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What Ethnic Americans Really Think

“The Zogby Culture Polls”

By James J. Zogby, PhD.

2001 Zogby International

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Table of Contents

Subject Page Introduction 5 Chapter One Who We Are and How We Live 9

A. Ethnic Origins B. Mobility, Employment and Family C. Education and Religion D. Economics

Chapter Two How We Define Ourselves 23 A. Ethnic Pride B. Politics Chapter Three Where We Stand on Issues 30

A. Issues B. The Question of Abortion

Chapter Four

A Closer Look I: Ethnic Pride and Political Identification 39 A. Italian Americans B. African Americans C. Hispanic Americans D. Jewish Americans E. Asian Americans F. Arab Americans

Chapter Five

A Closer Look II: Forces that Shape Ethnic Opinions 60 A. Ethnic Pride B. Political Identification

Final Observations 70

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List of Tables

Chapter One Table 1. U.S.-Born vs. Non U.S.-Born 11 Table 2. What Generation American? 12 Table 3. Town Size 13 Table 4. Leave Family/Community for a Job 14 Table 5. Accept Job Taking Time Away from Immediate Family 14 Table 6. Children Under 17 Living at Home 15 Table 7. Preference for Children Staying/Moving 15 Table 8. Expectation of Children Staying/Moving 16 Table 9. Living in Hometown 16 Table 10. Education 17 Table 11. Religion 17 Table 12. Religious Service Attendance 18 Table 13. Income 19 Table 14. Union vs. Non-Union 19 Table 15. Internet Access 20 Table 16. Savings vs. Stocks 20 Table 17. Depend on Stock Market for Retirement 21 Table 18. Have a Major Credit Card 21 Table 19. Credit Payment Behavior 22 Table 20. Retirement Funds 22 Chapter Two Table 21. Ethnic Pride 23 Table 22. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 24 Table 23. Emotional Ties to Land of Heritage 24 Table 24. Send Money to Family in Country of Background 25 Table 25. Experienced Discrimination 25 Table 26. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 26 Table 27. Ethnic Makeup of Your Neighborhood 26 Table 28. Registered to Vote 27 Table 29. Likelihood of Voting 27 Table 30. Party Registration 28 Table 31. Political Ideology 29 Table 32. Political Participation 29 Chapter Three Table 33. Issue Support (Agreement) 36 Table 34. Abortion Position 37 Table 35. Exceptions to Banning Abortion 38 Chapter Four A. Italian Americans Table 36. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 40

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Table 37. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 40 Table 38. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 40 Table 39. Ideology – Liberals/Conservatives 41 Table 40. Party – Democrat/Republican 41 B. African Americans Table 41. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 43 Table 42. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 43 Table 43. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 43 Table 44. Ideology – Liberals/Conservatives 46 Table 45. Party – Democrat/Republican 46 C. Hispanics Table 46. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 47 Table 47. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 47 Table 48. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 47 Table 49. Ideology – Liberals/Conservatives 48 Table 50. Party – Democrat/Republican 49 D. Jewish Americans Table 51. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 50 Table 52. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 50 Table 53. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 50 Table 54. Ideology – Liberals/Conservatives 52 Table 55. Party – Democrat/Republican 52 E. Asian Americans Table 56. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 54 Table 57. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 54 Table 58. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 54 Table 59. Ideology – Liberals/Conservatives 55 Table 60. Party – Democrat/Republican 55 F. Arab Americans Table 61. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 57 Table 62. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 57 Table 63. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 57 Table 64. Ideology – Liberals/Conservatives 58 Table 65. Party – Democrat/Republican 58 Chapter Five A. Ethnic Pride: Compared by Place of Birth Table 66. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 60 Table 67. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 60 Table 68. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 60

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Compared by Education Level Table 69. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 61 Table 70. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 61 Table 71. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 61 Compared by Frequency of Religious Observance Table 72. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 62 Table 73. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 62 Table 74. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 62 Compared by Income Level Table 75. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 63 Table 76. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 63 Table 77. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 63 Compared by Gender Table 78. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 63 Table 79. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 63 Table 80. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 64 Compared by Age Table 81. Pride in Ethnic Heritage 64 Table 82. Importance of Ethnic Heritage 64 Table 83. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group 64 B. Political Identification: Compared by Place of Birth Table 84. Ideology – Liberal/Conservative 65 Table 85. Party – Democrat/Republican 65 Compared by Education Level Table 86. Ideology – Liberal/Conservative 66 Table 87. Party – Democrat/Republican 66 Compared by Frequency of Religious Observance Table 88. Ideology – Liberal/Conservative 67 Table 89. Party – Democrat/Republican 67 Compared by Income Level Table 90. Ideology – Liberal/Conservative 67 Table 91. Party – Democrat/Republican 67 Compared by Gender Table 92. Ideology – Liberal/Conservative 68 Table 93. Party – Democrat/Republican 68 Compared by Age Table 94. Likelihood of Voting 69

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Introduction

We begin with a simple observation—America is a complex society. We are a nation of

many diverse groups, each with different backgrounds and experiences.

We do not all see life and its many issues in the same way. Shaped by our unique

perspectives, we have a variety of beliefs and attitudes. For some of us, our race, ethnicity or

religion is a determining factor that molds our general outlook or our views on specific issues.

For others, it may be our income, education or age. On some issues, we make different

assessments based on our gender or our marital status..

The point we are making here is similar to the lesson in the fable of the four blind men

and the elephant. As the story goes, “…One day four blind men came across an elephant and

each asked ‘What is this?’ The first, grabbing the creature’s tail said, ‘I think it is a rope.’ The

second took hold of the elephant’s leg and announced that it was, in fact, like a tree. The third

touched the trunk and made the observation that the creature must be like a ‘big house,’ while the

fourth blind man, rubbing both hands against the elephant’s side, stated that he was certain that

the creature ‘must be like a huge boulder.’ ”

The moral of the story might be that each of the observations was wrong. The elephant

was all of its parts and more. But it is also important to note that each of the blind men made his

evaluation based on what he experienced—from his unique perspective.

To an extent, we are all like the blind men. We see the issues of life from our vantage

point. We may insist that ours is the only correct way of understanding the matter in question.

But, of course, there are others who see the same issue in a very different way and are equally

insistent on the correctness of their perspective.

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So, when we are asked the question, “What do Americans really think about a particular

issue?” the answer we give can never be a simple one. More often than not, we must respond

with percentages. For example, when asked if they agree with the death penalty, the answer

might be, “Yes, they do, because in fact, an average 48% of all Americans support it.” But the

answer could also be, “Some do not, because 29% of Americans believe the death penalty

unfairly discriminates against minorities.” (refer to Zogby/Reuters poll, April 2001.)

In fact, the most interesting aspect of polling is not the final number of those who agree

or disagree with a specific proposition—although policymakers may find such tallies to be

useful. It is actually more intriguing to look at the different characteristics of those who take

each side of issues or questions.

As we poll Americans in order to learn how they really think about different issues, we

also ask them for demographic information. We ask for their age, gender and marital status. We

ask their race, ethnicity, religion, their income level and education. We also want to know their

political views and party affiliation. Obtaining this data helps us see how various sub-groups

think about issues: male vs. female; old vs. young; upper- income, college-educated white

Protestants vs. lower- income, high school-educated Hispanic Catholics.

In most polls, we will only obtain a limited amount of information about specific sub-

groups—most groups will be too small to measure. For example, even if we randomly poll

1,000 Americans, we will only get responses from about 100 African Americans or 20 to 30

Jewish Americans. This may give us enough information to suggest that these sub-groups have

different views than some other sub-groups. But it is not a large enough group of either African

Americans or Jews to make any real conclusions about where these two important groups really

stand on a variety of issues.

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In an effort to better identify the views of a number of diverse groups of Americans, we

launched an exciting project one year ago. For our study, we identified six distinct and diverse

ethnic communities: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Jewish

Americans, Italian Americans and Arab Americans.

Each of these groups was chosen because it represents a distinct and definable group,

providing us with an opportunity to get six different views of “what Americans think.”

The groups were all polled between December 1999 and February 2000. The numbers of

individuals polled within each group varied. (1) Each group was asked 86 questions on a broad

range of social and political questions. They were also asked 13 demographic questions.

The results are fascinating. In what follows, we will present our findings—where there

were points of consensus among these groups, and where there were deep differences of opinion.

From this entire exercise of what we have come to call our “culture polls,” we have

attempted to learn not only “what Americans really think,” but whether and to what degree

ethnicity and race shape what they think.

This examination is important. America is becoming more diverse, not less so. New

immigrants and changes in our demographic make-ups are transforming America every day.

(1) A note on methodology: all participants were chosen by random selection from databases of their respective groups. Calls were made from Zogby International headquarters in Utica, New York. Nine hundred forty-two African Americans were polled (margin of error +3.3%); 735 Hispanic Americans (MOE +3 .7%); 279 Asian Americans (MOE +6.3%); 589 Jewish Americans (MOE + 4.1%); 604 Italian Americans (MOE +4.0%); and 501 Arab Americans (MOE +4.5%). In all cases, only light weighting was done to achieve region, age and gender distribution that would more accurately reflect the demographics of each group.

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We are becoming older, more educated, and more racially, ethnically and religiously

diverse.

As this happens, the answer to the question, “What do Americans really think?” becomes

more complicated to answer. At the same time, it also becomes more important to answer.

James J. Zogby

John J. Zogby, President/CEO of Zogby International May 2001

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Chapter One

Who We Are and How We Live

It is important to note that each of the groups we chose for our survey is clearly

distinguishable, one from another. They are distinct and definable American communities.

African Americans have long been the United States’ largest racial minority. They

number approximately 12% of the population. The history of racial prejudice to which African

Americans have long been subjected has shaped the identity of their community. They are also a

powerful and fairly unified voting bloc.

Hispanic Americans, too, are a rapid ly growing and increasingly influential voting bloc.

Today, there are more than 35 million Hispanics, now 12.5% of the U.S. population. Presently,

this group is the largest minority in the United States, and is growing. While Hispanics share

some common characteristics (language and religion, in particular), their diversity is also

interesting to note.

Asian Americans made their entrance onto the U.S. political scene in the mid-1980s.

Increasingly gaining in influence, this community also hails from many different countries of

origin. Today, there are 10.2 million Asian Americans, representing 3.6% of the U.S.

population.

Jewish Americans, though only 2% of the U.S. population, are one of the most successful

ethnic/religious minorities in the country. Although sometimes viewed as a monolith, Jews are

not of one mind or voice on many social and political issues.

