest
and mobility of all types, including geographical and hierarchical. One
reason so many people may cling to religion in the United States is that
it provides some measure of order in their lives, some restraint on the
cultural injunction to pursue happiness, or in some cases hedonism, to
its farther limits. One recent in-depth case study, for example, sug-
L
gests that Americans regard religion as a code of conduct, without note
which "there would be no reason not to sin and their lives would fall
apart. "*
*Theodore Caplow, Howard M. Bahr, and Bruce A. Chadwick, "Piety in
Middletown," Society (January/February, 1981), pg. 37.
11
Introduction
If religion in America today is used as a major resource employed to re-
store some kind of "equilibrium" in everyday activities and belief, then
finding that religion is both significant in the lives of Americans and
increasingly enmeshed in partisan politics takes on special significance
in the current decade. As the most media and advertising rich nation
in the world, the United States seems to present its citizens with every
choice available to human imagination. So many opportunities and
choices are accessible -- from different consumer products to mobility to
changing one's marital status -- that it is not irrational for Americans
to consider themselves overwhelmed by freedom. Beyond the vicissi-
tudes of wars and presidential politics lie long-term shifts in the mental
maps citizens use to orient their personal and public decisions. If
almost every encounter with news media, authorities and even family
members is viewed as an opportunity to choose, to exercise options,
then every encounter brims with uncertainty and ambiguity.
The reemergence of America's religious strain therefore represents far
more than a recent response to national concern about Vietnam and
Watergate. It symbolizes nothing less than a determined effort to
revitalize essential American self-confidence in the face of adversity, an
enduring optimism and faith that have sustained so many newcomers to
this land for so many centuries. As Daniel Bell said in 1976:
12
Introduction
In the past, human societies have been prepared for calamity
by the anchorages that were rooted in experience yet pro-
vided some transtemporal conception of reality. Traditionally,
this anchorage was religion the new anchorages have proved
illusory and the old ones have become submerged
What
holds one to reality if one's secular system of meanings proves
to be an illusion? I will risk an unfashionable answer -- the
return in Western society of some conception of religion. *
The Connecticut Mutual Life Report confirms that, bewildered by the
confusion of the present, large numbers of citizens now find solace in
the firm convictions of their ancestors.
*Daniel Bell, The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, New York:
Basic Books, 1976, pp. 28-29.
13
OVERVIEW
The Connecticut Mutual Life Report on American Values in the '80s:
The Impact of Belief reveals that it is the level of our religious commit-
ment which, in the early part of the eighties, is a stronger determinant
of our values than whether we are rich or poor, young or old, male or
female, Black or White, liberal or conservative. The influence of re-
ligious belief pervades our activities in the home, the community and
the workplace, as well as our attitudes on social and political issues.
Concurrent with the pervasive influence of religious commitment, the
report also documents a growing emphasis on the moral aspects of
public issues and leadership.
Although the survey's clear and compelling pattern of responses deter-
mined its focus, this report also highlights other shifting patterns of
values beyond the emerging significance of religious commitment. It is,
however, the theme of religious belief which weaves together the chap-
ters of this report and provides the focus of this brief overview.
Religious Belief in America
This study measures for the first time in a national survey the degree
of religious commitment manifested by Americans and its impact on
American lifestyles. While previous studies primarily have presented
figures on church attendance, our data show that these figures do not
tell the entire story. We find, for example, that although less than
half the public (44%) attend church frequently, three-quarters (74%)
consider themselves to be religious.
what our opportunity for
the muniu !
17
Overview
An equal number (73%) say they frequently feel that God loves them,
and nearly all Americans (94%) say they experience this feeling at least
occasionally. Over half (57%) the public report that they frequently
engage in prayer.
By constructing a multi-item index based on how frequently respondents
engage in religious activities and experience religious feelings, this
study measures the depth of an individual's religious commitment. We
find that while religion is an important part of the lives of most Ameri-
cans, about one out of every four (26%) of those 14 years old and over
can be termed "highly religious." As shall be demonstrated, the atti-
tudes and activities of these 45 million Americans give them a social and
political significance extending beyond their numerical strength.
In analyzing who the most intensely religious Americans are, we dis-
cover that age is the foremost explanatory factor. The report notes,
for example, that only one-sixth of Americans 14 to 34 are highly
religious, compared with close to half (46%) of those 65 and over.
