Religious Outlier

[mgc1961]

With all of the consternation about religion in this country, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of just how anomalous our religiosity is in the world.

A Gallup report issued on Tuesday underscored just how out of line we are. Gallup surveyed people in more than 100 countries in 2009 and found that religiosity was highly correlated to poverty. Richer countries in general are less religious.

But that doesn’t hold true for the United States.



Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/opinion/04blow.html?hp

[bherrera]

1. Interesting

I am an atheist from Spain. I find it easy to tolerate the religious around me because here the religious are not religious at all. I don't know anybody who is Christian who goes to church on sundays, and my muslim friends drink alcohol and I don't think they have any idea of the direction to meca. It is a more relaxed environment than the religious xenophobia and extremism one sees in places such as USA, Iran, and Israel.

[madmom]

4. We don't have all that many "christians" that go to church on Sundays here either. They may

call themselves christians but they aren't really.

[SkyDaddy7]

5. The sad thing for me as an American is...

Our nation was the first to separate religion from governing even in a time when religion still held most of the so-called answers about the world. Now in the 21st century when we should be more like Spain, or even less religious, America is fast becoming a corporate controlled theocracy!

SAD!

[Warpy]

6. Religious bullying is pervasive here in the US

because it seems the one thing the local variety of Christianity needs is perfect consensus. People who are outliers are seen as deadly threats to these people, forcing atheists like me into that "I'm just not a religious person" closet instead of standing up to them and telling them we don't believe a word of their nonsense.

Standing up to them carries some very real consequences: loss of family, friends and jobs.

That's why the US is so religious. We've just never come to real terms with the bullying by religious people. I think it's likely the same in other hyper religious societies. The bullies run them all.

[swilton]

2. Inglehart and Welzel Noted This

in their work Modernization, Cultural Change and Democracy....It's not surprising therefore that the US is also becoming less democratic.

[TygrBright]

3. Don't worry, we're getting there.

Elect the GOP a few more times and we'll fit right in with the other highly religious states.

prognosticatorially,
Bright