A majority of people in the United States feel they cannot share their political opinions publicly, according to a study released Thursday.
A total of 62% said they have political convictions they are afraid to share, a survey conducted by the Cato Institute found. The study found 50% of people who described themselves as “strong liberals” supported firing business executives who donated to President Trump, while 36% of “strong conservatives” support firing Joe Biden donors.
Separately, 32% of all respondents indicated they are worried about missing out on job opportunities because of their political opinions.
Majorities of Democrats (52%), independents (59%), and Republicans (77%) all agree they have political opinions they are afraid to share.
Nearly a third of all those polled said they worry sharing their political opinions could affect their employment, a figure that represents 31% of liberals, 30% of moderates, and 34% of conservatives.
In 2017, the number of people who said they feel they cannot share their political opinions was at just 58%.
“Taking these results together indicates that a significant majority of Americans with diverse political views and backgrounds self‐censor their political opinions. This large number from across demographic groups suggests withheld opinions may not simply be radical or fringe perspectives in the process of being socially marginalized,” read an analysis of the data gathered. “Instead many of these opinions may be shared by a large number of people. Opinions so widely shared are likely shaping how people think about salient policy issues and ultimately impacting how they vote. But if people feel they cannot discuss these important policy matters, such views will not have an opportunity to be scrutinized, understood, or reformed.”
The Cato Institute commissioned the study in collaboration with YouGov, which collected responses online from July 1 to July 6 with a sample of 2,000 Americans across the country who were 18 years of age and older. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 2.36 points.