Further analysis suggests that older Americans are not more religious
by virtue of being brought up in a more religious environment, but
rather that it is a "life cycle" effect, and a growing sense of one's own
mortality, that strengthens one's commitment to religion.
Furthermore:
Southerners are twice as likely as Northeasterners to be
highly religious (35% versus 17%), while people from the
Midwest and West fall between these two extremes (28%
and 22% respectively).
18
Overview
Blacks are far more likely to be highly religious than
Whites (42% versus 25%).
Women are more inclined than men to be highly religious
(34% versus 19%).
Those with lower, rather than higher, incomes are more
likely to be highly religious (33% versus 19%).
Those with lower, rather than higher, levels of education
are more likely to be highly religious (32% versus 18%).
National Politics and Community Involvement
In our search for the most significant cultural currents in American
life, a prime area of investigation was the extent to which Americans
believe in the political system and involve themselves in political, as
well as social, activities at the community level. Some of the findings
are disquieting:
Half of Americans (51%) do not believe that important
national problems such as energy shortages, inflation
and crime can be solved through traditional American
politics.
Half the public (50%) do not believe that the vote is the
main thing that determines how the country is run.
Half the populace (48%) do not believe that important
decisions on public issues are best left in the hands of
our leaders.
In order to determine what factors relate to belief in, or disenchantment
with, the political system and involvement at the "grass roots" commu-
nity level, an extensive demographic analysis was conducted. While
sociologists traditionally have believed that factors such as age, income,
race and education determine the attitudes and behavior of Americans,
this study finds a number of striking differences from the patterns of
political disaffection which characterized the sixties and early seventies.
19
Overview
There is no greater disenchantment with "the system" among the young
and the old, Blacks and Whites, men and women, liberals and conserva-
tives, rich and poor. Similarly, many factors which traditionally have
been offered as explanations for community involvement do not hold up
under analysis: gender, place of residence (large city, small city,
etc.), region of the country, race, and levels of income or education
have little impact. Age does have an impact, which is a logical reflec-
tion of the fact that older individuals are more likely to have a sense of
being "settled" and to have established more extensive social attach-
ments within their community.
The one factor which emerges with startling clarity as the key to under-
standing who are the believers in the system is religious belief:
The most religious Americans are far more likely than
the least religious to believe that the vote is the main
thing that determines how the country is run (64%
religuis
versus 32%).
ao aling
The most religious are much more likely to feel that
important decisions on public issues are best left in the
hands of our leaders (56% versus 36%).
wimsten
The most religious are more inclined to believe that major
national problems can be solved through traditional
American politics (41% versus 30%).
and edge
Similarly, the intensity of one's religious commitment is (along with age)
the strongest predictor of active community involvement:
The most religious Americans are distinctly more likely
than the least religious to vote in local elections (77%
versus 49%).
The most religious are far more likely to do volunteer
work for a local organization (38% versus 6%).
restivation
20
Overview
The most religious are much more likely to attend neigh-
borhood or community meetings (34% versus 5%).
*
And finally, those who are most committed to religion are more likely
than the least religious to frequently feel that they "belong to a com-
munity" (83% versus 45%).
These discoveries have vital implications for the politics of the current
decade. When one considers that only half the registered voters parti-
cipated in the most recent national election, it is clear that any factor
influencing political participation is significant. The results of this
survey demonstrate that religious commitment has an extraordinarily
powerful relationship to belief in the vote and to community involve-
ment. Thus, The Connecticut Mutual Life Report in some measure
Success
illuminates the political successes of such groups as the Moral Majority,
and suggests that it is the intensely religious who may well be the
most vocal group in the eighties, just as it was the disenchanted who
were the most vocal in the sixties and the seventies.
21
Overview
The Emergence of Moral Issues
Exploring American attitudes toward a wide range of major contemporary
issues, our analysis shows surprisingly few sharp divisions on political
issues which have traditionally evoked heated controversy. We find,
for example, that there are no vast differences between liberals and
conservatives on such issues as whether our involvement in Vietnam was
justified, whether the government has too much power over the lives of
average citizens, or whether the benefits of nuclear power outweigh the
risks.
