As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, our latest report, “Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and Identity,” surfaces a troubling signal for the future of our democracy — and it centers on the nation’s youngest citizens.
Generation Z, now adults aged 18 to 29, expresses markedly less pride in their country and a more tenuous commitment to long-held democratic values than older Americans. Given the political and economic turmoil that has defined their formative years, that ambivalence toward democracy is understandable. But in an era of democratic backsliding, it should serve as a wake-up call.
Gen Z stands apart from every older cohort in its muted pride in being American. While 51% of Americans say they are extremely or very proud to be an American today, that number drops to just 34% of adults ages 18 to 29; a mere 16% say they are “extremely proud.”
Compare that with our nation’s seniors, who are nearly three times as likely as Gen Z to be “extremely proud” to be an American (44% vs. 16%).
Percent who are ___ of being an American:
Gen Z is increasingly skeptical that the American Dream is within reach — and that pessimism has deepened since Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024. Older Americans, who came of age in a country that offered greater opportunity for upward mobility, still broadly believe hard work pays off here.
But while roughly half of Americans hold that view today, it falls to a little more than one in three among those under 30, dropping 14 points since late 2024, from 50% to 36% today.
Some of this collapse likely traces back to Trump’s second presidency. He didn’t win the youth vote in 2024, but he did gain ground among younger Americans — especially young men — largely on the promise of economic opportunity.
In fall 2024, 35% of Gen Zers viewed Trump favorably. Today, it’s just one in four, well below the rating he draws from older generations. Gen Zers are his harshest critics on the Iran war, too: only 19% approve of how he’s handled it.
Some might assume Gen Z’s feelings toward U.S. politics will rebound once Donald Trump leaves office — growing more optimistic and more willing to trust new political leaders and work through the political system for change. But there are few guarantees.
We asked Americans which traits and beliefs are essential to being truly American, including respect for our institutions and laws, support for the individual freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and belief in the U.S. Constitution. While strong majorities of younger Americans call these essential, compared with older Americans, they hold them far less sacred.
It is vital to remember that most Zoomers have never known a political system in which Trump was not a central figure. For better or worse, their formative years unfolded under a president willing to flout democratic norms and test the limits of political power in unprecedented ways.
But the problem runs deeper than Trump. Gen Z came of age in a political environment so polarized that compromise — and any real solution to many of the problems they face — became nearly impossible. They are reaching adulthood amid economic uncertainty: priced out of homeownership, unable to afford health care, staring down vast income inequality, and doing it all in an atomized age where hours once spent face to face are now spent online or with AI companions.
For Gen Z, the political system — and frankly, civil society writ large — has failed to meet their needs. Their skepticism is not hard to understand. Restoring this generation’s faith in the system, and building genuine democratic resilience among Zoomers, will take an enormous effort.
Melissa Deckman
Melissa Deckman serves as CEO of Public Religion Research Institute and is author of The Politics of Gen Z.
This column originally appeared on her Substack and is republished here with permission. Subscribe to her original columns there as well.
