Ronald Reagan Center on Civility and Democracy
Reagan National Civility Survey 2026
2026 Survey
What can sports teach us about citizenship? Explore findings from a national survey that examines the connection between sportsmanship, civility, and democratic life in America.
Civility and Sportsmanship
Americans have not forgotten how to disagree respectfully. They practice it every weekend in stadiums, arenas and living rooms across the country. A new national survey from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation’s Center on Civility and Democracy finds that while Americans are increasingly frustrated by politics and civil discourse, they strongly believe in the principles of sportsmanship, even as many feel those same values have disappeared from public life.
The survey reveals sports as a rare cultural institution where Americans from different backgrounds, political affiliations and beliefs routinely gather, disagree and accept common rules and outcomes. Despite a political landscape that feels divisive, harsh and sometimes violent, this survey reminds us of the positive example set forth by sports for how Americans can compete fiercely while also upholding the values of sportsmanship.
“True peace is based on self-determination, respect for individual rights, open and honest communications, and that is the kind of peace we want.”
October 19, 1985
The United Nations' founders understood that true peace must be based on more than just reducing the means of waging war. It must address the sources of tension that provoke men to take up arms. True peace is based on self-determination, respect for individual rights, open and honest communications, and that is the kind of peace we want.
— Radio Address to the Nation on the 40th Anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly
