海角大神

Millennials tend to tilt politically left of center, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e Democrats.

Also called Generation Y, this group of much-worried-about, mostly 20-somethings is decidedly less tapped into political parties, organized religion, marriage, and other traditional institutions than are their older counterparts, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center. They are also less engaged with such institutions than were earlier generations of young people.

The poll 鈥� which is consistent with prior research on what Millennials think, do, want, and feel 鈥� portrays an American generation that adopts issues, not institutions.

Its members, the poll found, are much more likely to cross partisan lines, voting for candidates who promise progressive action on causes they care about, like allowing gay marriage and legalizing marijuana. They also, by and large, believe in God, but are less likely than older people to feel that they must sit in the pews to do so.

鈥淭he Millennial generation is forging a distinctive path into adulthood,鈥� as the Pew report puts it.

The findings are based on a February Pew survey of about 1,800 adults, including 617 adult Millennials (people between the ages of 18 and 33). Pew also divided the results into Gen Xers, ages 34 to 49; baby boomers, ages 50 to 68; and the so-colled Silent Generation, ages 69 to 86.

Fully half of Millennials describe themselves as political independents, the highest level of political disaffiliation Pew has seen in 25 years of polling on the issue. Among Gen-Xers, 39 percent say they鈥檙e not tethered to a political party, as do about 32 percent of Silents.

In another tell-off to political parties, just 31 percent of Millennials say there is a significant difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. Fifty-eight percent of the Silents, by contrast, report that the two parties are very distinct.

But if Millennials have no fealty to parties, they do have political opinions. About 68 percent of Millennials support same-sex marriage, compared with about 55 percent of Gen Xers and about 48 percent of boomers.

Plus, almost 70 percent of Millennials support pot legalization, and more than half support bigger government, both of which older generations are less likely to get behind, the poll found.

So far, Millennials鈥� support for these issues means they鈥檙e more likely to vote Democratic than Republican: About 27 percent of Millennials reported a Democratic affiliation, and 17 percent identified as Republican, the poll found.

鈥淭heir views are much more aligned with the Democratic Party,鈥� Paul Taylor, Pew鈥檚 executive vice president and co-author of the report, told the Associated Press.

Millennials鈥� 鈥渄on鈥檛 join 鈥榚m鈥� attitude extends somewhat to their views on organized religion, with almost 30 percent saying they are unaffiliated with any religion. That鈥檚 in contrast to 21 percent of Gen Xers, 16 percent of boomers, and 9 percent of Silents who report no religious affiliation.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean Millennials aren鈥檛 interested in religious matters. In fact, 86 percent of Millennials say they believe in God, and about 58 percent say they鈥檙e 鈥渁bsolutely certain鈥� that God exists, according to a 2012 survey by Pew Research Center鈥檚 Religion & Public Life Project.

The poll鈥檚 findings also show that 20-somethings are much less likely to be married than were older generations when they were young adults. Still, though just one-quarter of Millennials are married 鈥� versus about two-thirds of Silents when they were that young 鈥� almost 70 percent of single Millennials say they would like to be married eventually.

The poll also found that Generation Y, often stereotyped as snubbing sincerity for satire and irony, and as bemoaning the cruelties of a world that doesn鈥檛 stroke their egos as much as they would like, is fairly upbeat about the US. Almost half of Millennials say they鈥檙e optimistic that America鈥檚 best days are ahead, but just 42 percent of Gen Xers think so, and just 39 percent of Silents are feeling cheery about the nation鈥檚 future.

Plus, that optimism isn鈥檛 necessarily because Millennials, often maligned as a na茂ve lot, have yet to experience life's disappointments. About 70 percent of Americans say today's young adults face greater economic challenges than did older people when they first started out, the poll found.

The poll cited several reasons for the relative optimism of Millennials, including that it might in part 鈥渟imply reflect the timeless confidence of youth.鈥�

The poll鈥檚 overall findings were tempered by an understanding that Millenials are a difficult group to assess and sum up, the report noted. US census data show they are America's most racially diverse generation ever.