Such issues also fail to elicit strong differences of opinion between the
young and old; men and women; the least and the most affluent; the
least and the most educated; Blacks and Whites; the least and the most
religious; those living in different regions of the country; and those
living in urban, suburban or rural areas.
The controversial issues of today, our data reveal, are moral issues.
It is these issues which most clearly divide liberals and conservatives;
young and old; rich and poor; Black and White; those in cities and in
rural areas; and those living in different regions of the United States.
22
Overview
On these most controversial issues, however, it is again level of re-
ligious commitment which is the most influential factor. The strength of
the impact of religious intensity is quite dramatic:
The most religious are much more likely than the least
religious to believe sex between two single people is
morally wrong (74% versus 11%).
The most religious are much more inclined to believe
smoking marijuana is morally wrong (87% versus 30%).
The most religious are more likely to find pornographic
movies immoral (87% versus 46%)
The most religious are more adamant in considering
homosexuality morally wrong (87% versus 54%)
The report observes that while a mere 3% of the public find none of the
ten activities included in the survey to be "morally wrong," it is not at
all clear that there is indeed a "moral majority" in the nation. In fact,
the report reveals that Americans who are strictest in their moral
judgments, i.e., who believe that all ten of the activities are morally
wrong, are in the minority. This "moral minority" is about a quarter
of the population (24%). Clearly, the vast majority of Americans prefer
to evaluate each moral issue individually.
Relationships: A Search For Commitment
Americans today seem to value commitment above all else in their relation-
ships. More people, for example, say it is "very important" to go out
Loyastry
of their way to help a friend than it is to be with friends (83% versus
69%), while only slightly more than half (56%) the public feel it is very
important to make new friends. A commitment to family life is apparent
in the responses by a majority of Americans who feel that it is very
23
Overview
important to share personal feelings with their spouse (79%) and to do
things as a family group (74%).
On the other hand, the apparent desire for commitment is contradicted
by the finding that we as a nation seem willing to view divorce as a
solution to an unhappy marriage: a majority of Americans (56%) say
that if they were unhappily married they would be prepared to seek a
divorce, as opposed to "reconciling problems at all cost." Analysis
reveals that of all demographic factors, level of religious commitment is
the only one that is a firm predictor of family attitudes; and we find
that among the intensely religious there appears to be commitment
without contradiction:
The most religious are far more likely than the least
religious to say it is very important to do things as a
family group (93% versus 58%).
The most religious are more likely to feel it is important
to go out of their way to help friends (89% versus 71%).
cwett
The most religious are much more likely to say they
would reconcile marital problems at all costs rather than
seek divorce (60% versus 33%).
Americans at Work
Overall, Americans express satisfaction with their work. The survey
reveals that Americans frequently feel they do their jobs well (91%),
feel a sense of dedication to their work (76%), find their work interest-
ing (73%), and believe their work contributes to society (68%).
24
Overview
Remarkably, demographic factors do not distinguish the most satisfied
worker from the unsatisfied. Men and women, those with lower or
higher levels of education and income, Blacks and Whites, old and
young,* and blue-collar and white-collar workers all show striking
similarities in their feelings toward their work. Given speculation about
the alienation of certain segments of the work force, particularly women
and minorities, this is a heartening discovery.
Once again, it is religious commitment which is the strongest predictor
of satisfaction and involvement with one's work. Compared to the least
religious, we find that:
The most religious Americans are more likely to feel a
sense of dedication to their work (97% versus 66%).
The most religious are more likely to feel their work
contributes to society (91% versus 53%).
The most religious are more likely to say they would
prefer to remain at their present job rather than take
another (78% versus 52%).
*When teenagers and those over 64 are removed from the sample.
25
Overview
Leadership: The Moral Dimension
One of the core issues at the beginning of the eighties has been leader-
ship -- or perhaps more precisely, the perceived lack of leadership. In
order to gain insight into the qualities of leadership and the diver-
gences between the public and its leaders, and to show how leadership
may be strengthened in the eighties, approximately 1,800 leaders were
surveyed within nine key American institutions: business, education,
government, law and justice, the military, the news media, religion,
science, and voluntary associations.
There does indeed appear to be a crisis of confidence in leadership.