Italian Americans are one of the United States’ older and larger European ethnic

communities. There are 15 million Americans of Italian descent, according to the 1990 Census,

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representing nearly 6% of the U.S. population. In the early part of the 20th century, early Italian

American immigrants were subject to harsh discrimination. Today, however, they are quite

assimilated, but continue to identify with their heritage.

Arab Americans are one of the newer ethnic immigrant communities in the U.S.

Numbering some 3.2 million, they are a little more than 1% of the total U.S. population. Having

come to the U.S. in two general waves of immigration from more than one dozen Middle East

and North African countries, this group has internal diversity, but increasingly identifies itself as

a community.

Collectively, the six groups comprise about 40% of the U.S. population, but in some

areas of the count ry, there are significant concentrations of one or another of these

communities—making the importance of their views even greater in specific locales. For

example, African Americans constitute a substantial segment of the population in several

southern states and major cities across the U.S. Metropolitan New York City has the nation’s

largest concentration of American Jews. There is a substantial Hispanic population in the

southwestern states and Florida, and several major U.S. cities. Asian Americans are a strong and

growing presence in California. Arab Americans have emerged as a presence in suburban

Chicago, southeast Michigan, and northern Ohio. Italian Americans remain a significant

presence in southern New England and the Middle Atlantic States.

Now, it is true that each of these communities can be defined by some specific and

distinguishing traits; nevertheless, it is also important to observe that none of them is monolithic.

As we shall see in our survey, there is diversity within each of these groups.

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Ethnic Origins

Born in the U.S. or Immigrant

In our effort to create a demographic profile, we asked individuals in all of these groups

if they were born in the U.S. The answers established that in this area there were clear

differences among the various communities. African Americans, Italian Americans and

American Jews are overwhelmingly native-born, while Asian Americans, Hispanics and Arab

Americans have a substantial number of immigrants as part of their populations.

Table 1. U.S.-Born vs. Non U.S.-Born* Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Born in U.S. 95.5 92.5 47.0 92.0 36.0 68.0 Not born in U.S. 4.5 7.5 53.0 7.5 64.0 32.0 *As reported by respondents

There is also remarkable diversity within each of the ethnic groups that are heavily

immigrant. When we asked Arab Americans, Hispanics and Asians, “From which countries does

your family come?”, we learned that among Arab Americans, more than half (56%) say that

their country of origin is Lebanon. No other country comes close. Syria follows at l4%, then

Egypt (11%), Palestine (9%), and Jordan (4.5%).

For Hispanics, almost half (49.5%) say that they come from Mexico. Puerto Rico is next

with 21%. Trailing far behind were Cuba at 5.5%, the Dominican Republic with 4.5%, and

Colombia with 3.5%.

Among Asians, there is a more even distribution of familial roots, headed by China at

17.5% and India at l5.5%. Following them are Vietnam (11.5%), and both Korea and Pakistan at

10.5%.

African Americans appear to have roots that are embedded more deeply into the nation

than any of the other targeted ethnic groups. Seven in 10 African Americans are the product of

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American great-grandparents or beyond. Only l5% are either immigrant or first generation

Americans. The most recent arrivals are Asians with 64% immigrant and 22.5% first generation,

followed by Hispanics with 47% not-U.S. born and 25.5% first generation.

In our survey, one in three (32%) Arab Americans say that they are not born in the U.S.

and 34.5% are first generation. Just one in ten Arab Americans have great-grandparents who

lived here. Jewish Americans and Italians follow the same generational migration patterns – each

has less than 8% of their group not born in the U.S., and both have one-third of both great-

grandparents born here.

Table 2. What Generation American? Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Immigrant 4.5 7.0 47.0 7.5 64.0 32.0 First generation 22.0 8.0 25.5 25.0 22.5 34.5 Second generation 39.5 8.0 10.0 34.5 7.5 23.5 Third generation 25.5 18.0 9.0 25.5 3.0 8.5 Fourth generation 7.5 52.5 7.5 7.5 2.0 1.5

Both Italian and Jewish Americans usually speak English at home. In Arab American

homes, 72% speak English only, while one in ten speak Arabic only. In Hispanic homes, 40%

speak English mostly, 40% speak Spanish mostly. Among Asians, nearly half (47.5%) live in

homes where English is the primary language, while 28% primarily speak their native language.

Spouse’s Ethnic Background

Among all respondents in each group, slightly more than a third indicated that they are

not married, with 44% of African Americans stating that they are unwed. Among those who are

married, affinity for their own heritage varies. Asian Americans are the most likely to marry

someone from their own ethnic background, with 75% choosing partners of Asian/Pacific

background.

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Almost 60% of Arab Americans have spouses of Middle Eastern or North African descent,

while another 25% found spouses of European background. Forty percent of Italian Americans

married someone from Southern Europe. Another 40% married people from other European

ethnicities. Among Hispanics, about 30% married people from Central/South America and the

Caribbean, while another 15% have spouses from Southern Europe.

City or Town

Except for Italian Americans, most respondents live in cities. Almost 60% of Jewish

Americans and African Americans say that they live in cities with more than 100,000 people.

Three-quarters of African Americans and Hispanics live in cities of any size.

Half of the Asian and Arab respondents live in large cities. The suburbs attract more than

a third (37%) of Italian Americans, compared with about one in four Jewish, Arab, and Asian

Americans. More Italian Americans (13.5%) live in rural areas than any other group.

Table 3. Town Size Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Large city 29.0 58.5 42.0 58.0 48.0 50.0 Small city 20.5 20.0 32.5 10.0 17.5 22.5 Suburban town 37.0 13.0 15.5 24.5 26.5 24.0 Rural town 13.5 8.5 9.5 7.0 6.0 3.5

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Mobility, Employment and Family

In an effort to understand the importance of community among each of our six groups,

we asked a series of questions that evaluated their degree of attachment to their homes and

families and their expectations about the future.

We posed two hypothetical situations. “What,” we asked, “would you do if you were

offered a promotion that would cause you to move away from your family and community?

Would you accept the job or turn it down?”

More than half (52%) of both Arab and Jewish Americans say they would turn down a

promotion if it meant moving away from family and community, followed closely by one-half of

Italian Americans and 48% of Hispanics. African and Asian Americans would be most likely to

accept such a job.

Table 4. Leave Family/Community for a Job Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Accept job 35.5 47.0 38.0 31.0 44.5 34.5 Turn down job 50.0 37.5 48.0 52.0 42.0 52.0 Not sure 14.5 15.5 13.0 17.0 14.0 13.5

We then asked, “What if you were offered a promotion that would require you to take a

significant amount of time away from your immediate family, would you accept the job or turn it

down?

A majority in all groups indicated a reluctance to take such a job or promotion.

Table 5. Accept Job Taking Time Away from Immediate Family Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Accept promotion 24.5 39.0 34.0 31.0 33.5 27.0 Turn down promotion 66.5 52.0 57.5 56.5 57.5 62.0 Not sure 9.0 9.5 9.0 12.5 9.5 11

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All of the groups were asked if they had a child under 17 living at home. Among

Hispanics, 41% indicated that they have children under 17 living at home. One in three African

Americans (34%) say they have children under 17 living at home, followed closely by Asian

Americans (32.5%). Jewish Americans have the fewest (22%) children under l7 living at home.

Table 6. Children Under 17 Living at Home Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Children under 17 27.0 34.0 42.0 22.0 32.5 30.5 No children under 17 73.0 66.0 58.0 78.0 67.5 69.5

All ethnic groups indicated their preference that their children, when grown, stay in their

community, with Hispanics (73%) and Jewish Americans (72%) preferring this the most. African

Americans are evenly divided on their preference for their children staying in the community –

40.5% prefer they stay, 38.5% prefer they move away.

Table 7. Preference for Children Staying/Moving Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Prefer live in community 70.0 40.5 73.0 72.0 66.5 85.0 Prefer move away 11.0 38.5 15.0 10.0 16.0 4.0

However, when we asked if they expected their children to remain living in their

community, we found that answers varied.

African Americans might be split on where they want their children to live, but they

expect them to move away by a two-to-one margin. In addition, twice as many Asian Americans

expect their children to leave than stay, while Italian and Jewish Americans are evenly divided

on their expectations. Most Hispanics and Arab Americans, on the other hand, expect their

children to remain.

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Table 8. Expectation of Children Staying/Moving Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Expect them to stay in community 38.0 27.5 58.5 37.5 32.5 50.5

Expect children to leave community

39.0 60.5 28.5 38.0 67.5 31.5

The parents of young children may have expectations for where their children will end

up, but the actual behavior of these children appears to differ from these expectations. For

example, when we asked young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years, “Do you still live in

the town where you grew up or did you leave to find a job,” we received the answers found in

Table 9.

There are some significant differences among the groups. Despite, for example, the

preference and expectation of many African Americans that their children leave their

community, young African Americans are more likely to remain in the town where they grew up.

Of all the groups, Hispanic young adults are the most likely to leave their hometown to look for

work.

Table 9. Living in Hometown (Asked of 18-24 Year Olds) Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Living in hometown 71.0 68.0 57.5 69.5 63.0 79.0 Left to find job 12.0 5.5 21.5 3.5 15.0 -- Left for other reasons 17.0 26.5 21.0 27.0 22.5 21.0

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Education and Religion

Asians claim the most college graduates (66.5%), followed closely by Jews at 60.5%.

Just under half (48.5%) of those of Arab background are college graduates. More than one in

three (39%) Italians, 30.0% of African Americans, and 23% of Hispanics indicate they have

college degrees. The largest percentage of respondents who have not finished high school are

Hispanics (23%.)

Table 10. Education Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Less than high school 8.5 10.5 23.0 2.5 4.5 9.0 High school graduate 24.0 21.0 26.0 11.0 9.0 18.5 Some college 29.0 38.0 28.0 25.5 19.5 24.0 College+ 39.0 30.0 23.0 60.5 66.5 48.5

Religious Affiliation and Practice

More than two-thirds of Hispanics and Italian Americans are Catholic. Except for African

Americans (34%), Protestants do not constitute a plurality in any other ethnic group, with the

second largest percentage appearing among Hispanics (14.5%).

A little more than one fifth of the surveyed Arab and Asian Americans indicated that they

are Muslim, while 6.5% of African Americans say they are Muslim. More than 65% of Arab

Americans are Catholic (42%) or Orthodox (23%).

