The 2011 American Values Survey Launch

How Religion and Values Shape American Attitudes about Economic Inequality, the GOP Primary Field, and the Obama Presidency

November 8, 2011
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST
Location: Berkley Center Third Floor Conference Room Map

One year out from the 2012 presidential election, Public Religion Research Institute released the findings of the 2011 American Values Survey, a major new public opinion survey that provides a window into what Americans think about the state of the economy, the GOP primary field, and the Obama presidency. Public Religion Research Institute CEO Dr. Robert P. Jones presented the survey results, followed by a conversation with Jose Casanova and Melissa Deckman moderated by Thomas Banchoff.

This major survey, along with PRRI’s panel of experts, explores the consequences of the misgivings some key groups have toward Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, and examines the roots of unfavorable evaluations of the Obama presidency. The survey also provides new findings on attitudes about economic inequality and equal opportunity, values that animate the swell of public protests in the Occupy Wall Street movement and resonate with Americans generally, but do not strike a chord with the Tea Party movement. The American Values Survey, which is conducted by PRRI each fall, is a large, nationally representative public opinion survey of American attitudes on important issues at the intersection of religion, values, and politics.

This event was sponsored by the Public Religion Research Institute and hosted by the Berkley Center.

Discover similar content through these related topics and regions.

Related Globalization and Pluralism

Related North America

Image Gallery

1/1

The 2011 American Values Survey Launch

Featured Participants

Robert Jones Toggle

About Robert Jones

Dr. Robert P. Jones is the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and a leading scholar in both academic and public policy circles. He co-chairs the national steering committee for the Religion and Politics Section at the American Academy of Religion and is an active member of the American Sociological Association, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the American Association of Public Opinion Research. Prior to joining PRRI Jones worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, DC and was assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University. He is the author of The End of White Christian America (2016), among others. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University and a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Robert Jones's Profile

Other Participants

Thomas Banchoff Toggle

About Thomas Banchoff

Thomas Banchoff is director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and serves as vice president for global engagement at Georgetown University, where he is a professor in the Department of Government and the Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Thomas Banchoff's Profile

José Casanova Toggle

About José Casanova

José Casanova is one of the world's leading scholars in the sociology of religion and a senior fellow at the Berkley Center, where his work focuses on globalization, religions, and secularization. He is also professor emeritus at Georgetown University, where he previously taught in the Department of Sociology and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. During 2017 he was the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the North at the U.S. Library of Congress' John W. Kluge Center, where he worked on a book manuscript on Early Modern Globalization through a Jesuit Prism. He has published works on a broad range of subjects, including religion and globalization, migration and religious pluralism, transnational religions, and sociological theory. His best-known work, Public Religions in the Modern World (University of Chicago Press, 1994), has become a modern classic in the field and has been translated into several languages, including Japanese, Arabic, and Turkish. In 2012, Casanova was awarded the Theology Prize from the Salzburger Hochschulwochen in recognition of his life-long achievement in the field of theology. Casanova is a member of the Working Group on Displaced Persons and Hospitality to the Stranger, part of the Culture of Encounter Project.

José Casanova's Profile

Melissa Deckman Toggle

About Melissa Deckman

Melissa Deckman is the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs and chair of the Political Science Department at Washington College. Her research focuses on religion and politics, women and politics, and state and local politics. Deckman is also an affiliated scholar and chair of the board of the Public Religion Research Institute. She is the author of Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right (2016), Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence, Third Edition (2015, with Julie Dolan and Michele L. Swers), and School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (2004), among others. Deckman holds a B.A. from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and M.A. and Ph.D. from American University.

Melissa Deckman's Profile