A survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found increased civic knowledge among Americans.
The 2025 Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey showed an increase in basic knowledge of constitutional rights and government, while also finding stark partisan differences in views of the Supreme Court. 70% of American adults were able to identify all three branches of the United States government: the legislative, executive, and judicial — an increase from 65% in the 2024 survey.
When asked about freedoms protected by the First Amendment, 79% of respondents correctly named freedom of speech, a five point increase from 2024. As in previous years, the majority of Americans could not identify another freedom. However, the runner-up — freedom of religion — was cited by 48% of respondents, up from 39% in 2024.
40% of respondents were able to name three or more freedoms, a significant bump from 30% in 2024. 21% incorrectly said that the First Amendment protects the right to bear arms, a freedom guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
The survey also found large partisan gaps in attitudes toward the Supreme Court. 41% of surveyed adults expressed at least a moderate amount of trust in the Court, with 75% of Republicans doing so, compared to only 18% of Democrats and 38% of independents.
The results from the survey continue the trend of diminishing public confidence in the Supreme Court. Last year, the survey found 44% of Americans expressed trust in the Court, a record low at the time. When APPC first asked the question in 2005, three in four voters said they trusted the Court.
According to Penn political science professor and director of APPC’s Institutions of Democracy division Matt Levendusky, the loss of trust comes after politically contentious decisions, such as the Court’s 2022 reversal of the federal right to abortion in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“Trust has fallen sharply and become polarized,” Levendusky said in an APPC press release. “Even after previous controversial decisions, like Bush v. Gore, trust in the court rebounded. But in the years since Dobbs, it has continued to erode.”
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The survey found bipartisan support for several Supreme Court reforms, including 80% favoring mandatory recusals of justices in cases in which they have “personal or financial interests.”
According to Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the survey’s findings highlight the crucial role of civic education in strengthening democracy.
“People can’t cherish, safeguard, or exercise their constitutionally protected rights unless they know that they have them and understand how effective use of them sustains our system of government,” Jamieson said in the press release. “Civics education at home and in schools should be a high priority as a result.”
