WSJ Poll: Patriotism, Religion, Kids Less Valued by Americans

The American Dream is evolving, for better or worse.

Having children, religion, and patriotism have declined as defining to America in the past couple of decades, according to latest The Wall Street Journal poll.

"There's an emerging America where issues like children, religion, and patriotism are far less important – and in America, it's the emerging generation that calls the shots about where the country is headed," Republican pollster Bill McInturff told the Journal.

Americans 21 years ago valued hard work, patriotism, religion, and having children with high majorities, per the report.

Now, among them, only hard work remains atop the list for those under the age of 50, the latest poll revealed:

• Having children declined by 16 percentage points to just 43%.
• Religion declined by 12 points to 50%.
• Patriotism declined by 9 points to 61%.

The younger the respondent, the less likely the three above are valued, the Journal reported. Patriotism was valued by just 42% of those 18-38 years old, compared to 80% of those 55 and older, perhaps a function of the Obama-era globalism push – as young Democrats were less in line with older ones, who tended to be more similar to Republicans overall, according to the Journal.

"Patriotism for the sake of patriotism means nothing to me," Megan Clark, 31, from Austin, Texas, told the Journal. "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 Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll surveyed 1,000 adults from Aug. 10-14 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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