American pride has fallen off a cliff

submitted by Powderhorn to usnews 11 points | 2 comments https://www.axios.com/2026/06/17/america-250-religion-race-patriotism > A profound identity crisis has gripped America ahead of its 250th birthday: Citizens are less proud, less religiously unified and losing faith that the American Dream still works. > > Why it matters: Democracies can survive policy brawls. They struggle to function when citizens lose faith in shared institutions, abandon a common civic story and use politics to replace religion and community. > > * A new survey from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) finds that Americans are retreating into ideological camps, viewing the opposing side not as a political rival, but as threats to democracy itself. > > > The big picture: 51% of Americans say they are extremely or very proud of being American, down sharply from 82% in 2013. Perhaps most telling: > * Americans are also split on the American Dream, with less than half believing that hard work gets you ahead. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, belief in the American Dream has fallen from 50% in 2024 to 36% today. > That’s a hell of a drop in just two years.