The feasting season is upon us, and this week, many will likely eat turkey with relatives, neighbors and close friends of varying generations, religious views and political affiliations—which can make for some interesting conversation. Getting together over the holidays can be almost notoriously fraught for many reasons (not to mention the presence of smartphones, which more than 4 in 10 parents tell Barna disrupt family meals). Over the years, Barna research has provided insights on some of the delicate or even difficult dynamics that might exist across generations or simply across the dinner table.

Attitudes About America Are Generally Mixed In a divided national climate, few topics have the ability to raise the blood pressure in the room like patriotism, a concept at the heart of recent headlines on everything from immigration policies to the national anthem, as well as the origins of the Thanksgiving tradition itself. A Barna survey covering attitudes about the U.S. implies that American exceptionalism is widespread—albeit with a few caveats. More than four-fifths of the general population (81%) agree that, “generally speaking, the U.S. is a better country than most other countries.” Three-quarters of churchgoers (75%) say the same, which exceeds the two-thirds of non-Christian U.S. adults (67%) who feel their country is superior. The numbers are lower when it comes to churchgoers of an ethnic minority; this group is the least likely to agree (33% “strongly” + 33% “somewhat”). But these sentiments coexist with others that point toward embarrassment: Another four-fifths of U.S. adults (79%) believe there are some things about America today that make them feel ashamed.

Christians Who Embrace Faith Conversations Tackle Other Topics Most U.S. adults, Christian or not, prefer that their partners in conversations on spiritual matters are close friends or family members. A majority of practicing Christians (61%), non-practicing Christians (55%) and non-Christians (55%) choose “a friend” as the person they most want to talk with about faith. Other, more distant relatives rank much lower on the list—so it’s possible religion might not come up at family gatherings. But other Christians may embrace it. Barna found that Eager Conversationalists (Christians who have had 10 more conversations about faith in the past year) seem to be more open and interested in turning ordinary encounters into spiritual conversations. They are also more likely to have engaged in conversations about other subjects that might commonly ruffle feathers, including health (80% vs. 71% of Reluctant Conversationalists), politics (77% vs. 68%), parenting (69% vs. 55%) and LGBTQ issues (55% vs. 41%). While these individuals might not shy away from spiritual and other topics, non-Christians are more cautious about broaching the subject of religion. Six out of 10 say a person must not share if their religious beliefs are “disrespectful or judgmental.” Practicing Christians see fewer barriers to spiritual conversations, but they align with non-Christians in showing concern about the motivation or mood of the person who is sharing; four in 10 say talking about faith in anger is unacceptable.