Half of the public do not believe that important decisions on public
cesults
issues should be left to our leaders. Further, when asked to rate
and 19
today's leaders on a scale of one to ten, 60% of the public give them a
score of five or less. And leaders are even harsher in their judgment:
66% of them rate America's leadership today at five or less.
an
The report documents that this is a two way crisis of confidence. Not
only does the public lack confidence in its leaders, fully half the sur-
veyed leaders (50%) believe that the public cannot be relied upon to
select the sort of leaders the nation needs. Indeed, 87% of leaders
believe that there is an untapped leadership potential in the United
States. A third of leaders (33%) name business executives as the
occupation where the greatest untapped leadership potential lies, and
25% of leaders mention women.
26
Overview
A clue as to what the public and leaders find most lacking in America's
leadership is found when they are asked to choose the leader they least
admire in America's past or present. Both leaders and the public
resoundingly vote Richard Nixon as their choice for least admired
leader, and cite "dishonesty" as the quality they least admire about
him. The public and leaders also concur on their second choice, Jimmy
Carter, who is cited for his lack of competence and effectiveness.
Observing that Jimmy Carter runs a rather distant second to Richard
Nixon, the report suggests that while incompetence is seen as bad, it is
dishonesty that is unforgivable in the politics of this era.
The importance of this "moral dimension" of leadership is further under-
scored when the public is asked to name the qualities they seek in a
leader for the nation. Far and away, the most frequently mentioned
d
quality is Honesty, followed (and not closely) by intelligence. Leaders,
the report notes, underestimate the importance of this moral dimension;
when asked what they feel the public looks for in a leader, leaders do
maiving cau't elecs icisum loous s ju w hus Imp.
not cite honesty among their top three choices.
The emerging importance of the moral dimension of leadership offers a
striking parallel with the emergence of moral issues as the most contro-
"6
&
versial issues on the public scene. In examining leaders' views on
these issues, the report presents evidence that the gap between the
public and its leaders is to some extent a moral gap. We find that
across the entire range of moral issues leaders are consistently more
liberal in their judgments:
27
Overview
Leaders are far less likely than the general public to
always elite Blown we out
feel homosexuality is morally wrong (42% versus 71%).
Leaders are much less inclined to believe abortion is
immoral (36% versus 65%).
Leaders are less likely to believe that smoking marijuana
is immoral (33% versus 57%).
The study further discloses that leaders tend to be less religious than
indollect of
the public. Leaders are much less likely than the public to feel that
God loves them, for example (54% versus 73%). Because leaders are
eli elik. m barner & faim fou v $ to
among the less religious Americans, the study observes that they may
be out of touch with the current of faith which appears to be gathering
strength among the public in this decade. Such an observation is
supported by the finding that it is religious leaders who are chosen by
the public as the most admired of the nine leadership groups surveyed.
Indeed, there are some leadership groups that do exhibit a marked
resonance with the general public. Religious leaders, and to a lesser
extent business executives, consistently express higher degrees of
commitment to religion, to their work, to their family, and to their
community than do other leadership groups. And in many cases, this
commitment, as well as their positions on moral issues, are remarkably
similar to those of the general public:
100% of religious leaders consider themselves religious,
but the responses of business executives come closest to
those of the general public (80% vs. 74%).
96% of religious leaders frequently feel that God loves
them, but again business executives are most resonant
with the general public (70% vs. 73%).
28
Overview
77% of religious leaders believe that sex between two
single people prior to marriage is morally wrong; 38% of
business executives and 40% of the general public feel
this way.
Religious leaders (60%), the general public (57%), and
business executives (48%) are the most likely to believe
smoking marijuana is morally wrong.
Religious leaders and the general public are the only
groups in which a majority believe that divorce should
be made more difficult to obtain (59% and 52%).
Religious leaders and the general public are the only
groups in which even a significant minority disapprove
of a married woman earning money if she has a husband
who is capable of supporting her (12% and 20%).
Religious leaders and business executives are the groups
most likely to attend community meetings, to feel they
belong to a community, and to hold office in a local
organization.
Religious leaders are more likely than any other leader-
ship group to feel that one of the most important re-
wards of their leadership position is doing something of
value for society (80%). Business executives are the
least likely to feel this way (52%).