Table 11. Religion Italian African Hispanic Asian Arab Roman Catholic 69.5 10.0 67.5 18.0 42.0 Orthodox -- -- -- -- 23.0 Protestant 9.5 34.0 14.5 14.0 11.5 Jewish 0.1 0.5 0.1 -- -- Muslim 0.5 6.5 0.5 22.5 23.0 Other/no affiliation 20.5 49.0 18 45.5 0.5

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Hispanics are the most frequent churchgoers, with 57.5% attending every day or a few

times a week. Arab Americans (52.5%) are also likely to attend services frequently. A substantial

number of African Americans (50%), Italian (45.5%), and Asian Americans (44.5%) attend daily

or once or twice a week.

Jewish Americans attend services the least, just fewer than one in four saying they go to

synagogue daily or once or twice a week. Asian Americans are most likely never to attend

services (20%), followed by Jewish Americans (19%), Italian (14.5%), Hispanic (9.5%), African

(16.2%), and Arab Americans (9.0%).

Table 12. Religious Service Attendance Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Every day 1.5 3.0 4.5 5.5 4.5 5.0 Once/twice a week 44.0 47.0 53.0 18.0 40 47.5 Once/twice a month 9.0 9.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 7.0 Special occasions only 31.0 23.5 25.5 51.0 28.0 30.5 Never 14.5 16.0 9.5 19.0 20.0 9.0

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Economics

About two in five Jewish Americans say they earn more than $75,000 a year, while three

out of ten Arab and Asian Americans and one in four Italian Americans say they earn that much.

On the other hand, one in four Hispanics and one in five African Americans earn less than

$15,000 a year.

Table 13. Income Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Less than $15,000 10.5 19.0 27.0 8.5 8.0 10.5 $15,000-$24,999 9.5 19.0 20.5 8.5 14.5 11.5 $25,000-$34,999 13.5 17.5 20.0 10.5 8.5 14.0 $35,000-$49,999 19.0 17.5 13.5 14.0 13.5 15.5 $50,000-$74,999 22.5 14.5 9.5 17.5 26.0 18.5 $75,000 or more 25.0 12.0 9.5 41.0 29.5 30.0

A third of African and Italian American households include union members, followed by

Hispanics (26.5%), Jewish (23%) and Arab Americans (21.5%). Asian Americans have the

fewest union members (17.5%).

Table 14. Union vs. Non-Union Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Union 33.0 33.5 26.5 23.0 17.5 21.5 No-union 67.0 66.5 73.5 77.0 83 78.5

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Internet

Jewish and Asian Americans are the only two groups to claim that more than 70% of

their numbers have Internet access. Hispanic Americans are least likely to answer yes, with only

46.5% with Internet access. African Americans have a 54.5% positive response and Italian and

Arab Americans register in the mid-sixty percent range.

Table 15. Internet Access Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Yes 65.0 54.5 46.5 70.5 71.5 64.5 No 35.0 45.5 53.0 29.5 28.0 35.5

Savings and Stocks

While all groups show a high percentage of ownership in stocks and saving accounts,

Hispanic and African Americans trail the rest of the population. Sixty-nine percent of Hispanics

say they have savings accounts, and 73% of African Americans answered yes. But the other

groups all registered above 80%, with Asians showing a savings account ownership of 85.5%.

The gap between the highest ownership of stocks or mutual funds and the lowest widens

considerably in this category. Jewish Americans have the highest percentage (75.5%) and

Hispanic Americans the lowest (31%) – a difference of more than 44%. The top to bottom

difference in savings accounts was just 16%.

African Americans are also low in the stocks and mutual funds category, with only 38.5%

saying they own these kinds of investments. Arab Americans (65.5%) and Italian Americans

(63%), are more likely to own stocks and mutual funds than Asians (56%).

Table 16. Savings vs. Stocks Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Savings account 84.0 73.0 69.0 85.0 85.5 81.0 Stock Market 63.0 38.5 31.0 75.5 56.0 65.5

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However, when we asked individuals in our six groups how much they depend on the

stock market for their retirement, the answer finds a majority of African Americans who cite a

dependence on the stock market, and casts Asian and Hispanic Americans at the bottom of the

spectrum. A majority (63%) of Jewish respondents say they are either "very" or "somewhat"

dependent on the market for retirement, followed by 59.5% of Italians, 57% of Arab Americans

and 50% of African Americans. Among the lower responses: 39.5% of Asian Americans and

38% of Hispanic Americans.

Table 17. Depend on Stock Market for Retirement Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Very 24.0 19.0 22.0 33.0 28.0 25.5

Somewhat 35.0 31.0 35.0 30.0 34.5 32.0

Very little 20.0 25.0 24.0 18.0 20.0 22.0 Not at all 19.5 23.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 19.0

Credit Card Ownership and Behavior

Hispanic and African Americans are the least likely of all our groups to own a credit

card. They report ownership in the mid-60%, while all of the other groups top eighty percent.

Jewish Americans have the highest percentage of owning credit cards (89%).

Table 18. Have A Major Credit Card? Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Yes 84.5 66.0 64.5 89.0 80.5 84.5

No 14.5 33.5 35.0 10.0 18.0 14.5

Of those who have cards, African (71.5%) and Hispanic Americans (59.5%) say that they

are more likely to pay the monthly minimum charges or more than the minimum. Asian

Americans are most likely to say they pay in full (72.5%). Just over one-quarter of African

Americans (27.5%) say they pay in full.

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Table 19. Credit Payment Behavior Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Pay minimum 5.5 12.0 12.0 3.5 4.0 5.0 Pay more than minimum 40.5 59.5 47.5 25.5 22.5 30.0

Pay in full 53.0 27.5 38.0 67.5 72.5 64.0

Retirement Fund

As owners of a retirement fund, once again there is a large gap between the Hispanic and

African American populations and other sub-groups. Compared to 60% or more in the other

ethnic groups, less than half (46%) of Hispanic Americans and African Americans (49.5%) say

yes. Nearly 70% of Italian Americans and Jewish Americans have retirement funds.

Table 20. Retirement Funds Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Yes 69.0 49.5 46.0 68.5 61.5 62.0 No 29.5 49.5 53.5 30.5 36.0 35.0

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Chapter Two

How We Define Ourselves

Ethnic Pride

Most Americans appear to be very proud of their ethnic heritage. When we asked

individuals in our six groups to rank “how proud you are of your ethnic heritage?” between 80%

to 90% said they were very proud indeed.

African Americans are the most proud, being the only group to record over 90%, with

Arab Americans second at 90%, followed closely by Hispanics and American Jews.

Table 21. Ethnic Pride Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Proud 79.0 91.5 86.5 86.0 79.5 90.0 Average pride 16.0 4.5 8.0 9.5 16.0 7.0 Not proud 3.5 3.0 4.5 3.5 3.5 3.0

However, when we asked, “how important is your ethnic heritage in defining you as a

person?” the intensity of feeling appears to drop somewhat.

At 66.5% and 62.5% respectively, Hispanic Americans and African Americans are most

likely to say that their ethnic heritage is very important in defining them. About half of Jewish,

Asian, and Arab Americans feel that way, while slightly less than one in three (30.5%) Italian

Americans say it is a very important to their personal self-definition.

~ 24 ~

Table 22. Importance of Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Very important 30.5 62.5 66.5 48.0 54.5 51.5 Somewhat important 44.0 27.0 22.5 38.5 36.5 35.0 Not important 25.0 10.5 10.0 13.0 8.5 13.0

Somewhat similar feelings are expressed when ethnics are asked about their ties to their

specific land of origin.

Hispanics and African Americans, along with Arab Americans, demonstrate the strongest

emotional bonds with the land of their heritage. More than three in five Hispanics (62.5%), about

three in five African Americans (59.5%), and more than half of Arab Americans (55.5%) say

their emotional ties to the land of their heritage are strong, compared to 37.5% for Italian

Americans. On the other extreme, 19.5% of African Americans and 18.3% of Hispanics and 20%

of Arab Americans say their bond with their ethnic homelands are not strong at all, compared to

one in three (31.5%) Italian Americans and 29.5% Jewish Americans.

Table 23. Emotional Ties to Land of Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Strong emotional tie 37.5 59.5 62.5 50.0 43.5 55.5

Moderate emotional tie 30.0 19.5 18.5 18.0 34.0 24.0

No emotional tie 31.5 19.5 18.5 29.5 22.5 20.0

In some instances, this tie finds concrete expression as many ethnics seek ways to

financially support their families in the countries of their origin.

Asian (38.5%), Hispanic (34%) and Arab (29%) Americans, having the largest

percentage of immigrant populations, are most likely to send money back to family in their home

country, while Italian (5%) and Jewish (10%) Americans are the least likely to do so.

~ 25 ~

Table 24. Send Money to Family in Country of Background Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Send money 5.0 17.5 34.0 10.0 38.5 29.0 Do not send money 95.0 82.0 65.5 89.5 61.5 70.0

Ethnic Discrimination

The upside of this attachment to one’s ethnic background can be ethnic pride, while the

downside is that some ethnic and racial groups continue to experience discrimination because of

their differences.

When we asked our groups whether they had been victims of discrimination because of

their ethnic heritage, the results were mixed. More than seven in ten African Americans say they

have experienced some sort of discrimination because of their heritage, while more than half of

Jewish and Asian Americans say have been discriminated against. Almost 40% of Arab

Americans claim discrimination and just over one in four Italian Americans say they have been

victims of discrimination.

Table 25. Experienced Discrimination? Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Experienced discrimination because of ethnic heritage 27.0 72.0 47.0 59.0 57.5 39.0

Have not experienced discrimination because of ethnic heritage

72.5 27.0 52.0 40.5 41.0 60.5

Despite the reality of discrimination, America is not a closed society, and all ethnic

groups report a good incidence of having friendships with other ethnic groups outside of work or

school. While better than 90% of Italian Americans, Arab Americans and Jewish Americans

have such friendships with someone not in their ethnic background, only four in five of African

Americans and Hispanics say the same thing.

~ 26 ~

Table 26. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Close friendships with other ethnic groups 97.5 81.5 79.0 90.5 85.0 92.0

Do not have close friendships with other ethnic groups

2.5 18.5 21.0 9.5 14.0 7.5

We asked our respondents whether neighborhoods where they live are predominantly

comprised of their own ethnic group, mixed, or predominantly another ethnic group. Once

again, African American and Hispanic responses differ somewhat from those of other ethnic

groups. Both live in segregated circumstances in greater numbers than other ethnic groups. One-

third of all African Americans (33%) and 21% of Hispanics say they live in neighborhoods

predominantly populated by their ethnicity. In contrast, only 13% of Jewish Americans, 8.5%

Asian Americans and 5% Italian Americans report that they live in neighborhoods dominated by

their own ethnic groups.

