Culture wars around the world: how countries perceive divisions...Culture wars around the world: how countries perceive divisions For more information, contact: Bobby Duffy [email protected]

Culture wars around the world: how countries perceive divisionsFor more information, contact:

Bobby [email protected]

Gideon [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Political correctness

Culture wars in the UK | June 2021

When asked to rate their feelings about political correctness on a scale, the British public emerge as joint-most likely of 28 nationalities surveyed to say that people are too easily offended.

Only those in Australia and the US feel as strongly that people take offence too readily – although other nations, such as Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands are not far behind.

At the other end of the spectrum, people in India, Turkey and China are most likely to feel that people need to change the way they talk to be more sensitive to those from different backgrounds.

On balance, most countries tend towards thinking that we need to change the way people talk.

Some people think that the way people talk needs to be more sensitive to people from different backgrounds. Others think that many people are just too easily offended. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 0 – people are too easily offended, 7 – need to change the way people talk

23,004 adults interviewed online between 23 Dec 2020 and 8 Jan 2021

312%

15%

16%

21%

21%

22%

23%

23%

23%

24%

25%

27%

27%

27%

29%

29%

31%

33%

36%

39%

40%

42%

45%

45%

47%

49%

50%

51%

31%

72%

76%

76%

58%

61%

71%

69%

70%

70%

70%

67%

59%

67%

67%

60%

66%

63%

62%

58%

48%

57%

52%

48%

49%

43%

45%

46%

43%

60%

China

India

Turkey

Japan

Saudi Arabia

Malaysia

Russia

Peru

Brazil

Chile

Italy

Germany

Singapore

Mexico

Argentina

South Africa

Spain

Poland

Hungary

France

South Korea

Belgium

Canada

Netherlands

Sweden

United States

Australia

Great Britain

Global country average

Great Britain

0–3 4–7

Culture war divisions


People in South Africa (58%), India (57%) and the US (57%) are most likely to feel that their country is divided by culture wars, with a significant gap in opinion between them and people in Brazil (47%), who are next most likely to think their nation is divided in this way.

32% of Britons believe culture war divisions are a problem in their country, placing them in the bottom half of nations surveyed and in line with the global country average (35%) for perceptions of such tensions.

But Britain still comes higher than some similar countries surveyed –for example, 19% of people in Germany think they have such divisions and 21% of those in the Netherlands feel the same.

In most countries, relatively few actively disagree with the statement. Instead the level of don’t knows is often notable, suggesting this is not a familiar concept to many.

From what you see on TV, in the news media and online, and in your conversations with others, to what extent do you agree or disagree that [country] is divided by “culture wars”? % who agree

9%

18%

19%

21%

21%

24%

26%

28%

28%

28%

29%

32%

33%

34%

37%

37%

38%

38%

39%

40%

41%

44%

45%

46%

47%

57%

57%

58%

35%

Japan

Russia

Germany

Netherlands

Saudi Arabia

Spain

Mexico

Singapore

Sweden

Canada

China

Great Britain

Hungary

Australia

Peru

Chile

Argentina

France

Italy

Malaysia

South Korea

Poland

Turkey

Belgium

Brazil

United States

India

South Africa


Great Britain


Tensions between different groups in society


On average across the 28 countries surveyed, people perceive most tension to exist between the rich and poor, followed by divisions by politics, social class, immigration, and between those with different values.

There is relatively less tension (but still mentioned by nearly half) seen between cities and those outside cities, between old and young, men and women, or by levels of education.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between […] in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

7

42%

46%

47%

48%

57%

62%

62%

65%

66%

67%

69%

74%

Those in cities and those outside of cities

Old and young

Those with a university education andthose without a university education

Men and women

Different religions

The metropolitan elite and ordinary working people

Different ethnicities

Those with more socially liberal, progressiveideas and those with more traditional values

Immigrants and people born in [country]

Different social classes

People who support different political parties

Rich and poor




People’s views of tensions between different groups in Britain are largely in line with the global country average of perceived tensions in other countries surveyed.

But Britons are notably less likely to think there are tensions between those with a university education and those without one (36% vs 47%), and somewhat more likely to feel there are tensions between different ethnicities (70% vs 62%) and between immigrants and people born in Britain (72% vs 66%).

Across virtually all groups asked about, the US comes out worse than Britain for perceived tensions between them.

