Americans like diversity, survey finds, (At least in the abstract)

Overall, about 3 in 4 adults said that a diverse population is either somewhat or very good for the country, according to the survey, published on Wednesday by the Pew Research Center. That view is even more prevalent among Democrats and individuals with higher education.

On matters of diversity, Americans are often divided along party lines, with Democrats tending to be more likely to embrace ethnic, racial and cultural differences, according to the poll, which surveyed more than 6,600 adults earlier this year.

Consider views on how population diversity affects the national culture. Overall, half of Republicans and three-quarters of Democrats said diversity has a positive effect in the country. Conversely, 21% of Republicans said diversity negatively affects the national culture, compared with 5% of Democrats. (For this survey, Pew defined Republicans as anyone who identifies as or leans Republican, and Democrats as those who identify as or lean Democratic.)

Workplace diversity was another issue on which Americans diverged by party. Generally, those surveyed found it very or somewhat important for companies and organizations to promote a diverse labor force, yet only 36% of Democrats and just 9% of Republicans said that race and ethnicity should be considered in hiring as a means to increase such diversity.

Even when looking only at white respondents, views continued to diverge along party lines. For example, among those who live in the least diverse neighborhoods, about 45% of white Democrats said they wished their communities were more racially mixed, compared with 12% of white Republicans.

The divide also extends to views regarding non-English speakers. Among white Republicans, nearly half — 47% — said that hearing a foreign language spoken in public would bother them somewhat or a lot. Eighteen percent of white Democrats said the same. (Fifty-eight percent of white Democrats said they wouldn’t be bothered at all, compared with 26% of white Republicans.)

Of course, party affiliation is not the only factor that divides Americans’ opinions on diversity. Race and education play roles, too.

When it comes to hiring, for example, 78% of white adults said that only a job candidate’s qualifications should be considered, even if workplace diversity suffers, while 54% of black adults said the same.

Black adults also placed a much higher premium on diversity in schools, with 68% saying children should attend schools that are racially and ethnically mixed even if those institutions are outside a child’s local community. Only 49% of Asians and Hispanics, and 35% of whites, agreed.

Regardless of race, formal education was tied closely to overall views on diversity. Among whites as well as blacks with a high school education or less, 63% said that it was very or somewhat good that the national population was made up of people of many races and ethnicities. That number rose to 87% when asked of white and black adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.