Table 27. Ethnic Make-up of Your Neighborhood Is your neighborhood predominately. . .? Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Same ethnic group 5.0 33.5 21.0 13.0 8.5 5.5

Mixed 84.0 52.5 53.5 70.5 54.0 65.5

Another ethnic group 10.5 13.0 25.0 15.5 36.0 27.0

The portrait that emerges here is of an America where pride in ethnic heritage remains a

strong factor in people’s self-definition, and where ties to ethnicity are maintained. At the same

time, most individuals in the six groups we surveyed have personal friendships and ties to others,

and now live in ethnically diverse neighborhoods—where it can be expected that an expansion of

relationships will continue.

~ 27 ~

The one group that does not fit this pattern is African Americans. They have been in the

U.S. longer than any other group (Table 2); they have greater pride in their heritage than any

other group (Table 21); and yet they are more subject to discrimination because of their heritage

than any other group (Table 25), and are less likely to live in a mixed ethnic neighborhood

(Table 27) than any other group.

Politics

Voter Registration

Of the six ethnic groups in our study, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans have the

lowest incidence of voter registration – 65.5% and 68% respectively. Italian Americans, Arab

Americans, African Americans, and Jewish Americans all have substantially higher registration

figures, ranging from 88.5% to 92.5%.

Table 28. Registered to Vote

Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Registered to vote 88.5 90.0 65.5 92.5 68.0 88.5 Eligible, not registered 11.5 9.5 34.0 7.5 32.0 11.0

Voting

Nearly all of those who are registered claim that they are likely to vote. The highest

response comes from Jewish Americans. More than nine in ten Jewish Americans claim that

they are very likely to vote.

Table 29. Likelihood of Voting Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Very likely 87.5 86.0 83.5 95.0 78.5 90.5 Somewhat likely 9.5 10.5 14.0 4.0 16.0 6.5 Not likely 3.0 3.5 2.5 1.0 5.0 3.0

~ 28 ~

Party Identification

Three in four (78%) African Americans and 66% of Jewish Americans consider

themselves Democrats. More than half (57%) of Hispanic Americans call themselves Democrats,

while slightly less than two in five Italian and Arab Americans do so.

One in three Italian and Arab Americans also claim to be Republican, as do one in four

Asian Americans. One in five Hispanics call themselves Republican.

At 31%, Asian Americans are the most likely of all our groups to identify themselves as

Independents.

Table 30. Party Registration Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Democrat 37.5 78.0 57.0 66.0 35.5 38.0 Republican 33.5 6.5 22.0 15.5 25.5 36.0 Independent 23.0 13.0 15.0 15 31.0 21.0

Political Ideology

Except for Jewish Americans, more people in each group declare themselves moderates

as opposed to any other political category. Among Jewish respondents, almost one-half claim to

be liberal or very liberal. Hispanics tend to be more liberal than conservative, 35.5% to 31%, as

do African Americans (41.5% liberal to 24.5% conservative). Asian Americans are only slightly

more liberal (34% combined liberal-very liberal) than conservative (27.5%, combined very

conservative, conservative).

Italian Americans are more conservative than liberal (33% to 28%, respectively) as are

Arab Americans (37.5% to 23.5%).

~ 29 ~

Table 31. Political Ideology Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Progressive/very liberal 6.0 14.5 12.5 14.0 10.0 6.5 Liberal 22.5 27.0 23.5 34.5 24.0 17.0 Moderate 34.0 28.5 27.0 27.0 33.5 35.0 Conservative 26.5 16.5 26.0 16.0 25.0 31.5 Very conservative 6.5 8.0 5.0 3.5 2.5 6.5

Political Participation

About one in six Hispanic, Jewish, and African Americans say they have donated money

to a presidential candidate within the past year. Least likely to have donated are Asian

Americans.

Members of all groups are much less likely to have volunteered time to a candidate in the

past year, with African and Hispanic Americans leading the pack at about one in ten. Italian

Americans are least likely to have volunteered their time.

A significant majority, in equal numbers, of all sub-groups says they had watched a

presidential debate during the 2000 primary season.

Most likely to visit a candidate’s website are Hispanic (12.5%), Asian (13%), and Arab

Americans (12%). Least likely to use this means to gain information about a candidate are Italian

Americans.

Table 32. Political Participation Within the past year, have you. . .?

Italian American

African American

Hispanic American

Jewish American

Asian American

Arab American

Donated money to presidential candidate 11.5 15.0 15.5 15.5 9.0 14.5

Volunteered time to a presidential candidate 4.5 11.0 10.0 5.5 7.0 9.0

Watched presidential debate 77.0 78.0 72.5 71.0 77.5 82.0

Visited presidential candidate’s website

7.5 8.5 12.5 11.0 13.0 12.0

~ 30 ~

Chapter Three

Where We Stand on Issues

Politically, large majorities of African Americans, Hispanics and American Jews are

Democrats. Asian Americans tend to be independent, while Italian and Arab Americans are

evenly split between the two major parties.

Nevertheless, it appears from our polling that neither party identification nor stated

political philosophy alone is enough to predict how individuals in the various ethnic

communities will define their stances on several important issues.

In our survey, we covered 28 key policy questions and found the results to be quite

revealing. For example, in seven areas, large majorities in all of the groups agree with positions

that have traditionally been viewed as liberal. They agree on:

• Allowing patients to sue HMOs

• Using the federal surplus to provide health insurance for uninsured

• Increasing of the minimum wage by $1 in two years

• The need for new gun control laws

• The United States unilaterally banning nuclear weapons

• The United States paying back dues to the United Nations

• The federal government imposing strict regulations and fines on polluters

On several other issues, however, majorities in almost all of the groups agree with what

have been described as conservative positions. There is wide agreement on:

• The policy of school vouchers

• Parental notification of girls under 17 who seek an abortion

~ 31 ~

• Treating children 14-16 as adults if they commit a crime involving a gun

• The need for the death penalty

• Opposition to racial preferences in hiring and college admissions

• Favoring states setting education policy, not the federal government

• Allowing individuals to invest part of their payroll taxes in retirement accounts

There are other areas where there are differences among the six ethnic groups surveyed.

(For a closer look at where the six groups stand on some of the major issues of the day, see Table

33).

Issues

a. Providing parents with school vouchers so their children can attend any school they

choose.

Providing school vouchers to parents is a very popular issue among Hispanic Americans.

More than 80% say they support providing parents with school vouchers. Close to 75% of Asian

Americans are for vouchers. Also, almost 70% of African Americans, Italian Americans and

Arab Americans support the voucher system.

Slightly over 50% of Jewish Americans are in support.

b. There should be a law allowing patients to sue their HMO (health maintenance

organization) if they are denied treatment.

Jewish Americans, along with Hispanic Americans, are most supportive of this

empowerment for patients, with 90% favoring this position. Close to 89% of Arab Americans,

86% of Italian Americans, and 85% of African and Asian Americans agree that there should be

laws allowing patients to sue their HMOs.

~ 32 ~

c. Using the government surplus to provide health insurance for the working poor and

children.

There is a broad consensus on this issue. Close to 93% of Hispanic Americans, more than

90% of African Americans, and almost 90% of Asian Americans favor using the budget surplus

to provide healthcare coverage for the poor. Nearly nine in ten Jewish and Arab Americans,

along with 85% of Italian Americans are also in favor of the government using the surplus to

take care of the healthcare needs of the working poor and children in America.

d. Increasing the minimum wage by $1 an hour over the next two years.

An increase in the minimum wage is a top priority of all the groups with more than four

in five supporting an increase.

e. Prosecuting teenagers 14 to 16 as an adult if have committed a violent crime using a

handgun.

Again, there is broad agreement on this issue. Italian, Arab, and Jewish Americans are

slightly more likely than the other three groups to want tough laws when dealing with 14 to 16

year-old offenders who use a gun when committing violent crimes. Also, 80% of Asian

Americans, 78% of Hispanic Americans, and 74% of African Americans favor tough prosecution

of teenagers.

~ 33 ~

f. Putting a limit of $1,000 on campaign contributions in all elections.

Jewish Americans lead the other ethnic groups in supporting limits on campaign

contributions. Three in four (75%) support a $1,000 cap on campaign contributions. They are

closely followed by 71% of Italian Americans and 70% of the Arab Americans. More than 65%

of Asian Americans, 64% of African Americans and 58% of Hispanic Americans also support

the cap on contributions.

g. Passing new gun control laws.

There is significant support across the board for new gun control laws from all groups.

Asian Americans are most in favor, while Italian Americans are least in favor.

h. Imposing the death penalty for particularly heinous crimes.

More than three in four (78%) Italian and Asian say they are in favor of using the death

penalty as a punishment for terrible crimes. They are followed by about 70% of Jewish, Arab,

and Hispanic Americans also in support. Although African Americans did show support for the

death penalty, they are the least supportive, with less than 65% agreeing with this method of

punishment.

i. Revising the income tax code so that every individual pays a flat tax regardless of

his/her income.

Close to 60% of Jewish Americans are opposed to a flat tax. More than half of Asian

Americans, 48% of Hispanic Americans, and 40% of African Americans are also opposed to a

flat tax. More than half of Italian Americans are in support.

~ 34 ~

j. Local school boards have a right to restrict the teaching of topics, such as evolution.

Localizing the authority over what topics are taught at the school board level is not a

popular issue with these ethnic groups. More than 75% of Jewish Americans oppose allowing

local school boards deciding what can and cannot be taught in schools. A majority of all other

groups agree.

k. Racial preferences in hiring or college admissions

Close to 70% of Hispanic Americans and more than 64% of African Americans oppose

taking into account racial preference when hiring or admitting students to a college. In addition,

87% of Italian Americans, 80% of Jewish Americans, 76% of Asian Americans and 75% of Arab

Americans are also opposed to racial preferences.

l. The United States should unilaterally ban underground testing of nuclear weapons.

Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans are most in support of a unilateral ban of

nuclear weapons testing. More than 67% of Jewish Americans, 65% of Italian, Arab, and African

Americans also support a unilateral U.S. nuclear test ban.

m. The government should impose stricter regulations and tax penalties on factories that

release harmful pollutants into the air.

There is overwhelming support across the board for getting tougher with polluters, with

more than nine in ten in each group supporting stricter regulations and penalties.

~ 35 ~

n. Strengthening the Social Security and Medicare system.