For example, 90% of people in the US think there is a great deal or fair amount of tension between people who support different political parties – compared with 70% who say the same in Britain.

There is a similar divide in views when it comes to perceived tensions between those who have more socially liberal values and those with more traditionalist values (85% vs 67%).

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between […] in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

40%

43%

36%

36%

62%

64%

70%

67%

72%

66%

70%

72%

46%

54%

50%

53%

63%

73%

83%

85%

78%

76%

90%

81%

42%

46%

47%

48%

57%

62%

62%

65%

66%

67%

69%

74%

Those in cities and those outside of cities

Old and young

Those with a university education andthose without a university education

Men and women

Different religions

The metropolitan elite and ordinary working people

Different ethnicities

Those with more socially liberal, progressiveideas and those with more traditional values

Immigrants and people born in [country]

Different social classes

People who support different political parties

Rich and poor

Global country average US GB

823,004 adults, including 1,000 in Britain and 1,000 in the US, interviewed online between 23 Dec 2020 and 8 Jan 2021


The US comes top for perceived tension between different ethnicities, with 83% believing there is a great deal or fair amount. South Africa, where 79% feel this way, comes second.

70% of the British population think significant tensions exist between people from different ethnic groups, in line with other western nations, such as France (70%), the Netherlands (70%), Italy (72%) and Sweden (72%).

People in Japan (26%) and China (31%) are least likely to perceive such tensions.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between different ethnicities in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

26%

31%

44%

44%

49%

50%

58%

58%

59%

61%

61%

64%

65%

66%

66%

66%

67%

67%

70%

70%

70%

72%

72%

73%

73%

75%

79%

83%

62%

Japan

China

Argentina

Saudi Arabia

Russia

Poland

Singapore

Mexico

Turkey

Germany

Malaysia

Canada

Spain

India

Peru

Australia

Hungary

South Korea

France

Great Britain

Netherlands

Italy

Sweden

Belgium

Brazil

Chile

South Africa

United States


Great Britain



67% of people in Britain think there is at least a fair amount of tension between those with more socially liberal, progressive ideas and those with more traditional values in the country.

Among western European nations, Spain (77%) has the highest perceptions of tension between these two groups.

South Korea (87%), Chile (86%) and the US (85%) come top overall for such perceived tensions.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between those with more socially liberal, progressive ideas and those with more traditional values in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

34%

38%

51%

52%

52%

55%

55%

56%

58%

60%

61%

65%

65%

66%

67%

69%

70%

71%

72%

72%

74%

74%

76%

77%

80%

85%

86%

87%

65%

Japan

China

Sweden

France

Saudi Arabia

Germany

Russia

Netherlands

Belgium

Australia

Canada

Malaysia

Singapore

Italy

Great Britain

India

Hungary

Turkey

South Africa

Poland

Mexico

Peru

Brazil

Spain

Argentina

United States

Chile

South Korea


Great Britain



Chile (84%) and Russia (82%) are ranked top for perceived tensions between the metropolitan elite and ordinary working people.

The British public’s views of tensions between these groups are in line with the global average (64% vs 62%), while among the western European nations surveyed, people in Germany are least likely of think these tensions are particularly significant (45%).

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between the metropolitan elite and ordinary working people in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

37%

39%

40%

45%

49%

55%

56%

57%

59%

59%

60%

60%

61%

61%

63%

64%

65%

68%

69%

69%

69%

70%

73%

73%

76%

78%

82%

84%

62%

China

Japan

Saudi Arabia

Germany

Netherlands

Australia

Canada

Poland

Spain

Belgium

Sweden

France

Italy

Singapore

Malaysia

Great Britain

India

South Africa

Mexico

Turkey

Brazil

Argentina

Peru

United States

Hungary

South Korea

Russia

Chile


Great Britain



36% of Britons say there is tension between men and women in the country –among the lowest of the nations surveyed and much lower than the US, where 53% of Americans think such tensions exist.

The Netherlands and Russia do best on this measure, with around a quarter of those in each nation believing there is tension across the gender divide.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between men and women in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

25%

27%

31%

33%

35%

36%

37%

37%

38%

39%

40%

41%

44%

47%

49%

50%

53%

58%

58%

62%

63%

63%

63%

65%

68%

69%

71%

80%

48%

Netherlands

Russia

Hungary

Japan

Germany

Great Britain

Canada

Poland

Sweden

Belgium

France

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Malaysia

Italy

Spain

United States

Australia

Argentina

Peru

China

Turkey

Chile

India

Brazil

Mexico

South Africa

South Korea


Great Britain



By global standards, relatively few people in Britain feel there is a notable amount of tension in their country between people who went to university and people who didn’t – 36% think there is, compared with 70% who say the same in South Korea.

