In a world of speed technological advances, economic upheaval and shifting values, many of today’s most heated political debates center on the question of how countries respond to change. To explore this question, the Pew Research Center asked people in 19 advanced economies whether they thought their country would be better off in the future if it stuck to its traditions and way of life or if it was willing to change them.
The Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to explore attitudes toward tradition and change in 19 advanced economies in North America, Europe, Israel, and the Asia-Pacific region. Attitudes are examined using long-term trend data and demographic analyses.
For non-U.S. data, this analysis relies on nationally representative surveys of a total of 20,944 adults from February 14 to June 3, 2022. All surveys were conducted by telephone among adults in Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece and Italy. , the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. The surveys were conducted face-to-face in Hungary, Poland and Israel. The survey in Australia was conducted online. To learn more about the online survey, read the Australian methodology. For more information on how we classify European populist parties, read the appendix.
In the United States, we surveyed 3,581 adults from March 21-27, 2022. All respondents are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel recruited by the through a random national sampling of people. residential addresses. This way, almost every American adult has a chance of being selected. The survey is weighted to represent the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories.
Here is the question used for this analysis, as well as their responses. Visit our international methodological database for more information on survey methods outside the United States. For respondents in the United States, learn more about The ATP methodology.
Most of the time, people embrace change. Across the countries surveyed, a median of 62% of adults – including 63% in the United States – believe their country will be better off if it is open to change. Europeans also say their country will be better off if it is open to change, although Hungarians are divided on this issue and most Greeks believe their country will benefit from adhering to traditions.
People in the Asia-Pacific region are particularly likely to see value in being open to change, with seven in ten or more people sharing this view in South Korea, Singapore and Australia.
Although majorities in most countries favor openness to change, there are significant demographic and ideological differences on this issue.
In most countries studied, those on the left are significantly more likely than those on the right to believe that their country will be better off if it is open to change.
In the United States, this ideological gap is much wider than in any other country studied: 91% of self-described liberals favor being open to change, compared to just 28% of conservatives. Americans in the center of the ideological spectrum align more with liberals than conservatives on this issue.
Supporters of right-wing populist parties in Europe are consistently distinguished by their lack of enthusiasm for change. For example, among those who have a positive opinion of the Polish Law and Justice (PiS) party, only 39% believe that their country will be better off if it is open to change. On the other hand, among Poles with a negative opinion of PiS, 74% say this.
Age is another major factor in almost all countries studied. Younger people are much more likely than older people to say that their country will be better off if it is open to changes in its traditions and way of life. These differences are particularly evident in Greece, where 67% of 18-29 year olds believe their country should be open to change – a view shared by only 34% of those aged 50 and over.
Education also shapes attitudes towards change. Those with a college degree or higher are much more likely than those with less education to say their country will be better off if it is open to change. For example, in Singapore, around eight in ten people with at least a university degree express this opinion, while only 62% of people with less education say the same.
Opinions on this issue are also linked to religion. Non-religious people are often more likely than their religious counterparts to say that openness to change will make their country better off in the future. Eight in ten religiously unaffiliated Americans hold this view, compared to just 55% of those who identify with a religion. White evangelicals in the United States are particularly unlikely to share this view: only one in three say their country will be better off if it is open to change.
Men are less likely than women to accept change in Canada, France, Spain, Sweden, Australia and the United States.
Americans’ opinions also differ along racial and ethnic lines. Black and Hispanic adults are more likely than white adults to believe that the country will be better off in the future if it is open to change. White men, in particular, are divided: only 51% believe the United States will be better off if it is open to change, while 48% favor maintaining traditions.
Note: Here the question used for this analysis, as well as the responses and full database. Visit our international methodological database for more information on survey methods outside the United States. For respondents in the United States, learn more about The ATP methodology.