More than 90% of all groups showed strong support for a federal focus on these two

important retirement benefits. African Americans and Jewish Americans are among the most

supportive.

o. Allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security pension in personal

retirement accounts.

Again, there is strong support across the board for allowing private investment of Social

Security funds.

p. Active United States participation in the global free trade agreements

Asian (84%), Hispanic (83%) and Arab Americans (80%) are most supportive of U.S.

participation in global free trade agreements. They are followed by Jewish (76%), Italian (70%),

and African Americans (69%).

~ 36 ~

Table 33. Issue Support (Agreement)

Issue Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

School vouchers 67.0 70.0 83.0(2) 52.0(3) 74.0 69.0

Allow patients to sue HMO 86.0 86.5 89.5 90.0 74.5 89.0

Use surplus for health insurance (4)

84.0 93.5 93.5 86.5 89.5 86.5

Increase minimum wage by $1 in 2 years 82.5 94.0 92.5 85.0 88.0 80.5

Treating 14-16 year-olds as adults if used a gun

85.0 74.0 78.5 81.5 80.0 83.0

$1,000 campaign contribution limit 70.5 63.0 58.5 75.0 66.0 69.5

New gun control laws 69.5 78.0 82.0 83.5 88.0 76.0

Death penalty 78.5 64.0 73.0 67.5 75.5 71.5

Flat tax 55.5 43.0 47.5 34.5 40.0 50.0

School boards can restrict subjects taught

27.5 32.0 26.0 19.5 41.0 36.0

Racial preferences in hiring/college admissions 11.0 32.0 26.0 17.0 20.5 21.0

U.S. unilaterally ban testing of nuclear weapons

66.5 65.0 70.0 68 72.5 65.5

Government impose strict regulations /fines on polluters 93.5 92.0 95.5 92.5 92.5 92.5

Strengthening Social Security and Medicare

94.5 96.0 95.0 94.0 91.5 92.0

Allow individuals to invest part of payroll taxes 84.3 79.0 78.5 76.0 82.5 81.0

Active U.S. participation in global trade

71.0 69.5 83.0 76.5 84.0 79.5

(2) Bold numbers indicate groups that support a position to a much greater degree than other groups. (3) Italicized numbers indicate the groups whose support for a particular issue is significantly lower than the other groups. (4) Shaded categories are those where a near consensus exists among the groups.

~ 37 ~

The Question of Abortion

Table 34. Abortion Position Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Pro-choice in all instances 29.0 40.5 23.5 61.5 39.0 28.5

Pro-choice except for late-term abortion

24.0 12.5 10.0 17.5 12.0 16.5

Pro-life in all instances 8.5 8.5 16.5 3.5 7.5 7.0

Pro-life except for rape and incest

18.0 13.0 13.5 5.0 11.0 16.0

Pro-life except for life of mother 18.0 22.5 35.0 10.0 25.5 29.5

Total “pro- life” 46.5 54.0 64.5 18.5 43.5 52.0

Total “pro-choice” 53.0 53.0 34.0 79.0 51.0 45.5

Jewish Americans are the most pro-choice, with more than 60% saying that it should

always be up to the woman whether she should get an abortion. Least pro-choice are Hispanic

Americans.

The group with the most pro- life attitude is Hispanics – 16.5% are opposed to abortion in

all cases, and 64.5% define themselves as “pro- life” in particular cases. Between 43%-54% of

Asian, Italian, Arab and African Americans term themselves pro- life. Only 18.5% of Jewish

Americans would describe themselves as such.

~ 38 ~

Table 35. Exceptions to Supporting Abortion

Issue Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Ban abortion except for life of mother

47.0 44.0 61.0 20.5 47.0 53.5

Notify parent if under 18 wants abortion 77.5 77.5 82.5 49.5 79.5 78.5

a) Banning all abortions, except for the life of the mother.

More than 60% of Hispanic Americans are supportive of a ban on abortion, except in

cases where the life of the mother is in danger. About 50% of Arab Americans support the ban,

except for life of mother.

More than 75% of Jewish Americans are opposed to a ban except in cases of risk to the

mother, followed by 50% of Italian Americans. Almost half (48%) of African Americans and

47% of Asian Americans are also opposed.

b) A physician should be legally required to notify parents of a girl under the legal age

who requests an abortion.

More than four in five (82%) Hispanic Americans, close to 80% of Arab and Asian

Americans, and 77% of African and Italian Americans all support the notion that a physician be

legally required to notify the parents of a girl under the legal age who is seeking an abortion.

Less than half of Jewish Americans support it.

~ 39 ~

Chapter Four

A Closer Look I:

Ethnic Pride and Political Identification

To get a more detailed view of how each of our six ethnic groups defines themselves and

their general political outlooks, it is useful to look inside each community at its component sub-

groups and compare them.

In our overall study, we obtained an extraordinary amount of data. The demographic

information we compiled from each ethnic group surveyed allowed us to create at least twenty

sub-groups.5 In order to simplify our presentation, we have chosen only six of these categories

and we have condensed the data we compare in each category.

The following tables compare how the ethnic pride and political identification are shaped

within each community by:

• Place of birth (U.S. born or immigrant);

• Education level (high school graduate or college graduate)

• Frequency of attendance at religious service (weekly or never);

• Income ($25,000 to $50,000 per year or $75,000 per year);

• Gender and age 6

5 Complete cross-tabulations of all questions asked of the six groups is available from Zogby International, Utica, N.Y. (315) 624-0200; http://www.zogby.com 6 Each of these sub-groups represents a simplification of our full cross tabulations. For example, on one’s education level, we included four categories in the survey questionnaire: less than high school graduate, high school graduate, some college, and college graduate. In this report, we only compared high school graduates with college graduates. Similarly, with attendance at religious services, there were six responses, ranging from those who attend services daily to those who never attend. In this report, we compare only the two extremes. On household income, we have also simplified it to include only two categories: those who earn between $25,000 and $50,000, and those who earn more than $75,000. In most instances, the trend lines presented between each of the two sub-groups can be observed across the full spectrum of the cross tabulations.

~ 40 ~

Italian Americans

1. Ethnic Pride

Table 36. Pride in Heritage

All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34 78.5 89.0 82.0 81.5 77.5 70.5

Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female 55-69

79 85.5 75.5 61.5 74.0 80.5 85.0

Table 37. Importance of Ethnic Heritage



30.5 47.0 27.5 23.0 24.0 38.5 36.0

Table 38. Friendships Outside Ethnic Group



97.5 91.5 99.0 97.0 98.0 97.5 97.0

While Italian American immigrants indicate only slightly more pride in their heritage

than Italian Americans born in the U.S. (78.5% to 85.5%), heritage plays a much more important

role in the self-definition for the immigrants in this community (47% to 29.5%).

Other factors that play a role in determining the degree to which Italian Americans are

proud of their heritage, are the level of education achieved (the higher the level of education, the

lower the importance of heritage) and income (economically successful Italian Americans also

place less importance on heritage).

~ 41 ~

Religious observance appears to play a critical role in this area. Italian Americans who

are more observant value their ethnic heritage to a greater degree than those who are less

observant (82% to 61.5%). Age, too, is a significant issue, with older Italian Americans being

more proud of their ethnicity than younger Italian Americans.

While there is virtually no difference between Italian American men and women with the

amount of pride they have in their heritage, there is a substantial difference (22% to 38.5%)

between the genders’ attitudes towards the importance of ethnicity in their self-definition.

Of all the ethnic groups in our study, Italian Americans appear to be the most assimilated,

with 97.5% reporting friendships outside their own community. This very high percentage holds

true for all the sub-groups.

2. Political Identification

Table 39. Ideology - Liberals/Conservatives All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male

28.5/33.0 28.5/30.5 24.5/34.0 26.0/39.0 24.0/36.5 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female

28/33

22.0/38.0 29.0/33.5 37.5/26.0 27.0/26.5 32.0/30.0

Table 40. Party- Democrat/Republican

All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34 38.0/32.0 49.5/26.0 33.5/40.0 36.0/26.0 35.0/39.5 26.5/29.5 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female 55-69

37.5/33.5

26.5/59.0 33.5/37.0 44.5/25.7 35.0/37.0 39.5/27.5 42.0/34.0

Italian Americans and Arab Americans were the only two of our six groups that defined

themselves as more conservative than liberal. This conservative tilt holds for most of the sub-

groups of Italian Americans, with the only significant exception being those who report that they

~ 42 ~

do not attend religious services (37.5% liberal to 26% conservative). Those with higher incomes,

and female Italian Americans, are only slightly more liberal than conservative.

Despite being slightly more conservative than liberal, more Italian Americans identify

themselves as Democrats than Republican. In this area of party identification, the demographic

factors that define our sub-groups appear to have a significant impact.

For example, among Italian American immigrants, there are almost twice as many

Republicans as Democrats. Conversely, Italian Americans who have finished high school are

twice as likely to define themselves as Democrats (49.5% Democrat to 26% Republican), while

Italian American college graduates are slightly more Republican.

Similarly, Italian Americans who do not attend religious services appear to be far more

inclined toward the Democratic party (45.5% to 25.7%), than more religiously observant Italian

Americans who are more Republican (40% Republican to 33.5% Democrat). And older Italian

Americans identify more with the Democratic party than younger Italian Americans, who lean

toward the Republican party.

The same degree of variance can be seen when measuring income and gender, with lower

income and female Italian Americans identifying more with the Democratic label, and those

earning higher incomes and males being more Republican.

***

~ 43 ~

African Americans

1. Ethnic Pride

Table 41. Pride in Heritage All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34

91.5 90.0 92.0 93.5 91.5 89.5 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female 55-69

91.5

90.0 95.5 85.5 93.0 91.5 94.5

Table 42. Importance of Ethnic Heritage



62.5 69.0 57.5 52.0 51.0 63.0 70.5

Table 43. Friendships Outside Ethnic Groups All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34


79.5

84.5 86.5 82.0 93.0 76.5 75.0

Of all the groups in our study, African Americans report the greatest feeling of pride in

their ethnic heritage. This holds true in all of the sub-groups we examined. There were three

areas, however, where there were measurable variations: education, religious observance and

age.

The more educated an African American becomes, the greater his or her pride in ethnic

heritage (95.5% for college graduates, 90% for high school graduates). Similarly, religiously

observant African Americans are more proud of their heritage than those who do not attend

religious services (92% to 85.5%). Older African Americans also show greater pride than

younger African Americans.

