Table of Diversity Weekly: Political Beliefs

With Election Day around the corner, I thought this would be the perfect time to dive into political beliefs. The past few years, politics has slowly entered into workplace conversations and most organizations are embracing these discussions.

This week's edition of A Healthy Dose of DEI is going to expand our definition of political beliefs based on Pew Research's recent outline of political typology.

I've always recognized that no one fits neatly into the 'Democrat' or 'Republican' label. With most things, it's a spectrum where many subcategories exist. Let's explore these subcategories and find a political label that more accurately describes where you are. In doing so, recognize that where other people are in their political journey is complicated and not as 'black and white' as it may appear.

I recall working with an organization where the most senior leader was more conservative and the rest of the staff was more liberal. This community based organization was constantly battling within itself to try to align their political beliefs with their mission, with the community they served, and with each other. It was a constant battle that never seemed to end. The senior leader was always defending their political beliefs and asking the rest of the staff to be open to their stance.

In working closely with this leader, I realized that they weren't the 'stereotypical' conservative that many people see exaggerated on tv. It would have helped the team to have this expanded vocabulary to describe their political leanings. In doing so, they would have realized that they agree on much more than they disagree.

In this week's edition, explore resources that explain the various political beliefs, take a quiz to see where you are politically, and hear perspectives all over the political spectrum.

In 2021, Pew Research published their eighth political typology since 1987. Simply, it looks at the various similarities and differences in political beliefs and groups those ideologies.

There are 9 different groups: Faith and Flag Conservatives; Committed Conservatives; Populist Right; Ambivalent Right; Stressed Sideliners; Outsider Left; Democratic Mainstays; Establishment Liberals; Progressive Left.

Here's a quick breakdown of each of the groups:

"The four Democratic-oriented typology groups highlight the party's racial and ethnic diversity, as well as the unwieldy nature of the current Democratic coalition.

They include two very different groups of liberal Democrats: Progressive Left and Establishment Liberals. Progressive Left, the only majority White, non-Hispanic group of Democrats, have very liberal views on virtually every issue and support far-reaching changes to address racial injustice and expand the social safety net. Establishment Liberals while just as liberal in many ways as Progressive Left, are far less persuaded of the need for sweeping change.

The other Democratic-aligned groups could not be more different from each other, both demographically and in their relationship to the party. Democratic Mainstays, the largest Democratic-oriented group, as well as the oldest on average, are unshakeable Democratic loyalists and have a moderate tilt on some issues. Outsider Left, the youngest typology group, voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden and are very liberal in most of their views, but they are deeply frustrated with the political system- including the Democratic Party and its leaders.

The four Republican-oriented groups include three groups of conservatives: Faith and Flag Conservatives are intensely conservative in all realms; they are far more likely than all other typology groups to say government policies should support religious values and that compromise in politics is just 'selling out on what you believe in.' Committed Conservatives also express conservative views across the board, but with a somewhat softer edge, particularly on issues of immigration and American's place in the world. Populist Right, who have less formal education than most other typology groups and are among the most likely to live in rural areas, are highly critical of both immigrants and major U.S. corporations.

Ambivalent Right, the youngest and least conservative GOP-aligned group, hold conservative views about the size of government, the economic system and issues of race and gender. But they are the only group on the political right in which majorities favor legal abortion and say marijuana should be legal for recreational and medicinal use.

They only typology group without a clear partisan orientation- Stressed Sideliners- also is the group with the lowest level of political engagement. Stressed Sideliners, who make up 15% of the public but constituted just 10% of voters in 2020, have a mix of conservative and liberal views but are largely defined by their minimal interest in politics."

Read More from Pew Research, including a breakdown of each of the groups.

New to the Table of Diversity in 2023 was the addition of the political group 'Independent'. A large majority of Americans view themselves as Independent or something other than Democrat or Republican.

"Independents often are portrayed as political free agents with the potential to alleviate the nation's rigid partisan divisions. Yet the reality is that most independents are not all that 'independent' politically. And the small share of Americans who are truly independent- less than 10% of the public has no partisan leaning- stand out for their low level of interest in politics.

Among the public overall, 38% describe themselves as independents, while 31% are Democrats and 26% call themselves Republicans, according to Pew Research Center surveys conducted in 2018. These shares have changed only modestly in recent years, but the proportion of independents is higher than it was from 2000-2008, when no more than about a third of the public identified as independents.

An overwhelming majority of independents (81%) continue to 'lean' toward either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Among the public overall, 17% are Democratic-leaning independents, while 13% lean toward the Republican Party. Just 7% of Americans decline to lean toward a party, a share that has changed little in recent years."

Read More!

I always find the intersection of identities an interesting area to explore. The New York Times recently asked teenagers 'How similar are your political views to those of your parents?'

"In 'Young Black Voters to Their Biden-Supporting Parents: 'Is This Your King?' Stead W. Herndon writes about the differences in political opinions across generations of black voters. We wondered if this snapshot reflected the experiences of the students who write into our site.

In our related Student Opinion question, we invited teenagers to discuss the forces that have molded their political leanings. They told us about how their parents, peers, and social media have influenced their opinions, as well as other observations about politics in their communities.

'As I grew older, I became more and more exposed to opinions that were polar opposites of my father's. I discovered the importance of questions in general. Sometimes I deemed my father's answers sufficient and of sense, and sometimes I saw that he didn't have a clear answer or an answer at all. One important lesson that he always preached was to fact check every detail you hear with a number of other sources. I've found that to be very important when looking for the truth in today's politics.' -Olivia Tank, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC"

Read more!

"A new study holds clues as to why we get so passionate about politics.

When you're political views are challenged, the brain becomes active in regions associated with personal identity, threat response and emotions, according to the study.

'We think it's because political beliefs are important to our identity, to our sense of who we are. They are part of our social selves as well and can define who we spend time with and how they relate to us,' said Jonas Kaplan, assistant research professor of psychology at the University of Southern California's Brain and Creativity Institute, who was lead author of the study.

'When the brain considers something to be part of itself, whether it's a body part or a belief, then it protects it in the same way,' he said."

Check out this article for ways to engage in conversations about politics without provoking a brawl!

Activity 1: Take the quiz! Where do you fit in the political typology? Is it where you thought you'd be based on the descriptions above?

Activity 2: Expand your media intake. Which news station do you watch? Your challenge this week is to watch another political take. For example, if you routinely watch CNN, add Fox News to your daily media intake. If you regularly watch Fox News, add CNN. Try it for a week and think about these prompts:

• How did you feel watching the other news station?

• Did you hear anything that you agreed with?

• What would it look like to regularly watch different new stations?

Video: How our friendship survives our opposing politics. Caitlin Quattromani and Lauren Arledge.

"Can you still be friends with someone who doesn't vote the same way as you? For Caitlin Quattromani and Lauran Arledge, two best friends who think very differently about politics, the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election could have resulted in hostility and disrespect. Hear about how they chose to engage in dialogue instead -- and learn some simple tactics they're using to maintain their bipartisan friendship."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qty0NjF3pdQ