Kettering-Gallup Study Finds Community Involvement and Civic Education Strengthen Democratic Participation Despite Widespread Barriers

A Kettering–Gallup study of 20,000+ Americans finds widespread doubt about whether citizens have real influence in democracy, but shows that community involvement and civic education strongly increase civic confidence and participation. Most Americans want to engage but face major barriers—especially time constraints, lack of invitation, and uncertainty about how to participate—disproportionately affecting low-income people and young adults. Those with strong civic education or regular community involvement are far more likely to volunteer and believe citizens can drive change. Heavy social media use has mixed effects, increasing feelings of empowerment but also correlating with lower democratic support and greater acceptance of political violence.

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A major new study from the Kettering Foundation's Democracy for All Project in partnership with Gallup reveals that while only one in four Americans believes the people's role in the democratic process is working well, those who get involved in their communities and have meaningful civic education feel significantly more empowered to create change. The survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults conducted between July and August 2025 finds the majority of Americans report paying at least moderate attention to government and political matters and actively participating or wanting to participate in organizations or groups aimed at improving their communities, yet Americans are divided on whether ordinary citizens hold meaningful power: 35% say citizens have a great deal or moderate amount of power to create change in the nation while a nearly equal share (33%) say they have very little or almost none. The Democracy for All Project represents the most extensive annual study of how Americans experience and participate in the democratic system, with this second report concentrating on the role of the American public in democracy, following a first report exploring how Americans view democracy both as an ideal and a current performance.

The study reveals that barriers to participation are widespread and unequal, with nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) reporting multiple obstacles to getting involved in issues or causes they care about—work or family obligations top the list at 47%, but knowledge and access gaps are almost as common with 43% saying they haven't been invited or encouraged to participate, 42% unsure how to get involved, and 42% saying they don't know enough about the issues. These barriers fall hardest on those already facing disadvantages: two-thirds of Americans finding it very difficult to get by financially report four or more barriers to participation compared with 37% of those living comfortably on their present income, while young adults report the most barriers of any age group yet express the strongest desire to get involved with nearly half of young adults who don't volunteer saying they have wanted to participate. Community involvement emerges as strongly linked to faith in democracy, with 56% of those who frequently attend community events believing ordinary citizens can create change compared with just 26% of those who never attend, and volunteers and those who attend local events also more likely to agree that democracy is the best form of government and to say U.S. democracy is performing well.

Civic education emerges as a powerful lever for democratic engagement, with Americans who received both formal civic education in school and informal education from parents or other adults showing far greater engagement: 42% volunteered in the past year compared with only 20% of those with little or no civic education, and they are more than twice as likely to believe the people's role in democracy is working well (33% versus 16%). Notably, civic education appears to matter more than educational attainment alone, with college graduates and non-graduates with strong civic education backgrounds showing similarly elevated rates of participation and perceptions of civic efficacy—yet one in four Americans (25%) report receiving little to no civic education of any kind, pointing to significant opportunity for schools, families, and community organizations to close the gap. The study also finds mixed results for heavy social media use (five or more hours daily on platforms), with heavy users more likely to say they feel valued and respected and to believe in citizens' power to create change, yet less likely to endorse democracy as the best form of government and more likely to accept political violence, reject compromise, and support government influence over news media—with heavy social media use also linked to greater feelings of information overload associated with reduced confidence in participating in democratic processes.