~ 44 ~

Age, education, religious practice and income also appear to have an impact on the

importance that African Americans place on their heritage in their self-definition. The most

significant variant here is age. Older African Americans value their ethnic heritage much more

than those in the younger age group. Ethnic heritage is more important for those who graduated

from high school than it is for those who graduated from college (69.5% to 57.5%).

Similarly, those who are regular in their attendance of religious services (observant)

value their heritage to a greater degree than those who do not. Those who earn more than

$75,000 a year appear to place less importance on their ethnic heritage than those who earn

between $25,000 and $50,000 per year.

In almost every sub-group category, there are differences in the degree to which the

African Americans reported friendships outside their own community. Immigrants, college-

educated, non-observant, wealthier, and male African Americans were more likely than their

counterparts to have such friendships. The most significant differences between sub-groups

appeared in education level (a 12% difference between high school graduates and college

graduates), age (10% difference between younger and older), and income (8.5% difference

between the two income levels).

~ 45 ~


Table 44. Ideology- Liberals/Conservatives All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male


41.5/25

43.0/23.5 49.5/18.5 44.5/14.5 50.0/23.0 39.0/25.0

Table 45. Party- Democrat/Republican All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34

78.0/6.0 78.5/7.0 78.0/6.5 80.0/6.5 73.5/7.0 73/5.5 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female 55-69

78/6.5

76.5/15.0 75.0/9.5 80.0/9.5 69.0/9.5 82/6.0 7.5/0

African Americans are more inclined to define themselves as liberal (41.5% to 25%).

Income, gender, and immigrant status appear to make no difference in this category. But

education and religious observance do appear to have an impact on the way that African

Americans define themselves politically.

College-educated African Americans are overwhelmingly more liberal than conservative

(49.5% to 18.5%), while those who are high school graduates are almost evenly split between the

two camps. Those who say that they never attend religious services are far less likely to identify

themselves as conservative, with only 14.5% using that self-definition. African Americans who

attend services weekly more closely parallel the breakout in their overall community (39.5%

liberal to 26% conservative).

In the case of party identification, the African American community’s ties to the

Democratic party seem to be strong and deep (78% Democrat to 6.5% Republican), with every

sub-group reporting an overwhelming preference for that party. The only three categories in

which there were any notable differences among sub-groups were in age, income and gender.

Older African Americans are ten percent more likely than younger African Americans to be

Democrat. African American women are more likely than African American males (82% to

~ 46 ~

73.5%) to describe themselves as Democrats, and those who earn $75,000 a year are less likely

than their counterparts at $25,000 to $50,000 to identify with the Democratic party. But the 69%

Democrat to 9.5% Republican split for this higher income group is hardly evidence of a shift

away from the Democratic party.

***

~ 47 ~

Hispanics

1. Ethnic Pride



86.5

86.5 86.5 75.0 86.0 86.0 84.5

Table 47. Importance of Ethnic Heritage All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34


66.5

76.5 57.0 39.5 51.0 69.0 70.5



79

70.0 93.0 91.0 93.0 75.5 71.0

Hispanics in all sub-groups appear to be uniformly proud of their ethnic heritage with all

categories reporting near identical percentages of pride. The only significant difference is the

area of religious observance where those who report never attending religious services indicate

less pride in their heritage than those who report regular attendance. The gap in this sub-group is

especially pronounced. Seventy percent of those who participate regularly in religious services

report that their heritage is important to them, as opposed to only 39.5% for those who do not

attend services at all.

Ethnic heritage is also of much greater importance to Hispanic immigrants than it is to

those born in the United States. However, it is important to note that the 53.5% of those

Hispanics born in the U.S. who say that their heritage is important to their self-definition is still

significantly larger than the percentage of most native-born Americans who feel the same way.

~ 48 ~

Other factors that impact the importance of ethnic heritage among Hispanics are a

college degree and a high income, reducing the importance factor by about 15% in each

category.

Of all the groups in our study, Hispanics report the lowest percentage of those who have

formed friendships outside of their own community. Their reported 79% is lower than the 81.5%

of African Americans who report such friendships. While persistent segregation and

discrimination are probable factors that account for the low African American response in this

area, the high percentage of unassimilated recent immigrants among Hispanics appears to

account for their lower degree of external relationships. For example, while 91.5% of Hispanics

born in the United States report non-Hispanic friendships, only 70% of Hispanic immigrants

indicate such friendships. Similarly, college-educated and higher- income Hispanics report

significantly greater numbers in this area than their high school-educated counterparts. And a

greater percentage of Hispanics who do not regularly attend religious services report friendships

outside the Hispanic community than those who do participate regularly. More Hispanic males

also report forming such friendships than Hispanic females (83.5% to 75.5.%). And older

Hispanics report a lower percentage of external friendships than younger Hispanics.


Table 49. Ideology Liberals/Conservatives All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male


36/31

32.5/33.5 38.0/25.0 41.0/26.0 38.5/34.5 35.5/29.0

~ 49 ~

Table 50. Party - Democrat/Republican All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34

56.5/17.0 57.0/20.5 57.0/23.5 62.0/24.0 55.0/24.0 49.0/17.0 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female 55-69

57/21

57.5/27.0 53.5/23.5 60.5/16.0 41.0/37.5 59.0/18.5 55.5/26.5

Hispanic Americans are slightly more liberal (36% to 31%) than conservative, and this

breakout holds constant for almost every sub-group in our study. The only two exceptions to this

are recent immigrants and Hispanics who frequently attend religious services. Those two sub-

groups are almost evenly split between the two political outlooks.

More educated and native-born Hispanics are largely liberal in orientation (both about

40% liberal to 25% conservative). The same is true for Hispanics who are not religiously

observant, and those who earn between $25,000 and $50,000 per year.

The overwhelming majority of Hispanics who define themselves as Democrats

(57% to 21% Republican) is also remarkably consistent in almost every one of the sub-groups

under examination, except in income. Hispanics who report earning more than $75,000 only

slightly favor the Democratic party (41% to 37.5%). This is the only sub-group where the

margin is so close.

***

~ 50 ~

Jewish Americans

1. Ethnic Pride



86

79.5 83.0 64.0 88.5 89.0 87.5



48

66.5 44.5 25.5 42.0 60.0 48.5



90.5

87.5 94.0 97.0 95.5 88.0 93.5

Since Judaism is a religion, as well as a source of ethnic identification, it is not surprising

that religious observance would have a substantial impact on attitudes toward heritage. Ninety-

three percent of Jewish Americans who report weekly attendance at religious services indicate

that they are proud of their heritage, while among those who are not observant, only 64% report

feelings of pride in their heritage.

Even more dramatic is the fact that while 76.5% of American Jews who are observant say

that their ethnic heritage is important for their self-definition, among those who do not attend

religious services, only 25.5% feel this way.

Age and income are not significant factors in the attitudes that Jewish Americans have

toward their heritage, but gender is significant. Six percent more women feel pride in their

~ 51 ~

Jewish heritage than do Jewish men. And almost twice as many Jewish women than Jewish men

say that their ethnic heritage is important for their self-definition.

As is the case often of most ethnic communities, education and income are factors in

lessening the importance of ethnic heritage. And Jewish American immigrants, like most other

groups of immigrants, feel that their ethnic heritage is more important for the self-definition than

their native-born counterparts (66.5% to 42%). This last figure is only surprising in that it stands

in contrast to the fact that Jewish immigrants are slightly less proud of their heritage than native-

born Jewish Americans (79.5% to 86.5%)—the reverse of most other communities.

Jewish Americans are one of the more assimilated of the groups under study here, with

more than 90.5% reporting friendships outside of their own community. The factors that appear

to have the greatest impact in this area are age, education, religious observance and income, with

a significantly larger percentage of older, college-educated, less observant and higher income

Jewish Americans reporting such friendships more than their high school-educated, observant

and lower-income counterparts.

~ 52 ~


Table 54. Ideology-Liberals/Conservatives

All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 50.0/19.5 36.5/32.0 34.0/32.0 49.5/24.0 49.0/19.0 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female

48.5/19.5

37.0/22.0 51.5/15.5 58.0/15.0 50.0/17.0 48.5/20.0

Table 55. Party-Democrat/Republican


66/15.5

53.0/20.5 69.0/14.0 73.5/11.0 66.0/15.5 69.5/16.5 67.5/16.5

Jewish Americans are more liberal than any other ethnic community in this study (48.5%

liberal to 19.5% conservative), and this holds true for most of their sub-groups. The most

significant variant groups are those Jews who are the most religiously observant. They are

almost evenly split between liberal and conservative (34% to 32%). Jews who are immigrants

also tend to be less liberal than Jews born in the U.S. (37% to 50%).

But Jewish Americans who are college educated are much more likely than high school-

educated Jews to define themselves as liberal, and much less likely than their high school

counterparts to define themselves as conservative. This is a significant departure from every

other group in the study.

It is also worth noting that Jews in the higher income bracket also appear to be less

conservative than those in the $25,000 to $50,000 bracket.

Four times as many Jewish Americans identify with the Democratic party than the

Republican party. While immigrants are slightly less Democrat than their native-born

counterparts, and more observant Jews are less inclined than non-observant Jews to identify as

~ 53 ~

Democrat, the percentage of Jews in both of these categories who identify as Democrat is still

substantially more than 50%.

It is also interesting to note that the margin between Jewish American Democrats and

Republicans actually increases among Jews in the higher income group. This is the only group

in our study that becomes more inclined to identify as Democrat and less inclined to be

Republican as their income increases.

~ 54 ~

Asian Americans

1. Ethnic Pride



79.5

78.5 80.5 72.0 80.0 79.5 83.5



54.5

58.0 53.0 52.0 43.0 60.0 49.5



85

81.0 88.5 90.5 88.0 90.0 82.5 Asian Americans in the various sub-groups have reported somewhat similar attitudes

toward pride in their ethnic heritage. There are three areas where slight gaps appear. Immigrant

Asians appear slightly less proud than native-born Asian Americans. More religiously observant

Asian Americans, on the other hand, report being more proud of their heritage than those who do

not attend religious services. And older Asian Americans indicate somewhat more pride than

younger Asian Americans.

The gaps in these areas are larger when we consider the importance that Asian Americans

place in their ethnic heritage. As in the case of most other groups in our study, more Asian

American immigrants than native-born Asian Americans (58% to 41.5%) state that their ethnic

heritage is important to their self-definition. As Asians become more educated and better off

financially, it appears that ethnicity becomes less important in their self-definition.

~ 55 ~

Asian American women also place greater importance in their ethnic heritage than Asian

American men (60% to 49%).

