Well, not all, obviously, but it does seem far more common over there than here.
And I don’t mean just the fanatical fundamentalists, more the everyday, low level references.

Listening to USA politicians, actors or sports people, it seems like they always slip some comment about thanking god for their success in to the interview.
I know it’s common for people in the UK to say things like “Oh my god, it’s enormous” and so on, but I always take that as a figure of speech.
I don’t assume they actually believe in some bloke with a beard in the sky any more than the believe in tree spirits when they say “touch wood”.

Americans always seem to take it seriously though, as if they really believe it.
Do they ? Or is it a sort of self perpetuating thing, where belief is, or appears to be, so widespread, that it’s comforting to feel part of the majority, or at least wise not to alienate them.

This is a genuine question. I hope and prey* that I get some sensible answers and it doesn’t descend in to another religious argument.

* See what I did there ?

IME, no though they’re more respectful and likely to say things that over here would suggest that you were.

Put it this way, of the ones I know, few regularly go to church though most would want/had a church wedding and might go on special occassions (eg Easter/Xmas)

something like 70% attend church on a regular basis
– so yes

can’t remember source for that statistic so i’m prepared to be proven wrong but compared to the UK it is very different

It is much more common, yes, both in professed belief and actual church going.

The most irritating part is that they seem to take it for granted that everyone’s Christian, and are possibly aware that you might be Jewish. Unless you’re brown skinned of course.

I seem to remember a lot of very secular-sounding pop music credits thanking God too. I often wondered the same thing.

While you do get more religious types I think the major difference is it’s socially acceptable to be openly religious, which isn’t really the case here.

can’t remember source for that statistic so i’m prepared to be proven wrong but compared to the UK it is very different

a quick google suggests 44% attend every week and my 70% might be a bit high for go to church but not that often maybe over 50% though

Not sure how true it is, but you’ve reminded me of this sound-bite I saw retweeted by Richard Dawkins the other day;

If every #atheist left the USA, it would lose 93% of the National Academy of Sciences but less than 1% of the prison population. #atheism

“something like 70% attend church on a regular basis”

Wow, that’s a lot.
I suppose “regular” could mean anything from several times a week to once a year at xmas or thanksgiving, but I doubt the UK figure is anywhere near that.

When someone says

Oh my god, it’s enormous

to me I assume they are being literal.

more sensibly, compared to the UK they are a very religious nation, although the disparity is as much about the UK not being very religious though.

Even if you allow for exaggeration by people claiming to do what they think they ought to be doing, rather than what they are actually doing, 44% every week is a lot.
I don’t think I know anyone personally who goes to church at all, other than a few who might go to special events like midnight mass or a carol concert.

Even if you allow for exaggeration by people claiming to do what they think they ought to be doing, rather than what they are actually doing, 44% every week is a lot.

It’s a lot more than in the UK. I think our figure is something like 16% isn’t it?

I don’t think I know anyone personally who goes to church at all, other than a few who might go to special events like midnight mass or a carol concert.

Sure but that’s more likely to reflect your belief system and therefore the people you chose to associate with.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the US and it really depends on where you go as to how fervent people are with their beliefs. California is pretty secular whereas Texas is pretty ‘gun tottin’ messianic’.

You’ve got every extreme of belief with a population of 300m but still, I think the litmus test is could a confirmed atheist ever get elected President?

Sure but that’s more likely to reflect your belief system and therefore the people you chose to associate with.

Yes, probably, as I don’t know anyone who goes to nightclubs or football matches either and they seem to be better attended than churches.

I was trying to count people I work with as well to get a more varied sample.
Thinking about it now, I used to work with a lot of Irish builders and going to mass and having the sacred heart posters on the living room wall was quite a big thing with them.

3 of my cousins who are proper happy clappy religious types all moved to the states and married into happy clappy families. Absolutely bonkers, the lot of them.

The going to church is high but as I use to go to church I don’t see it as weird

But to me this a shocker

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/americans-believe-in-creationism_n_1571127.html

46% of Americans believe

“3) God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.”

