State of the First Amendment Survey, 2005

DOI

10.17605/OSF.IO/59SJF

Summary

The State of the First Amendment survey, conducted annually (since 1997, except for 1998) for the First Amendment Center, examines public attitudes toward the freedoms of speech, press, and religion and the rights of assembly and petition. Core questions, asked each year, include awareness of First Amendment freedoms, overall assessments of whether there is too much or too little freedom of speech, press, and religion in the United States, levels of tolerance for various types of public expression (such as flag-burning and singing songs with potentially offensive lyrics), levels of tolerance for various journalistic behaviors, attitudes toward prayer in schools, and level of support for amending the Constitution to prohibit flag-burning or defacement. Additional (non-core) questions asked in the 2005 survey include attitudes toward religious freedom in the workplace, freedom of expression in the public schools, the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, the confidentiality of library records, and government's ability to restrict various types of content in public broadcasts.

The ARDA has added six additional variables to the original data set to enhance the users' experience on our site.

Data File

Cases: 1003
Variables: 71
Weight Variable: None

Data Collection

May 13, 2005 - May 23, 2005

Funded By

The First Amendment Center
American Journalism Review

Collection Procedures

Computer-aided telephone interview surveys

Sampling Procedures

A total of 1,003 telephone interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized adults in the United States by the New England Survey Research Associates. These interviews took place on weekday evenings, on Saturday mornings and afternoons, and on Sunday afternoons and evenings.

Principal Investigators

The First Amendment Center