Is America’s Moral
Foundation Crumbling?
The Moral Decay Index tracks eight critical social and ethical indicators — from church attendance
to violent crime — to give Americans an honest, data-driven picture of the nation’s moral health.
<
What We Track — And Why It Matters
Each indicator is scored monthly using publicly available government and research data. Together they form the composite Moral Decay Index score.
Why We Built The Moral Decay Index
For decades, politicians and pundits have debated the state of America’s moral fabric — but rarely with concrete data. The Moral Decay Index was created to change that. We believe an informed citizenry is the first step toward a healthier society.
We are not aligned with any political party. Our goal is simply to measure what is happening, present it honestly, and let Americans draw their own conclusions.
Recent Events & Commentary
In-depth analysis of the headlines and trends shaping America’s moral landscape.
Our Methodology
The Moral Decay Index assigns a weighted score to eight social indicators. Each indicator is sourced from one or more primary datasets — including the FBI Uniform Crime Report, CDC National Vital Statistics, Gallup polling, and the National Center for Education Statistics.
Each indicator is scored 0–100 (where 100 represents maximum decay), and the composite index is a weighted average. We update all indicators monthly when data is available. Our full data sources and weighting methodology are available to any researcher or journalist upon request.