Appendix C
Survey findings in detail
Following is a closer look at some of the key findings of the Generation Peace survey.
Optimism
The percentage of people in Generation Peace who expect to be completely at peace in 5 years is triple the number who say they are at peace today (12% compared to 36%). The number of people age 35 and older who expect to be at peace in 5 years is less than double that of those who say they’re at peace today (17% compared to 33%). This suggests Generation Peace is more optimistic than older age groups about achieving personal peace in the future.
Economic security
Generation Peace is less likely than older age groups to say that economic security is a very important aspect of "personal peace" in their lives. 65% of those ages 18-34 said that having economic security was very important to them. This is somewhat lower than the 71% of those over age 35 who said that economic security was a very important aspect of their personal peace. The biggest difference was between women over the age of 35 (76%) and men of Generation Peace (62%). This suggests not only an understandable influence life stage may have on attitudes toward inner peace, but may suggest that attitudes differ by gender as well.
Definition of community
When asked to rate on a scale from 1 to 5 where they feel they are part of an active community, members of Generation Peace say they feel like a more active part of a community when they are at work (average score of 3.1 vs. 2.8 for older age groups) or online (average score of 2.7 vs. 2.4 for older age groups) than those age 35 and older. People age 35 and older are more likely than Generation Peace to say they feel part of a community in their neighborhood (average score of 3.0 vs. 2.8 for Generation Peace) or at their religious place of worship (average score of 3.0 vs. 2.8). This suggests that the definition of community is changing. For Generation Peace, community is less likely to mean face-to-face interaction and proximity to home. Therefore, community is becoming defined less by proximity and more by relationships.
Community service
Generation Peace and older age groups are mostly aligned in their perceptions of community service. “Supporting charities” was the prevalent understanding of community service in the survey. But while previous research has shown that volunteerism rates are at historically high levels among both adult and youth populations, the survey indicates that Generation Peace (17%) is much more likely than older age groups (7%) to associate the phrase “community service” specifically with youth groups doing volunteer projects to earn credit or achieve goals. Previous research has suggested that this may be, in part, because of an increase in service-learning programs in schools and colleges that combine classroom study with community activity.
Who should lead?
Members of Generation Peace (30%) are less likely than older groups (40%) to perceive religious leaders as doing the most now to promote personal peace. Similarly, when asked who they think should be doing the most to promote personal peace, only 24% of Generation Peace (vs. 35% of older people) agreed it should be religious leaders. People from both groups thought politicians and community leaders should be doing the most. Even though they are likely to say they are as spiritual as their parents, the survey suggests Generation Peace is not relying as heavily as older people on religion to achieve personal peace.
Activities that bring peace
Both age groups agree that individual acts of kindness do the most to promote peace and harmony in their communities. Generation Peace, however, is more likely than older people to believe that participation in activities initiated by employers (average score of 2.8 vs. 2.6 on a five-point scale) and activities initiated by government organizations (average score of 2.8 vs. 2.7 on a five-point scale) promote a sense of community peace and harmony. In contrast, those age 35 and older are more likely than Generation Peace to say that activities initiated by religious organizations promote a sense of community peace and harmony (average score of 3.4 vs. 3.2 on a five-point scale). Once again, while perceiving themselves as just as spiritual as older age groups, it appears Generation Peace is less reliant on religious organizations to bring peace to their communities. This is consistent with other research showing a decline in volunteering through churches.
Community vs. nation vs. world
When asked to what degree they felt that being in their community, the nation, or the world promotes the achievement of personal peace, people age 35 and older were more likely than Generation Peace to say that being in their community (42% vs. 36%) or in the United States (46% vs. 34%) either strongly or somewhat promotes the achievement of personal peace. In contrast, members of Generation Peace are more likely than older age groups to say that being in the world (30% vs. 24%) promotes the achievement of personal peace. This suggests that Generation Peace looks at things with less of a local or nationalistic perspective and believes that achieving peace has a global scope.
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