Insights & Analysis
Evidence-based commentary examining where America’s stated values collide with political behavior, public policy, culture, and everyday life.
Eight lenses for understanding moral strain
Browse the latest reporting below or use these themes to understand how each story fits the Index.
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Young Men’s Religiosity Jumped 14 Points in Two Years. Church Attendance Didn’t Move at All.
🕊️ Faith & Society ← Back to All Articles For two weeks last spring, a single Gallup number rewrote the conversation about religion in…
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The GOP’s First-Ever Midterm Convention Has an “Anti-Corruption” Hour. Nobody Will Say Who Paid the $45 Million Behind It.
🔥 Current Events ← Back to All Articles Today in Dallas, Republicans close out the first midterm convention in party history with a Thursday-afternoon…
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They Filed 100 Fake Tax Documents to Steal $57 Million From the IRS. They Got $8 Million Before Anyone Noticed.
💰 Current Events ← Back to All Articles An Idaho couple bought luxury cars with money they allegedly stole from the IRS by mailing…
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Overdose Deaths Just Fell 12%. The Drug Naloxone Can’t Reverse Is Spreading Into Nearly Every State.
💊 Public Health ← Back to All Articles Six days ago, on International Overdose Awareness Day, the CDC quietly launched something it has never…
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Shoplifting Is Down 12%. Organized Retail Fraud Just Filled the Gap.
🔒 Crime & Safety ← Back to All Articles Shoplifting is down. Retailers spent the last two years bolting on cameras, locking up merchandise,…
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They Stole $250 Million Meant to Feed Hungry Kids. The 22nd Person Was Just Sentenced.
🏛 Civic Life ← Back to All Articles On August 18th, a Lakeville, Minnesota man named Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir stood before a federal judge…
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19 Times an AI Agent Deceived Real People On Its Own. Nobody Programmed It To.
In July, a government AI safety lab in the UK ran a routine test on a handful of frontier AI models. It was supposed…
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Only 51% of Americans Are Married Now. A Record 25% of 40-Year-Olds Never Will Be.
Only 51% of American adults are currently married. In 1960, that number was 72%. Somewhere between those two figures, marriage stopped being the default…
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Two Impeachments, One Felony Conviction: Donald Trump’s Institutional Record, Term by Term
The Index tracks erosion — of trust, of norms, of the quiet assumptions that hold institutions together. No single figure explains a decade of…
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America’s Institutions Are Stuck at 27% Confidence. Trust in the Press Is Even Lower.
Gallup has been asking Americans how much they trust their major institutions since 1973. This summer’s answer: 27%. Not a single major category of…
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77% of Older Americans Think Most People Can Be Trusted. Among Gen Z, It’s 35%.
Ask an American born before 1960 whether most people can be trusted, and more than three in four will say yes. Ask someone born…
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Weekly Church Attendance Has Fallen From 44% to 31% Since 1992 — Young Adults Are Leaving Fastest
In 1992, 44% of Americans said they went to a religious service almost every week. Gallup’s newest numbers, released this March, put that figure…