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I'm going to read two statements about what works of art should Do. Please tell me which statement is closest to your opinion.
Aim of art: beauty or free expression · Asked in 2 waves, 1998–2025 · 2,510 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Answers from the 2024 GSS Next follow-on (Aug 2025) are a separate poll: a web-only survey of people who had finished the 2024 GSS interview, so mode and timing differ from the other years.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → web (2025).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Art works should celebrate what is most beautiful about the world and the human spirit |
|---|
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Social Survey 2024: GSS Next follow-on | 2025-08-20 to 2025-10-21 | web | 1,065 | 1,065 |
| General Social Survey 1998 | 1998-02-01 to 1998-06-19 | face to face | 2,832 | 1,445 |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → web (2025).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| Art works should freely express an artist’s deepest thoughts and emotions, good or bad |
|---|
| n |
|---|
| MoE |
|---|
| All respondents | 29% | 71% | 1065 | ±5 | |
| Democrats | 14% | 86% | 336 | ±8 | |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 27% | 73% | 432 | ±7 | |
| Republicans | 46% | 54% | 258 | ±9 |
General Social Survey 2024: GSS Next follow-on · US adults 18+ who completed the 2024 GSS interview and then this web follow-on (weighted to the adult population). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.