The finding that religious leaders are, more than any other leadership
group, in tune with the general public is clearly consistent with the
major findings of this report. Religious involvement is by far the most
powerful predictor of community and political involvement and concern
about the leading political issues of the eighties; and it is religious
leaders who parallel this concern and activity. While the majority of
leaders are out of touch with the public, especially concerning the
tremendously important moral issues, religious leaders are the one
group most in a position to lead. Clearly, this has important ramifi-
cations concerning the kind of leaders Americans are likely to choose in
the latter portion of this century.
29
Overview
According to most pollsters and analysts, the recent presidential elec-
tion was "too close to call" right up to the day of the election. In the
end, however, the nation saw an overwhelming victory for President
Reagan -- a candidate who, our survey suggests, was not elected for
his known and admired qualities, but rather, it would appear, because
he was successful in sounding a "call to faith" in traditional American
values. Perhaps the election was not decided on "issues" in the custom-
ary sense but rather by the overriding issue of belief in our
established American traditions.
Chapter three demonstrates that moral issues have become the leading
political issues. It appears that our society is at a transition point,
and that the public may be willing, under almost imperceptible influ-
ences, to throw its entire weight behind a leader who strikes the cor-
rect "moral" or "reaffirming" tone. This new trend is both heartening
and potentially frightening. Since the injection of faith into politics via
religion is capable of creating a single powerful voting block, this
suggests the opportunity for a truly visionary leader, or a dangerous
demagogue, who, by striking the appropriate religious-moral notes,
))
could be swept into a position of awesome power.
So TRUE!
Bur very honestyn which - a dema works vs Togue aqainst
a
30
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
In his book titled The Pursuit of Loneliness, sociologist Philip Slater
warns that we Americans, in our historic quest for autonomy, wealth,
and control over the environment, have failed to nourish a shared sense
of identity, or "community." Perhaps a clear perception of mutual
identity satisfies significant social needs which have been long neglected.
In this context, the cultural evolution charted in The Connecticut Mutual
Life Report may reveal an effort at restoration: a spontaneous revival
of traditional values occurring throughout the country. Through their
belief and behavior, most religious citizens demonstrate that a return to
traditional certainties is one way to forge a sense of community. In
their devotion to family, work, and community, the religiously committed
demonstrate the resilience and healing power of traditional bonding.
Although those who are rigidly certain that their beliefs are inherently
superior to all others can be quite dangerous if they find themselves in
positions of authority, in some respects their quest for certainty may
make a positive contribution to social renewal.
33
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
Revitalization: Organized Movement or Cultural Shift?
A great deal of attention has been paid recently to the activity of
zealous groups eager to convert society to their own belief system.
But the question is: Does the religious and related moral fervor exempli-
fied by groups such as the Moral Majority and emphasized in this report
simply represent the emergence of effective, organized special interest
groups intent upon a revitalization movement, or does it represent a
more profound cultural shift?
A revitalization movement, according to noted anthropologist Anthony
F.C. Wallace, is a deliberate, conscious effort by members of a society
to construct a more satisfying culture. Deliberate intent is a critical
part of such a movement.* A cultural shift, by contrast, occurs by
evolution, drift, or acculturation. It happens gradually and incremen-
tally, through a chain reaction, and is not forged deliberately by a
specific movement.
The Connecticut Mutual Life Report uncovers evidence supporting far
more than a movement by one particularly well organized segment of
American society. Rather, it confirms the vitality of a cultural current
of religious commitment and moralism, and through them, a willingness
to participate in family, occupational and civic concerns. The broad
sweep of this religious commitment is confirmed principally by two
findings:
*Anthony F.C. Wallace, "Revitalization Movement," American
Anthropologist 58 (1956), PP 264-281.
34
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
first, quite apart from the 26% of the 14 and over popula-
tion identified as highly religious, most Americans con-
sider themselves religious and engage in such activities
as prayer and feeling that God loves them.
second, the relation of religious commitment to all the
aspects of American life investigated in this report
resembles a smooth progression, a ladder of several
rungs, with sizeable groups of Americans located at each
rung. There is a steady progression, for example, --
from 49% to 52% to 61% to 64% to 77% -- moving from the
least religious to the most when Americans are asked
whether they vote in local elections. This pattern is
remarkably consistent throughout the report. Americans,
in other words, are not found clustered at one end or
another of the spectrum of religious commitment. They
are almost evenly distributed on a. continuum of belief
and activity.
