Sociology Now, Census Update

only 10 percent of marriages were preceded by a period of cohabitation. But
between 1990 and 1994, that number increased to 57 percent, and it remains
there today. Nonmarital sex is a standard plot element routinely portrayed
in American TV programs, movies, books, even commercials, with little
public outcry.
There are two consequences of holding such contradictory and incon-
sistent values. For one thing, it means that values are less the guiding prin-
ciples of all our actions and more a sort of collection of attitudes we can
hold situationally to justify and rationalize our belief and actions. And it
also means that we become a deeply divided nation, in which clusters of atti-
tudes seem to cohere around two separate poles. In the 2004 presidential
election, these were the “red” states (those that voted for George W. Bush)
and the “blue states” (those that voted for John Kerry) (Figure 2.2).
Sometimes expressed as a “culture war” between the left and the right,
liberals and conservatives, these clusters suggest that the United States is a
deeply and fundamentally divergent society, in which attitudes and behav-
iors tend to revolve around two opposing positions. Many different groups
may also hold different sets of values.

Cultural Expressions

Cultures are the sets of symbols and rituals that unite groups of people,
enable them to feel part of something bigger and more enduring than just
their own individual existence. Despite the remarkable diversity in the
world’s cultures, they also share certain features in common.

CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS 55

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

PERCENT

1972 1996 2004

YEAR

Always wrong or almost always wrong

Wrong only sometimes

Not wrong at all

FIGURE 2.1American Attitudes

about Nonmarital, Heterosexual Sex,

1972–2004

Source:General Social Survey Data, 1972–2004

Montana

3

Wash.

11

Oregon

7

Calif.

55

Nevada

5

Arizona

10

Utah

6

Idaho

(^4) Wyoming
3
Colorado
9
New Mexico
5
Texas
34
Oklahoma
7
Missouri
11
Va. 13
N.C. 15
S.C.
Georgia^8
Miss. 6 Ala. 9 15
Arkansas
6
La.
(^9) Fla.
27
Nebraska
4
Kansas
6
S. Dakota
3
N. Dakota
(^3) Minn.
10
Iowa
7
Illinois
21
Ind.
11
Ohio
20
Kent. 8
Tenn. 11
W.
Va. 5
Pa.
21
N.Y.
Wis. 31
10 Mich.
17
Vt. 3
N.H. 4
Maine
4
Mass. 12
R.I. 4
Conn. 7
N.J. 15
Delaware 3
Maryland 10
Alaska
3
Hawaii
4
Bush (R)
Kerry (D)
The numbers indicate electoral votes per state.

FIGURE 2.2 2004 Presidential Election: Red vs. Blue

Notes:Women consistently think it is more wrong;

White people are more likely than Black people to say

it is wrong; and the upper-class is least likely to think

it is wrong.