The Atlantic

The Death of Community and the Rise of Trump

What does a decreasing attachment to religious and civic institutions in white, working-class America mean for the country's political future?
Source: Joshua Roberts / Reuters

In 2016, 57 percent of white Americans who voted chose Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. More white men voted for Trump than women. A plurality of young white people voted Trump, as did roughly two-thirds of white people without college degrees.

While these stats may seem to tell a simple story about race and partisanship in the United States, they conceal demographic shifts among white voters that will be significant in future elections. White Americas, especially the young and the working classes, are largely becoming detached from religious and civic

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