As in the case of Hispanics, there is a significant difference between the percentage of

native-born Asian Americans and immigrants who report having friendships outside their ethnic

community (98% to 81%). Like Hispanics, this may be due to difficulties in assimilating,

resulting from language differences. Better educated and higher income Asian Americans report

more external friendships than their counterparts. But in a significant break with all of the other

groups in our study, more Asian American women than Asian American men report friendships

outside their community.

2. Political Ideology



34/27.5

35.5/26.0 34.5/28.5 38.5/24.5 39.0/30.0 29.5/28.5 Table 60. Party - Democrat/Republican


35.5/25.5

36.0/23.5 32.0/26.5 40.5/27.0 22.5/34.0 34.5/27.0 23.5/30.5

On average, Asian American men are more liberal than conservative (34% to 27.5%).

There are, however, significant variations in each of the sub-groups under examination. For

example, native-born, high school-educated, religiously observant, lower income and female

Asian Americans are less liberal and more conservative than their immigrant, college-educated,

non-observant, higher income and male Asian American counterparts. In almost every one of

these categories, there is at least a 10% shift between the contrasting sub-groups.

~ 56 ~

The most substantial impact appears to be determined by religious practice. Asian

Americans who are very observant are decidedly more conservative, with only 25.5% reporting

liberal leanings, as opposed to 38.5% saying they are conservative. On the other hand, among

Asian Americans who are non-observant, the numbers change to 38.5% liberal, with only 24.5%

conservative.

Somewhat the same holds true with political party identification. Democrats hold a 10%

edge among Asian Americans, with the three strongest Democratic- leaning sub-groups being

those in the 18-34 year-old age bracket, those in the $25,000 to $50,000 income bracket, and

those reporting that they are not religiously observant. Most surprisingly, Asian American

immigrants are more Democratic than native-born Asians, and less Republican.

College-educated Asian Americans are also more likely than high school-educated Asian

Americans to define themselves as Democrats. In fact, the only three sub-groups of Asian

Americans to define themselves as Republicans are those 55-69 years old, those with a high

school education, and those earning more than $75,000.

***

~ 57 ~

Arab Americans

1. Ethnic Pride



90

92.5 88.5 87.0 90.0 90.5 91.0



51.5

73.0 38.5 34.0 48.5 61.0 59.0



92

83.0 96.5 96.5 99.0 89.0 91.0

Arab Americans display a high degree of pride in their ethnic heritage—second only to

African Americans in this category. There are virtually no differences among the various. sub-

groups we are comparing here.

With regard to the importance Arab Americans place on their ethnic heritage, the sub-

groups display all the variations that we have observed in the other ethnic communities. The

most significant differences in this area exist between immigrants and native-born Arab

Americans (73% to 41% who consider heritage important), and high school and college educated

Arab Americans (73% to 38.5%). About 20 percentage points separate Arab American men and

women, and religiously-observant and non-observant Arab Americans, in the importance they

place on their ethnic heritage. In short, while all of these sub-groups are extremely proud of their

~ 58 ~

heritage, native-born, college-educated, non-observant and male Arab Americans place far less

importance in ethnic heritage than their counterparts.

Arab Americans are second only to Italian Americans in the degree to which they have

formed friendships outside their ethnic community, with almost all of the sub-groups reporting

above 90%. The only variants were immigrants and women, but even here the percentages of

both groups reporting external friendships were quite similar to those in the other ethnic

communities.




23.5/37.5

16.5/40.5 22.5/37.0 32.0/22.5 29.0/32.5 24.0/35.5

Table 65. Party - Democrat/Republican All U.S.-Born High School Weekly $25-50,000 Male 18-34

37.5/38.5 49/30.5 36.0/40.5 35.5/44.5 36.5/38.0 40.0/24.5 Immigrant College Never $75,000 Female 55-69

38/36

39.0/30.0 35.5/38.5 29.6/29.0 33.5/39.0 39.5/33.0 39.0/35.5

While leaning slightly in the direction of the Democratic party, Arab Americans are the

most conservative of all of the groups we surveyed, with only 23.5% calling themselves liberal

and 37.5% defining themselves conservative. This decidedly conservative tilt holds true for

every sub-group of Arab Americans, except for those who are not religiously observant. The

only other factor that appears to have an impact is income, with Arab American political

attitudes appearing to dramatically shift in a less conservative direction as their income increases.

The 22.5% gap between liberal and conservative Arab Americans who earn $25,000 to $50,000 a

year (20% liberal, 42.5% conservative) closes to 3.5% (29% liberal, 32.5% conservative) among

those who earn more than $75,000 per year.

~ 59 ~

While Arab American immigrants are more conservative than native-born Arab

Americans, they are also more inclined than native-born Arab Americans to identify with the

Democratic party. As in the case of other groups, high school graduate Arab Americans lean

more toward the Democratic party than college-educated, and Arab American women, more than

Arab American males, are identified as Democrat, while younger Arab Americans are much less

inclined toward the Republican party than older Arab Americans.

~ 60 ~

Chapter Five

A Closer Look II: Forces that Shape Ethnic Opinions

Different patterns of self-definition and political thinking do appear to exist among the

several ethnic groups in our survey. In the last chapter, we saw how each of the six communities

was impacted by several demographic variables.

To obtain an even closer look at the impact of each of these factors, we reorganized the

data from Chapter Four in order to compare how the ethnic identification and political ideology

of each community is shaped by place of birth, education, religious observance, income, gender

and age.

A. Ethnic Pride

1. Compared by Place of Birth Table 66. Pride in Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab U.S.-Born 78.5 91.5 81.5 86.5 83.0 88.5

Immigrants 85.5 90.0 86.5 79.5 78.5 92.5

Table 67. Importance of Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab U.S.-Born 29.5 62.0 53.5 46.0 41.5 41.0

Immigrants 47.0 69.0 76.5 66.5 58.5 73.0

Table 68. Friendships Outside Ethnic Groups Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab U.S.-Born 97.5 79.0 91.5 90.5 98.0 96.0

Immigrants 91.5 84.5 70.0 87.5 81.0 83.0

~ 61 ~

The degree of pride in ethnicity and the importance of ethnic heritage are clearly

impacted by place of birth, but the impact varies from group to group. Quite logically, ethnic

heritage appears to be more important for immigrants in all of our ethnic groups than it is for

their native-born counterparts. But the similarity ends there.

In addition to ethnicity being more important to their self-definition, immigrant Italian

and Arab Americans also feel more pride in their ethnic heritage than native-born Italian and

Arab Americans. Jewish and Asian American immigrants, on the other hand, feel substantially

less pride in their heritage than their native-born counterparts.

Generally speaking, most groups report that their immigrants form friendships outside of

their ethnicity to a lesser degree than their native-born counterparts. The only exception to this

pattern is African American immigrants. The legacy of racial separation and its impact on

native-born African Americans appears to be the reason here.

2. Compared by Education Level

Table 69. Pride in Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab High School 89.0 90.0 85.5 92.0 78.5 92.5

College 75.5 95.5 86.5 83 80.5 88.5

Table 70. Importance of Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab High School 38.0 69.5 74.0 54.5 67.0 73.0

College 27.5 57.5 57.0 44.5 53.0 38.5

Table 71. Friendships Outside Ethnic Groups Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab High School 96.0 74.5 71.0 72.5 71.0 90.0

College 99.0 86.5 93.0 94.0 88.5 96.5

~ 62 ~

There is a clear pattern here. The higher the level of education, the lower the emphasis

on ethnic heritage—both pride in heritage and its importance to self-definition. The only

exception is in the case of African Americans, for whom pride in heritage increases as they

become more educated.

All groups, to varying degrees, reveal that the college-educated among them have a

higher percentage of friendships outside their ethnicity than those with high school degrees.

3. Compared by Frequency of Religious Observance Table 72. Pride in Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Weekly 82.0 92.0 87.0 83.0 80.5 90.0

Never 61.5 85.5 75.0 64.0 72.0 87.0

Table 73. Importance of Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Weekly 36.0 67.0 70.0 76.5 57.5 54.5

Never 23.0 52.0 39.5 25.5 52.0 34.0

Table 74. Friendships Outside Ethnic Groups Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Weekly 97.5 75.5 74.5 81.0 87.5 91.0

Never 97.0 82.0 91.0 97.0 90.5 96.5

Without exception, there is a direct correlation between pride in heritage and the

importance of ethnic heritage and attendance at religious services. Those who say they attend

services weekly are more likely to indicate, to a greater degree, pride in their heritage and the

importance of heritage in self-definition. The degree is most significant among Jewish

Americans.

~ 63 ~

4. Compared by Income Level Table 75. Pride in Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab $25-50,000 81.5 93.5 82.0 89.0 82.0 89.5

$75,000 74.0 93.0 86.0 88.5 80.0 90.0

Table 76. Importance of Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab $25-50,000 28.5 60.4 66.5 48.0 54.0 54.0

$75,000 24.0 55.5 51.0 42.0 43.0 48.5

Table 77. Friendships Outside Ethnic Groups Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab $25-50,000 98.0 80.5 84.5 87.0 80.0 96.5

$75,000 98.0 88.0 93.0 95.5 88.0 99.0

Income is less of a determinant in ethnic pride than the other factors explored in this

survey—but it does have an impact on some groups.

The general pattern that emerges is that ethnicity becomes slightly less important in self-

definition as ethnics earn more income. And most ethnic groups in the higher income bracket

report a slight increase in friendships outside their groups.

5. Compared by Gender

Table 78. Pride in Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Male 77.5 91.5 87.0 83.0 80.0 89.0

Female 80.5 91.5 86.0 89.0 79.5 90.5


Male 22.0 62.0 60.0 35.5 49.0 42.5

Female 38.5 63.0 69.0 60.0 60.0 61.0

~ 64 ~


Male 97.5 82.5 83.5 93.0 80.0 94.5

Female 97.5 76.5 75.5 88.0 90.0 89.0

Ethnic heritage is vastly more important to Italian, Jewish and Arab American women

that it is to men in those three ethnic communities. To a somewhat lesser degree, gender plays a

similar role for Asian and Hispanics. There are no gender differences among African Americans

with regard to the importance of ethnicity in self-definition.

Slightly more African, Hispanic, Jewish, Asian and Arab American males report having

friendships outside their ethnic groups than their female counterparts. The notable exception

here is Asian American females, who report ten percent more external friendships than Asian

American males.

