A recent survey on civic life in Louisiana has found that while Louisianians are more interested in politics than the rest of the country, they are less politically polarized. The Louisiana Common Ground Survey was published by the LSU Reilly Center for Public Affairs and the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a nonprofit good governance organization.

Key Findings

Nearly half of Louisianians reported being very or extremely interested in politics, a significant gap from the 28% nationwide found in a 2023 Pew survey. Over half of all respondents said they discuss government and politics several times a week or nearly every day, compared to 45% nationwide.

Researchers also found that Louisianians have a high opinion of democratic norms, with 91% of respondents saying they believe in equal free speech rights, regardless of political beliefs, and 70% saying they believe political violence is never justified. Also, 92% of Louisianians reported they believed individuals deserve an equal opportunity to succeed regardless of race or ethnicity.

The survey found that while 70% have had a real-life conversation in the last month with someone with different political views from their own, only 8% frequently post about politics on social media, which the report identified as a possible sign of civic health.

Polarization and Trust in Institutions

The researchers also measured polarization, the gap between how positively an individual feels about their own party versus how negatively they feel about the opposing party. On a scale of 0-100, Louisiana’s polarization rate is 48.2, compared to 49.9 nationwide.

Survey respondents said their trust in institutions is low. Survey respondents said their trust in scientists, universities, state, local and federal government, courts and news organizations fell between “not much” and a “fair amount.” Only hospitals and doctors were ranked between a “fair amount” and a “great deal.”

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.