Probably true for most age groups these days
It may surprise some people to learn that today’s American teenagers have more conservative views than older generations on prayer in schools and abortion.
A brand new Gallup Organization (search) study and another out of the University of California at Berkeley (search) found that teens are more likely to be in favor of government restrictions on abortion and prayer during official school activities.
The findings mark a departure from the perception of teens as more progressive and liberal than adults, especially during protest-filled decades like the 1960s and ’70s.
The Berkeley study suggests that while 59 percent of adults 27 to 59 want public schools to permit prayer at commencements and other official activities, 69 percent of teens support prayer during official school events.
And while 34 percent of respondents older than 26 supported government restrictions on abortion, 44 percent of those aged 15 to 22 and 32 percent of those 23 to 26 said they supported limitations.
December 9th, 2003 at 11:41 am
Yawn. I suppose it can’t have anything to do with the fact that these are very general questions, and older people have had more time to think about (and direct experience with) specific implementations.
It’s rather like querying people about the Bill of Rights. When you ask them if they support it, they overwhelmingly say “yes.” But then you give them specific examples (e.g., “Should a newspaper be allowed to print things that they know aren’t true?” “Should a person who pleads the fifth amendment be presumed totally innocent?” “Should anyone be able to legally buy an automatic military rifle, even if they don’t know how to use it?”), and they overwhelmingly oppose it.
December 9th, 2003 at 12:22 pm
your point kinda reminds me of when i was in high school and as a class we had to debate some topic. The teacher chose death penalty and said if you’re for it, stand on this side of the room and if opposed go to the other.
When it was said and done, it was the entire class vs. one girl from Canada.