6. Compared by Age Table 81. Pride in Ethnic Heritage Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

18-34 70.5 89.5 86.5 86.0 76.0 91.0

55-69 85.0 94.5 84.5 87.5 83.5 91.0


18-34 26.0 55.5 65.0 43.5 50.0 52.0

55-69 36.0 70.5 70.5 48.5 49.0 59.0


18-34 98.5 85.0 79.5 83.0 87.5 92.0

55-69 97.0 75.0 71.0 93.5 82.5 91.0

~ 65 ~

The age of some of our respondents does impact their attitudes toward their ethnic community. Older Italian Americans, and to a lesser extent older Asian and African Americans, feel greater degree of ethnic pride than their younger ethnic counterparts. But the importance of ethnic heritage in forming the self-definition of our respondents

increases among older ethnic Americans in almost all our groups. The most significant increases

are among African Americans and Italian Americans.

A lower percentage of older African Americans, and Hispanic and Asian Americans, than

their younger counterparts, report friendships outside their ethnic communities. Only among

older Jewish Americans do these external friendships increase.

B. Political Identification 1. Compared by Place of Birth Table 84. Ideology- Liberal/Conservative Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab U.S.-Born 28.5/33.0 41.5/25.0 40.5/26.0 50.0/19.5 29.5/32.5 26.5/36.5

Immigrant 22.0/38.0 43.0/23.5 32.5/33.5 37.0/28.0 35.5/26.0 16.5/40.5

Table 85. Party- Democrat/Republican Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab U.S.-Born 38.0/32.0 78.0/6.0 56.5/17.0 67.5/15.0 33.5/31.0 35.7/38.5

Immigrant 26.5/59.0 76.5/15.0 57.5/27.0 53.0/20.5 36.0/23.5 39.0/30.0

Italian, Hispanic, Jewish and Arab American immigrants tend to be less liberal and more

conservative than their native-born counterparts. Asian Americans, on the other hand, move in

the opposite direction, with Asian American immigrant s appearing to be somewhat more liberal

and less conservative than native-born Asian Americans.

~ 66 ~

Native-born Italian and Jewish Americans tend to identify more with the Democratic

party and less with the Republican party than their immigrant counterparts. The opposite is true

for Asian and Arab American immigrants whose identification with the Republican party is

lower than it is for native-born Asian and Arab Americans. African and Hispanic American

immigrants also tend to identify slightly more with the Republican party, but overall

identification with the Democratic party remains quite high among both groups.

2. Compared by Education Level

Table 86. Ideology - Liberal/Conservative Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab High School 28.5/30.5 31.5/32.5 38.5/33.0 36.5/32.0 26.5/29.0 24.5/41.5

College 29.0/33.5 49.5/12.5 38.0/25.0 51.5/75.5 24.5/28.5 22.5/37.0

Table 87. Party - Democrat/Republican Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab High School 49.5/26.0 79.5/7.0 57.0/20.5 60.0/22.0 30.0/32.5 49.0/30.5

College 33.5/37.0 74.9/9.5 53.5/23.5 69.0/14.0 32.0/26.5 35.5/38.5

Their level of education appears to have a significant impact on the political outlook of

African and Jewish Americans, with college-educated members of both groups appearing to be

notably more liberal and substantially less conservative than their high school-educated

counterparts.

Education had a similar but less substantial impact on the political philosophy of

Hispanic and Asian Americans. It appears to have no impact on Italian and Arab Americans.

Education levels appear to have only a slight impact on the party identification of African,

Hispanic and Asian Americans. As Italian and Arab Americans become college educated, they

~ 67 ~

tend to identify more than their high school counterparts with the Republican Party. The

opposite holds true for Jewish Americans.

3. Compared by Frequency of Religious Observance Table 88. Ideology- Liberal/Conservative Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Weekly 24.5/34.0 39.5/26.0 33.5/36.5 34.0/32.0 25.5/38.5 17.5/47.5

Never 37.5/26.0 44.5/14.5 41.0/26.5 58.0/15.0 38.5/24.5 32.0/22.5

Table 89. Party- Democrat/Republican Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Weekly 36.5/42.0 78.0/6.0 57.0/23.5 59.0/21.0 24.5/28.0 36.0/40.5

Never 44.5/25.5 50.0/9.5 60.5/16.0 73.5/11.0 40.5/27.0 29.5/29.0

The impact of religious observance on the political philosophy of our surveyed ethnic

Americans is substantial and consistent across the board. In all groups, those who are religiously

observant tend to be more conservative and less liberal than those who are non-observant.

The same holds true, but to a slightly less degree, with party identification. The only

exception here is with non-observant Arab Americans, who tend to be both Democratic and less

Republican than Arab Americans who attend weekly religious services.

4. Compared by Income Level Table 90. Ideology - Liberal/Conservative

Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab $25-50,000 26.039.0 48.0/20.5 40.0/31.0 49.5/24.0 26.5/32.0 20.0/42.5

$75,000 27.0/26.5 50.0/23.0 28.5/34.5 50.0/17.0 39.0/30.0 32.0/22.5

Table 91. Party - Democrat/Republican

Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab $25-50,000 36.0/26.0 80.0/65.0 62.0/24.0 64.0/19.0 43.5/19.5 35.5/44.5

$75,000 35.0/37.0 69.0/9.5 41.0/37.5 66.0/15.5 22.5/34.0 33.5/39.0

~ 68 ~

Income plays a role in determining the political philosophy of our ethnic groups, but not

in the way one might expect. As Italian, Jewish, Asian and Arab Americans earn more income,

they identify less with a conservative political outlook. Among African and Hispanic

Americans, the impact of income appears to be slight.

The impact of income on party identification, on the other hand, presents a more complex

picture. Italian, African, Hispanic and Asian Americans become more Republican and less

Democratic as they report larger incomes. Both Jewish and Arab Americans who earn more

than $75,000 a year show a slight drop in identification with the Republican Party.

5. Compared by Gender Table 92. Ideology - Liberal/Conservative Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab

Male 24.0/36.5 44.0/24.5 36.0/33.0 49.0/19.0 38.5/26.5 23.0/40.0

Female 32.0/30.0 39.0/25.0 35.5/29.0 48.5/20.0 29.5/28.5 24.0/34.5

Table 93. Party - Democrat/Republican Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab Male 35.0/39.5 73.5/7.0 55.0/24.0 62.5/15.0 36.0/24.5 36.5/38.0

Female 39.5/27.5 82.0/6.0 59.0/18.5 69.5/16.5 34.5/27.0 39.5/33.0

Only among Italian Americans does gender appear to play a significant role in

influencing political philosophy and party identification. Italian American women are more

liberal, less conservative, more Democrat and less Republican than Italian American men.

In the other ethnic communities in our study, the results are less clear. Asian American

men, for example, are more liberal and only slightly more Democratic than Asian American

women. The reverse is true for Arab Americans. Jewish women are more Democratic than

Jewish men, but they are both equally Liberal.

~ 69 ~

6. Compared by Age Table 94. Party - Democrat/Republican

Italian African Hispanic Jewish Asian Arab 18-34 26.5/29.5 73.0/5.5 49.0/17.0 61.5/18.0 47.0/20.5 40.0/24.5

55-69 44.0/34.0 83.0/7.5 55.5/26.5 67.5/16.5 23.5/30.5 39.0/35.5

Older Italian, African, Hispanic and Jewish Americans have a greater affinity toward the

Democratic party. Older Asian and Arab Americans are more Republican. Of the other groups,

only younger Asian Americans are more Democratic than their older counterparts.

~ 70 ~

Final Observations

Even after five chapters and ninety-four tables of data, it is safe to say that we have only

just scratched the surface of this study. When printed in full, a complete set of cross-tabulations

from Zogby International’s “culture polls” contains over 2,000 pages of tables. What we have

presented here is a synopsis of that data—its essence—in an effort to determine how ethnic

Americans define themselves and how they think about issues.

What we have found is that ethnicity is a factor in shaping many people’s self-definition

and outlook. Clearly, most ethnic Americans, event those who are first, second and third

generation native-born Americans, remain proud of their heritage. And this heritage, and the

shared sense of history, culture and concerns that it represents, does, in fact, have a measurable

impact on attitudes.

When four in five or more say that they are proud of their heritage, and when one-third to

two-thirds of all of our respondents say that this heritage is very important to their self-

definition—then we must pay attention to this factor.

How the impact of this factor makes itself felt may vary from group to group, and may

increase in intensity from issue to issue. It is, for example, well-known that each ethnic

community has some specific issue of concern, oftentimes foreign policy matters, that defines a

key part of their political agenda.

While we measured the importance of many of these issues in polling our six individual

ethnic communities, in this book we focused on the attitudes of ethnic Americans toward a more

general set of issues that all have in common.

We found some areas where responses were quite similar. We also found some areas

where striking differences exist between our groups and even their component sub-groups. We

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found, for example, that of all of our groups, ethnic pride and the importance of ethnicity are

strongest among African Americans, and to a different extent, immigrant Jewish and Arab

Americans—groups that have experienced a degree of discrimination.

Though ethnic pride and identification are strongest among immigrants and only

somewhat less strong among college-educated and wealthier native-born Americans, the pull of

this force remains quite strong. More than 50% of all of our respondents retain a “strong

emotional tie to the land of their “heritage,” and almost 20% of those surveyed send money to

family in the countries of their background.

We also found evidence in our study of the effects of discrimination. Although we seek to

become “one America,” almost half of our respondents reported experiencing discrimination

because of their ethnic heritage, and more than 15% of our respondents noted that they do not

have close personal friendships with individuals of other ethnic communities.

We also noted a connection between ethnic pride, religiosity and political philosophy.

We found, for example, that the pull of ethnicity is most deeply felt among those who are the

most religiously-observant in their respective communities. More than 50% of all of our

respondents attend religious services at least weekly. And this group, by and large, appears to be

more conservative in political outlook.

On the whole, however, we found that it is difficult to apply traditional labels to the

positions that these ethnic Americans take on important current issues. In fact, if the combined

set of positions supplied by all six ethnic communities were bundled together as a package, they

contradict a central tenet of contemporary conventional political wisdom. While many self-

styled “moderates” in both political parties have come to define the “new” political center as

fiscally conservative and socially liberal, what we have found in our study, is that on many key

issues, our groups are both fiscally liberal and socially conservative.

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All of this should give pause to policymakers and provide material for further research

for analysts. Our “culture polls” represent only a beginning of this study—a benchmark against

which we intend to measure the results of future surveys. Much more can and should be done.

We invite those who are interested to investigate our complete cross tabulations to make their

own comparative studies.

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