Religion and Politics: Americans Rate Themselves As More Religious

I read an article this morning on the wires about religious devotion in the United States.

The article cites a poll that says that Americans are more "religious" than their counterparts in Europe.

Nearly all U.S. respondents said faith is important to them and only 2 percent said they do not believe in God. Almost 40 percent said religious leaders should try to sway policymakers, notably higher than in other countries.

"Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian policies and religious leaders have an obligation to speak out on public policy, otherwise they're wimps," said David Black, a retiree from Osborne, Pa., who agreed to be interviewed after he was polled.

In contrast, 85 percent of French object to clergy activism — the strongest opposition of any nation surveyed. France has strict curbs on public religious expression and, according to the poll, 19 percent are atheists. South Korea is the only other nation with that high a percentage of nonbelievers.

Australians are generally split over the importance of faith, while two-thirds of South Koreans and Canadians said religion is central to their lives. People in all three countries strongly oppose mixing religion and politics.

Another interesting part of the article focused on why America is so "religious."

Researchers disagree over why people in the United States have such a different religious outlook, said Brent Nelsen, an expert in politics and religion at Furman University in South Carolina.

Some say rejecting religion is a natural response to modernization and consider the United States a strange exception to the trend. Others say Europe is the anomaly; people in modernized countries inevitably return to religion because they yearn for tradition, according to the theory.

Some analysts, like Finke, use a business model. According to his theory, a long history of religious freedom in the United States created a greater supply of worship options than in other countries, and that proliferation inspired wider observance. Some European countries still subsidize churches, in effect regulating or limiting religious options, Finke said.

History also could be a factor. Many countries other than the United States have been through bloody religious conflict that contributes to their suspicion of giving clergy any say in policy.

Okay, first of all, I found it interesting that a lot of experts consider the fact that the more "modernized" a nation is, the less liable it is to be religious. It's like saying, "The more you grow up, the less likely you are to take that "outdated religion thing" too seriously." Which I think is unfair.

It's also interesting to note that many countries are suspicious of mixing religion and politics. Which is really a shame, because when mixed properly, it can be a really powerful and beautiful thing. I think about the Civil Right Movement, or the International Justice Mission, a group of people who storm into nations and using any and all available legal means, rescue people from slavery, illegal indentured servitude, prostitution rings and forced child labor. It's astounding.

What do you think? Are Americans more religious?