Methodology
Survey version 1.0 of The American Values & Freedoms Survey. The complete questionnaire, recruitment sources, quality standards, and limitations are published below.
Sample sources and sizes
| Recruitment source | Completed responses | Field dates | Sample type |
|---|---|---|---|
| No completed responses have been recorded for this version yet. | |||
Weighting
Voluntary opt-in responses are never weighted or projected to the U.S. adult population. Weighting is applied only to a dataset that an administrator has approved as a properly recruited research sample, and the weighting benchmarks are published alongside those results.
Exclusion rules and quality control
- Sessions completing in under three minutes are flagged for review.
- Repeated identical response patterns across scale items are flagged.
- Probable repeat participation from the same browser is flagged.
- No flagged response is deleted automatically. A person reviews every flag.
- Every exclusion and restoration is written to an audit log.
- Subgroup results are suppressed below 50 qualifying responses.
Complete questionnaire
Question wording is locked to a version. Any edit to a published question creates a new survey version rather than changing past results.
Protection of Life and Abortion
1. Which statement comes closest to your view?
- Unborn life should receive full legal protection beginning at conception
- Legal protection should increase as pregnancy progresses
- Legal protection should generally begin at fetal viability
- The pregnant woman's decision should generally control until birth
- None of these fully reflects my view
- Not sure
2. In general, which abortion policy comes closest to your view?
- Legal in all or almost all cases
- Legal in most cases
- Illegal in most cases
- Illegal in all or almost all cases
- Not sure
3. When should legal protection for unborn life generally begin?
- Conception
- Detectable heartbeat
- Fetal viability
- Birth
- Another point
- No legal protection before birth
- Not sure
4. Which exceptions, if any, should abortion laws include?
- Serious threat to the mother's life
- Serious threat to the mother's physical health
- Pregnancy resulting from rape
- Pregnancy resulting from incest
- Fatal fetal abnormality
- Severe but nonfatal fetal abnormality
- No exceptions
- Abortion should remain generally legal
- Not sure
5. Regardless of abortion law, government and communities should expand practical support for pregnant women, mothers, fathers, and children.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
6. Which supports should receive greater public or charitable investment?
- Prenatal care
- Childbirth costs
- Paid family leave
- Childcare
- Housing and food assistance
- Adoption support
- Pregnancy-resource centers
- Fatherhood programs
- Parenting education
- Mental-health services
- None of these
- Not sure
7. Fathers should have financial responsibilities beginning during pregnancy.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
8. Who should have primary responsibility for helping women facing an unexpected pregnancy?
- The child's father
- Extended family
- Churches and charities
- State government
- Federal government
- Employers
- Healthcare providers
- The broader community
- Another group
- Not sure
Religious Liberty
9. People should generally be free to practice and express their religious beliefs in public life.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
10. Religious freedom should protect people of every faith as well as people with no religious faith.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
11. Religious-liberty protections should apply equally when a religious belief is unpopular or belongs to a minority faith.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
12. When religious practice conflicts with a generally applicable law, which approach comes closest to your view?
- Government should usually grant a religious exception
- Government should decide each situation individually
- The same law should usually apply without exception
- Not sure
13. When a business owner's religious beliefs conflict with a customer's request, which should generally receive greater protection?
- The business owner's religious freedom
- Mostly the business owner's religious freedom
- Both should receive equal consideration
- Mostly the customer's right to equal service
- The customer's right to equal service
- It depends on the circumstances
- Not sure
14. How concerned are you that religious liberty is being restricted in the United States?
- Very concerned
- Somewhat concerned
- Not too concerned
- Not at all concerned
- Not sure
15. Government should be permitted to restrict religious gatherings when the same restrictions apply equally to comparable nonreligious gatherings.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
Parental Rights and Education
16. Parents should have the primary role in decisions about their children's education and values.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
17. Public schools should notify parents before providing instruction on sensitive subjects involving sexuality or gender.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
18. Public schools should make curriculum materials and instructional resources available for parents to review online.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
19. Parents should be permitted to opt their children out of instruction that substantially conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
20. A student's privacy may sometimes justify keeping information from parents.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
