Study Compares Americans and Europeans in Terms of Civic Engagement

NEW BOOKS

American Civic Engagement in Comparative Perspective: Key Comparative Findings From the U.S. “Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy” Survey, stacks Americans up against Europeans on several measures. The study looks at trust, volunteerism, political involvement, religiosity, immigrants and support for cultural diversity, political values, and television and Internet use. The United States falls in the middle of the range on measures of trust, volunteerism, and political participation, but the report indicates that it is more religious and hospitable to immigrants than most European countries. On the other hand, the study finds, Americans are less likely than citizens of most European countries to support income redistribution and gay rights, and they watch much more television than Europeans.

Publisher: Georgetown University, Center for Democracy and Civil Society, 3240 Prospect Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007; (202) 687-0593; fax (202) 687-0597; cdacs@georgetown.edu; http://cdacs.georgetown.edu; 25 pages; available free for download on the university’s Web site.