Pluralism is the practice of building a society where people are able to live with, work with, govern alongside, and care for those who are different from them, while honoring legitimate disagreement.
It is not a peripheral civic value, it is a foundational American strength that enables people with meaningfully different identities, beliefs, and ways of life to co-exist and shape a future that delivers for all.
Pluralism is important to civic health at all times. It is particularly essential during periods of democratic stress. This is because, when practiced, pluralism builds trust across lines of difference, provides tools for collaborative problem-solving, and helps communities find common ground.
This work is not simply about helping Americans like one another more, as important as that is. It is about ensuring that our differences can be expressed, contested, and negotiated within a system that remains intact, fair, and open.
Through our learning communities, research, convenings, and partnerships, PACE helps philanthropy better understand and support the norms, relationships, and civic infrastructure that make pluralistic democracy possible.
Funded by New Pluralists and led by Interfaith America and Convergence (in partnership with Cohesion Strategy and PACE), the Threats to Pluralism project explores how the rapid and expanding use of federal power is impacting pluralism, democratic norms, and social cohesion across the country.
This effort brings together practitioners and funders to better understand the current landscape, navigate fast-moving developments and threats, and identify where greater alignment and coordination may be needed.
Pluralism can exist in limited form under many systems, but it flourishes culturally and socially in democratic societies where people can organize freely, express differences without fear, and participate meaningfully in shared governance. In the United States, pluralism relies on several foundational democratic conditions:
• Independent civic institutions that can operate without political interference or retaliation
• Protected civil liberties and due process of law that allow diverse communities to speak, assemble, and freely exercise their rights and beliefs
Participatory democratic processes, like free, fair, and trusted elections, that ensure diverse perspectives are fairly represented in public decision-making
• Responsible public leadership and rhetoric that affirm belonging and safety rather than fueling division and violence
•. Institutional courage that prevents fear and silence from becoming the norm
Binding narratives that hold the nation’s diversity together in a shared identity
When these democratic conditions are compromised, pluralism does not simply recede—it becomes harder to imagine, practice, and sustain.
The United States is currently navigating a period of profound strain on democratic norms and institutions. Civic leaders may reasonably differ in how they describe the current political moment and how they believe we got here. What unites this work is not a single diagnosis, but a shared commitment to preserving the conditions that make pluralism possible—including the very arena for disagreement.
Each of the democratic conditions outlined above is being eroded in ways that directly affect pluralism.
• Pressure on Civic Institutions: Attacks on the independence and integrity of nonprofits, universities, foundations, and other civic institutions are diminishing their capacity to serve as spaces where Americans can work together toward shared goals despite their differences.
• Suppression of First Amendment Freedoms: When Americans are prevented from exercising their constitutionally-protected freedoms of expression, association, and dissent, fear can replace participation, undermining the legal and civic foundations that enable pluralism to function in practice.
• Erosion of Trust in Participatory Democratic Processes: Free, fair, and trusted elections are the shared mechanisms through which diverse interests coexist, compete, and compromise. As these processes lose legitimacy, the ability to manage difference and govern a pluralistic society becomes much harder.
• Dehumanizing and Violent Public Rhetoric: Public leaders are using language that vilifies certain segments of society, fracturing national cohesion and undermining pluralism’s moral foundation: the dignity of all people. Such language increases social permission for exclusion and violence.
• Risk-Avoidance by Institutional Leaders: In moments of heightened pressure, institutional leaders may remain silent to manage risk. This silence creates a chilling effect, ceding space to more extreme voices and compounding democratic erosion by reducing principled leadership when it is most needed.
• Exclusionary National Identity: Pluralism depends on shared national narratives that bind Americans together in common purpose. Today, influential leaders are trying to redefine American identity in exclusionary ways, imperiling the cultural foundations and sustainability of pluralism.
Informed by an assessment of contemporary challenges, the Threats to Pluralism project identifies actions the field can take to protect pluralism. These actions emphasize constructive pushback, shared values, and a visible commitment to pluralism as a public good.
Actions fall in several categories, including:
• Providing thought leadership
• Engaging in advocacy and policy shaping
• Building coalitions for collective action
• Shaping culture
PACE helps philanthropy better understand, support, and strengthen the conditions that make pluralism possible. Through our network, research, and partnerships, we provide opportunities for funders to learn, connect, and act together in service of democracy that works for all.
PACE creates spaces for funders to learn from each other and explore emerging challenges and opportunities related to pluralism, social cohesion, civic culture, and democratic resilience. By connecting peers across issue areas and philanthropic approaches, we help build stronger relationships and a broader understanding of the role philanthropy can play in supporting pluralism.
PACE translates research, practitioner insights, and field developments into actionable knowledge for philanthropy. We help funders stay informed about emerging trends, threats, opportunities, and evidence-based approaches that strengthen pluralism.
PACE supports funders in exploring how pluralism intersects with their existing priorities and grantmaking strategies. We help philanthropy identify opportunities to invest in the civic norms, relationships, institutions, and narratives that sustain a pluralistic democracy.