And these perceived tensions in Britain are in line with similar European countries, such as France (35%) and Spain (34%).

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between those with a university education and those without a university education in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

27%

30%

31%

33%

33%

33%

34%

34%

35%

36%

41%

41%

42%

43%

46%

47%

50%

50%

54%

59%

61%

61%

61%

62%

62%

63%

66%

70%

47%

Netherlands

Russia

Australia

Japan

Germany

Canada

Spain

Sweden

France

Great Britain

Poland

Hungary

Belgium

Saudi Arabia

China

Italy

Argentina

United States

Turkey

Malaysia

South Africa

Mexico

Chile

India

Singapore

Brazil

Peru

South Korea


Great Britain



Britain is in line with the global country average for perceived tensions between people who support different political parties (70% vs 69%).

People in South Korea (91%), the US (90%), Hungary (88%) and Argentina (87%) are most likely to feel there is significant political tension in their country.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between people who support different political parties in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

31%

38%

40%

50%

53%

54%

55%

57%

57%

59%

61%

65%

70%

72%

73%

77%

81%

82%

82%

83%

84%

84%

85%

86%

87%

88%

90%

91%

69%

Japan

China

Saudi Arabia

Russia

Australia

Netherlands

Sweden

Germany

Belgium

Canada

France

Singapore

Great Britain

Italy

India

Malaysia

Spain

Peru

Mexico

Brazil

Poland

South Africa

Turkey

Chile

Argentina

Hungary

United States

South Korea


Great Britain



South Africa stands out for perceived tension between immigrants and those born in the country, with 89% thinking there is at least a fair amount of unease.

Britain is above the global country average on this measure (72% vs 66%), although perceptions of tensions around immigration are similar to other European nations, including Germany (74%) and France (75%).

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between immigrants and people born in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

35%

35%

49%

49%

51%

53%

60%

61%

61%

62%

63%

65%

65%

67%

70%

72%

73%

73%

74%

75%

76%

78%

78%

78%

79%

80%

81%

89%

66%

China

Japan

Argentina

Saudi Arabia

Brazil

Poland

Russia

Australia

Mexico

India

Canada

Hungary

Spain

South Korea

Malaysia

Great Britain

Netherlands

Turkey

Germany

France

Sweden

Singapore

United States

Chile

Italy

Peru

Belgium

South Africa


Great Britain



Chile (91%) and South Korea (91%) come top for perceived divisions between rich and poor.

European countries fare comparatively better, with Italy ranked highest among this group, with 77% believing there is at least a fair amount of tension between rich and poor.

72% of Britons feel this way, placing it in the bottom half of countries surveyed for perceptions of tension between these two groups of people.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between rich and poor [in country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

50%

54%

55%

57%

60%

67%

68%

68%

69%

69%

71%

72%

74%

75%

75%

76%

77%

79%

80%

81%

82%

84%

84%

85%

85%

86%

91%

91%

74%

Saudi Arabia

Japan

China

Netherlands

Sweden

Poland

Australia

Malaysia

Spain

Canada

Germany

Great Britain

France

Singapore

India

Belgium

Italy

Brazil

Turkey

United States

South Africa

Peru

Mexico

Argentina

Russia

Hungary

South Korea

Chile


Great Britain



People in Chile (88%) and South Korea (87%) are also most likely to think there is tension between different social classes in their country.

Again, Britain is ranked in the bottom half of countries surveyed for perceptions of this kind of tension (66%).

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between different social classes in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

41%

43%

44%

51%

57%

59%

59%

61%

63%

64%

66%

66%

67%

68%

69%

69%

69%

72%

74%

76%

76%

76%

77%

80%

81%

85%

87%

88%

67%

Saudi Arabia

China

Japan

Netherlands

Australia

Poland

Canada

Sweden

Germany

Malaysia

Great Britain

Spain

Belgium

France

Singapore

India

Italy

Turkey

South Africa

Russia

United States

Hungary

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

Argentina

South Korea

Chile


Great Britain



80% of people in South Korea think there is a great deal or fair amount of tension between old and young people in their country – far above India, where perceptions of generational tensions are second-worst, on 61%.

People in Sweden (29%) and France (31%) are least likely to perceive such tensions, while Britain comes in the bottom of half of nations surveyed (43%).

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between old and young in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

29%

31%

34%

36%

37%

38%

40%

41%

42%

42%

42%

43%

43%

44%

45%

47%

48%

49%

49%

52%

53%

53%

53%

54%

55%

58%

61%

80%

46%

Sweden

France

Netherlands

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Canada

Spain

Belgium

China

Germany

Japan

Great Britain

Australia

Poland

Argentina

Turkey

Malaysia

Chile

Italy

Hungary

Mexico

South Africa

Brazil

United States

Peru

Singapore

India

South Korea


Great Britain



People in South Korea (78%) and India (75%) are most likely to say there is at least a fair amount of tension between different religions in their country.

The proportion of the British public who feel the same (62%) is the same as in the US (63%), and in line with the global country average (57%).

23%

35%

37%

37%

45%

45%

48%

52%

53%

55%

56%

57%

58%

60%

61%

62%

62%

63%

63%

64%

64%

66%

66%

72%

73%

73%

75%

78%

57%

Japan

China

Hungary

Saudi Arabia

Argentina

Russia

Singapore

Chile

Canada

Peru

Spain

Poland

Turkey

Australia

Germany

Great Britain

Italy

Malaysia

United States

Netherlands

Sweden

South Africa

Mexico

France

Belgium

Brazil

India

South Korea


How much tension, if any, would you say there is between different religions in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

Great Britain



Tensions between people living in and outside of cities are seen to be the worst in Peru, where 66% there is at least a fair amount of unease between these two groups.

This is more than twice the proportion of people in Germany (25%), at the other end of the spectrum, who feel the same.

How much tension, if any, would you say there is between those in cities and those outside of cities in [country] today? % who say a great deal or fair amount

25%

29%

29%

32%

32%

32%

33%

36%

36%

37%

38%

38%

38%

39%

40%

40%

40%

40%

46%

49%

50%

52%

53%

55%

56%

58%

61%

66%

42%

Germany

Spain

Netherlands

Singapore

Belgium

China

Japan

Canada

Saudi Arabia

France

Australia

Turkey

Russia

Italy

Sweden

Hungary

Great Britain

Poland

United States

Brazil

Argentina

Chile

Mexico

Malaysia

South Africa

South Korea

India

Peru


Great Britain


Technical note

These are the results of a 28-market survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed a total of 23,004 adults aged 18-74 in Singapore, 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa and Turkey, 21-74 in Singapore and 16-74 in 22 other markets between 23 December 2020 and 8 January 2021.

The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Chile, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the U.S. can be taken as representative of their general adult population under the age of 75.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, mainland China, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these markets should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their population.

The data is weighted so that each country’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

“The Global Country Average” reflects the average result for all the countries where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country and is not intended to suggest a total result.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” or not stated responses.

@policyatkings www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute@policyatkings kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute

Kirstie HewlettResearch AssociateThe Policy InstituteKing’s College London

George MurkinActing Head of CommunicationsThe Policy InstituteKing’s College London

Ben PageChief ExecutiveIpsos MORI

Gideon SkinnerResearch DirectorIpsos MORI

Rebecca BensonResearch FellowThe Policy InstituteKing’s College London

Bobby DuffyDirectorThe Policy InstituteKing’s College London

Glenn GottfriedResearch ManagerIpsos MORI

Rachel HeskethResearch AssociateThe Policy InstituteKing’s College London

@ipsosMORI ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk

Gideon Skinner

[email protected]

@gideonskinner

The authors would also like to thank Alexa Dewar, Jack Summers, Sophie Townend and Constance Woollen for their work on various aspects of this study.

For more information, contact:

Bobby Duffy

[email protected]

@bobbyduffykings

doi.org/10.18742/pub01-054

https://twitter.com/policyatkings

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/index.aspx

https://twitter.com/IpsosMORI

https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk


https://twitter.com/gideonskinner?lang=en


https://twitter.com/bobbyduffykings?lang=en

https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-054

Documents

Culture wars around the world: how countries perceive divisions...Culture wars around the world: how countries perceive divisions For more information, contact: Bobby Duffy [email protected]