What happens to a country of contempt?

By STEVE BRAWNER

How well can a nation based on being a representative democracy and a free market economy function when a majority of its citizens say their countrymen are immoral?

We may find out in the coming decades.

The first paragraph’s question arises from the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of 30,000 citizens in 25 countries.

The United States was the only country where a majority of respondents – 53% – viewed their citizenry’s morality and ethics as “somewhat bad” or “very bad.” Turkey and Brazil were close with only 51% having a positive view of their countrymen. The percentage was 55% in both Greece and France.

In contrast, 92% of both Canadians and Indonesians believed people in their country were “very good” or “somewhat good.” Eighty-eight percent had the same view in India and Sweden. Australia was at 85%, while Japan and Mexico both were at 83%.

This was the first time Pew had asked this question, so there’s no historical data with which to compare it. 

Every survey should be taken with somewhat of a grain of salt, given that respondents don’t always say what they actually believe and will answer a question differently based on its wording or what kind of mood they are in.

Pew conducted the survey from Jan. 8 through May 11, 2025, not long after the most recent U.S. presidential election. Politics no doubt was a driving force in the survey’s results. Sixty percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents rated their fellow Americans as immoral, while 46% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents did. Those numbers are reflective of a 2022 Pew survey where 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats said members of the other party are more immoral than other Americans. Those numbers had increased from 47% and 35%, respectively, from 2016.

Each country has different standards of morality, and the United States is no exception. Ninety percent of Americans said having an extramarital affair is morally unacceptable – the third highest percentage behind Turkey and Indonesia at 92%. It’s 76% in Canada and 55% in Germany. Forty-seven percent of Americans said having an abortion is morally unacceptable. Only 5% of Swedes believe the same. It’s 93% in Indonesia, 86% in Nigeria, and 81% in Kenya.

The survey noted that Americans ranked somewhere in the middle of the 25 nations in their attitudes toward some behaviors, including using pornography, which 52% said was morally unacceptable. In contrast, Americans were second from the bottom in believing that using marijuana (23%) and gambling (29%) are unacceptable. 

Let’s return to the beginning of this column, and the finding that the majority of Americans have low opinions of other Americans. The concern is that free market economies and democracies depend on trust – trust in institutions and trust in other people. We must believe that when we deposit our money in the bank on Monday, it will be there on Tuesday. Will we still believe that if, over decades, we become convinced that the average banker is probably a bad person? Likewise, elections depend on Americans’ faith that the candidate who receives the most votes actually wins, and that he or she will govern according to constitutional principles – not their own whims and not in a way that benefits them personally. 

Marriage researcher Dr. John Gottman has found that contempt is the number one predictor of divorce. What happens to a country where so many have so much contempt for so many others? We tend to fear and hate those we consider to be bad. When that happens, we look for earthly leaders to defend us from the “others.” It can lead to blame, dehumanization, persecution, autocracy and control.  

What’s the best response to all of this on a personal level? For starters, hating the sin but definitely loving the sinner. And remembering that we’re all the latter in need of grace – from God, certainly, and also from each other.

Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 24 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.