21. At what age, if any, should a student have some right to confidential conversations with a school counselor?
- Under age 12
- Ages 12-13
- Ages 14-15
- Ages 16-17
- Only at age 18
- Never while the student is a minor
- It depends on whether the student faces a credible safety risk
- Not sure
22. When parental preferences conflict with professional educational standards, which should usually carry more weight?
- Parents
- Mostly parents
- Both equally
- Mostly educators and schools
- Educators and schools
- Not sure
23. Which statement comes closest to your view of public education?
- Schools should primarily reflect the values of parents in their local community
- Schools should balance parental input with professional educational standards
- Schools should primarily follow professional standards even when some parents disagree
- None of these fully reflects my view
- Not sure
Freedom of Speech
24. The law should protect speech that many people consider offensive, provided it does not constitute a direct threat or unlawful conduct.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
25. How concerned are you that government may restrict lawful political or religious speech?
- Very concerned
- Somewhat concerned
- Not too concerned
- Not at all concerned
- Not sure
26. How concerned are you that private online platforms may unfairly restrict political or religious viewpoints?
- Very concerned
- Somewhat concerned
- Not too concerned
- Not at all concerned
- Not sure
27. Which position comes closest to your view?
- Protecting open expression should usually take priority
- Decisions should depend on the circumstances
- Preventing harmful or misleading expression should usually take priority
- Not sure
28. Which kinds of expression should online platforms be permitted to remove?
- Direct threats of violence
- Targeted harassment
- Knowingly false factual claims
- Political misinformation
- Religious criticism
- Offensive but lawful opinions
- Content encouraging illegal activity
- None of these
- Not sure
29. The government should be prohibited from pressuring private companies to suppress lawful speech that the government could not legally censor itself.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
30. People should have the same legal free-speech protections regardless of whether their viewpoint is liberal, conservative, religious, or nonreligious.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
Government Power and Constitutional Limits
31. Does the federal government currently have too much power, too little power, or about the right amount?
- Too much power
- About the right amount
- Too little power
- Not sure
32. How much confidence do you have that federal agencies use their authority fairly across political and religious groups?
- A great deal
- A fair amount
- Not very much
- None at all
- Not sure
33. Courts should be willing to invalidate laws that violate constitutional rights, even when those laws are popular.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
34. Which position comes closest to your view of how judges should interpret the Constitution?
- Emphasize the constitutional text and its original public meaning
- Consider text, precedent, history, and present-day conditions
- Adapt constitutional meaning primarily to present-day needs
- None of these fully reflects my view
- Not sure
35. Government emergency powers should automatically expire unless lawmakers vote to extend them.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
36. Government surveillance powers should require meaningful judicial oversight, even when officials say the surveillance is necessary for national security.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
37. Government agencies should be required to disclose contacts with private companies involving the moderation or removal of lawful political speech.
- Strongly agree
- Somewhat agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Not sure
Priorities and Civic Outlook
38. Which three issues should receive the greatest attention?
- Protection of unborn life
- Support for pregnant women, mothers, fathers, and children
- Religious liberty
- Parental rights
- Freedom of speech
- Limits on government power
- Government accountability
- Another issue
39. Do you believe Americans can still find workable common ground on these issues?
- Definitely yes
- Probably yes
- Probably no
- Definitely no
- Not sure
40. How much had you thought about these issues before taking this survey?
- A great deal
- A fair amount
- A little
- Almost none
- Not sure
41. In your own words, what principle should guide the country when rights, responsibilities, and competing interests conflict?
Optional open-ended response, 1000 character limit.
42. Do you believe any question in this survey was worded unfairly or appeared to favor one viewpoint?
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
Q42_detail. Which question, and what would you change?
Optional open-ended response, 1000 character limit.
About You
D1. Age
- 18-24
- 25-34
- 35-44
- 45-54
- 55-64
- 65 or older
- Prefer not to answer
D2. Gender
- Man
- Woman
- Another identity
- Prefer not to answer
D3. Race and ethnicity
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Hispanic or Latino
- Middle Eastern or North African
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- White
- Another race or ethnicity
- Prefer not to answer
D4. Education
- High school or less
- Some college or associate degree
- Bachelor's degree
- Graduate degree
- Prefer not to answer
D5. U.S. state
D6. Community type
- Urban
- Suburban
- Small town
- Rural
- Prefer not to answer
D7. Political identification
- Democrat
- Republican
- Independent
- Another affiliation
- No political affiliation
- Prefer not to answer
D8. Political outlook
- Very liberal
- Somewhat liberal
- Moderate
- Somewhat conservative
- Very conservative
- Prefer not to answer
D9. Religious identification
- Christian
- Jewish
- Muslim
- Another religion
- Agnostic
- Atheist
- Nothing in particular
- Prefer not to answer
D10. Christian identification
- Protestant
- Catholic
- Orthodox
- Nondenominational
- Another Christian tradition
- Prefer not to answer
D11. Frequency of religious-service attendance
- More than weekly
- Weekly
- Monthly
- A few times a year
- Rarely
- Never
- Prefer not to answer
D12. Are you a parent or legal guardian of a child under age 18?
- Yes
- No
- Prefer not to answer
D13. Voter registration
- Registered to vote
- Not registered to vote
- Unsure
- Prefer not to answer
Contact for research questions
Questions about wording, sampling, or data handling may be sent through the contact page on StanleyGauss.com. Please reference “American Values Project methodology” in your message.