Barna conducts tens of thousands of interviews every year that span dozens of topics affecting people in every sphere of life. While some of this research is available to readers on the website and in our reports, we realized we didn’t have a place where all this research existed together. Barna Trends 2017 is that place—and in its 240 pages, readers can see how all of the research fits together and paints a more comprehensive picture of today’s social landscape. In celebration of this first annual release, here is a preview of the biggest and best insights from the past 18 months of Barna’s research, spanning the categories of culture, life and faith.

Trends in Culture

More than 45 pages of articles, Q+As and infographics covering mindsets and movements within the broader public, from the internet to the voting booth, including these highlights:

The Tension and Polarization of American Politics (Pages 32-39 in Barna Trends) Deep ideological tensions continue to divide our nation. The growing gap between liberals and conservatives has come to define the American political landscape, and seems unlikely to change any time soon. Barna has witnessed deep tensions on a number of political and social issues including immigration, race, healthcare, the environment, abortion, and same-sex marriage. For example, Barna asked American adults whether they believe immigrants and refugees take jobs from Americans. Their answers demonstrate this stark divide: Seven out of 10 conservatives (70%) either strongly or somewhat agree with this statement compared to only one-quarter of liberals (27%).

America’s New Moral Code: Self-fulfillment (Pages 50-53 in Barna Trends) Christian morality is being ushered out of our social structures and off the cultural main stage, leaving a vacuum in its place—and the broader culture is attempting to fill that void. There is growing concern about the moral condition of the nation, even as many American adults admit they are uncertain about how to determine right from wrong, often opting to look within themselves rather than to any external, more traditional sources of authority. Barna has dubbed this new moral code, “The Morality of Self-Fulfillment” in which Americans value “finding themselves” as the highest good.