To be sure, there is a substantial amount of historical continuity in
Americans' religious commitment, as discussed in the Introduction to
this report. It may also be true, however, that today someone's level
of commitment has a demonstrably more significant impact on a wide
range of beliefs and activities than it has had in the recent past.
There is substantial evidence supporting this conclusion.
35
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
In the 1960's conflicts arose between young and old, male and female,
and Black and White. Divisions between blue collar and white collar,
poor and wealthy, and liberal and conservative persisted. The
Connecticut Mutual Life Report, however, reveals that these divisions,
once so visible in American life, are far less important than they seem
to have been in the recent past. Although some evidence of a genera-
tion gap remains, and although different education levels are somewhat
associated with differences among Americans, we are not so much a
nation of rich or poor, male or female, or even liberal or conservative.
Rather, we are increasingly a nation with different levels of religious
commitment, and those levels of commitment are strongly related to
significant choices citizens make about their families, jobs, and
communities.
This major finding is particulary important in light of recent widespread
discussions concerning the disintegration of the family, the community,
the American work ethic, and faith in our political institutions and
leaders. This report clearly demonstrates that it is via religious commit-
ment that some Americans have been able to retain their faith in family,
community, work, and in the American political process.
Implications for Leadership
In the midst of this cultural shift, the search for leadership takes on
special meaning. It is commonly assumed by political scholars that
36
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
Americans vote for a particular political candidate not because they are
responsive to a special interest group, but rather because they are
moral and sincere. It follows that leaders who are viewed as seriously
lacking in moral character, inner strength, or competence might be
among the most disliked leaders.
The Connecticut Mutual Life Report confirms this traditional expectation.
Both the general public and leaders consider Richard Nixon the worst
leader in our history (by pluralities of about 50%), and the predominant
reason for that judgment is "immorality." The second most disliked
leader is Jimmy Carter, and the prevailing reason given for that judgment
is incompetence.
The public and leaders appear to differ in describing what they like
most in a leader, however. Leaders are relatively consistent in choosing
leaders known for their strength or competence in periods of national
crisis: Presidents Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Truman.
The public, however, rates President Kennedy first (25% of the selec-
tions), and President Lincoln second (with 12% of the selection). The
remainder of those who received significant mentions include Presidents
Roosevelt, Truman, Carter, and Eisenhower, who each received between
six to eight percent of the mentions. The only non-president frequently
mentioned by the public (receiving about eight percent of the mentions)
was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
37
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
Whatever else may be said about the two highest rated leaders, Kennedy
and Lincoln, it is clear that they were assassinated while in office and
therefore qualify for martyrdom in American's pantheon of leaders who
sacrificed their most precious possession: life itself. (The third
ranked leader, Roosevelt, also died in office.) A further clue suggests
the significance of a capacity for martydom as an admired qualification
for American leaders. The only non-president often mentioned by the
public as belonging to its most admired category is Martin Luther King,
Jr., who was also assassinated.
It is important for leaders to recognize that America is a nation searching
for leaders who are willing to dedicate themselves, even their lives, to
the greater national good. Inspired by such a leader, Americans will
respond to a call to faith. It has been demonstrated that there is a
sizeable gap between public expectations and leadership performance;
and that public is prepared to evaluate political leaders largely in terms
of their capacity to evoke symbols of commitment. These twin obser-
vations present the American political system simultaneously with a
great opportunity and a great danger. The opportunity lies in the
opening for a visionary leader to mobilize large numbers of people for
national programs of self-sacrifice and devotion to shared goals. The
danger lies in the opening for a divisive leader to mobilize large num-
bers in the service of a partisan campaign to blame the nation's troubles
on one group or another labeled "immoral."
38
Conclusion:
Dangers and Opportunities
In either case, Americans are currently quick to judge public issues
and leadership in moral terms and to express general disappointment
with national leaders. Whether public energy is directed toward socially
useful or socially destructive ends may depend in no small measure on
the quality of today's leaders. The leaders of the coming decades can
become statesmen of demagogues. Whichever role they choose, their
capacity for influence is vast. But clearly, by striking a particular
moral posture, leaders can acquire tremendous civic support for a wide
array of public goals.
39