TABLE OF CONTENTS: List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter One: A Question of Values 1
The Widespread Perception of Crisis 2
Three Ways to Think About a Crisis of Values--Loss, Unfavorable Comparison, and Division 6
Threats to America as an Imagined Community 10
Conclusion 13
Chapter Two: America's Values in Global Context 17
Two Dimensions of Cultural Variation and Change 18
Global Cultural Maps 22
Loss of Traditional Values 35
Unfavorable Comparisons with Other Societies 38
Why Have Some Values Changed and Others Stayed the Same? 42
Conclusion 61
Chapter Three: Culture War 64
The Culture War Thesis 65
The Polarization of Americans 73
Linkage of the Hierarchy of Beliefs 85
The Connection between Social Capital and Moral Visions 95
Is There an American Culture War--Could There Be? 103
Conclusion 107
Chapter Four: Dynamics of Crisis 110
Tides of American History 112
An Interpretation of the Dynamics of Crisis 134
Conclusion 156
Chapter Five: The Search for Meaning 159
Mixed Systems, Cultural Contradictions, and Cognitive Dissonance 161
Rising Spirituality and the "New Age" 166
The Special Role of Absolutism in America 173
An Integration of Opposites 180
Summary of Key Findings 183
Appendix A: World Values Surveys 189
Appendix B: Statistical Tables 197
Notes 251
Index 299
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