The figure is rising

32% believe

“1) Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process,

only 9% believe

“2) Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process,”

given that france has paintings that are 17,000 years old that makes most Americans not just deniers of science but history as well

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/jul/04/us-fourth-july-twitter-beer-church#

My dad worked in the sates when I was younger (Chicago) with a view to us all moving out as a family.

His boss over there was very ‘upset’ that my dad was a non-beliver and that he would not go to church with his family on Sundays.

One story that always sticks in my mind is when they were having a conversation and his boss said that his god came first, then his country and then his family.

My dad told him he had his priorities completely wrong and family should come first… We never moved over there!

54% of Americans would vote for an atheist for president, and that represents massive progress!

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-07-26/athiest-poll-president/56516466/1

I have just remembered the “where’s the first presbyterian church on Gordon Street” bit in Wayne’s World 2. 😀

That’s an interesting survey from the Huffington Post, even if it is a small sample.
Creationists are always portrayed as the lunatic fringe minority, somewhere on a par with suicide bombers, but it looks like they are more common than that.

I don’t think ( apart from a few decades about 100 years ago) the UK has ever been particularly religious. Sure lots of people paid lip service to it, but I don’t think as a nation we are or have been “believers”

The US on the other hand is founded on their “creation myth” as pious Christians escaping from religious persecution ( interestingly the ones that founded America were much more Puritan than the folk they left in the UK) they reinforce that belief every year with thanksgiving, arguably a bigger celebration for them than Xmas.

Church attendance is falling though I believe.

is it’s socially acceptable to be openly religious,

Or social and political suicide to be perceived as atheist.

Secularism is written into the American constitution and ironically the UK is non secular. Although you would think the opposite,

AFAIK the USA is made up of largely migrant populations from around the globe often people who fled their own countires becuase they were persecuted for their religious beliefs.There is a large proportion of people descended from slaves who had also turned to religion.The more recent migrations of Hispanics also come from countries where religion is still very popular.
So not surprising really.

Creationists are always portrayed as the lunatic fringe minority, somewhere on a par with suicide bombers, but it looks like they are more common than that

The statistic is very high although I would have to look it up. over 50% believe that Jesus will return to earth in the next 50 years.

54% of Americans would vote for an atheist for president, and that represents massive progress!

Thats progress but I am skeptical of the study.

something like 70% attend church on a regular basis

I’ve known a few Americans, and have been told in the past, that there quite a few go to church, even though they’re not at all religious, because it’s expected of them within the community.

…as above, I suspect it’s more important to be seen as a believer than actually be one. (certainly for those in the public eye)

Part of the reason I asked is that I subscribe to a few facebook groups such as;
https://www.facebook.com/ScienceIsSeriouslyAwesome?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/evolutionarybiology?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory?fref=ts

Every new story is followed by Americans twisting the facts to support their belief, as if publicly denying the evidence provided by science is an affirmation of faith.
It’s not just that there’s more of them in the USA, it’s that they go out of their way to let everyone know.

I met an American Christian a while back who said that whilst the majority of Americans seem to be Christians and go to church, most aren’t really whereas here the church goers are more genuine.

Secularism is written into the American constitution

Which makes that bit about ‘one nation under God’ particularly tricky.

I think the constitution does not so much advocate secularism as it does that church and state should be separate, which is different.

I’ve known a few Americans, and have been told in the past, that there quite a few go to church, even though they’re not at all religious, because it’s expected of them within the community.

That’s the point I was originally trying to get to.
How much is genuine belief and how much is social pressure.

Secularisation

This chap, Allen Downey has done alot of stats work on the secularisation of the US, taking the numbers from the census etc.

He has shown some interesting correlation with the rise of the internet.

Matt

I don’t think ( apart from a few decades about 100 years ago) the UK has ever been particularly religious. Sure lots of people paid lip service to it, but I don’t think as a nation we are or have been “believers”

You seem to be completely ignoring all of the UK’s history up until “a few decades about 100 years ago”!

I think the UK is pretty much aligned with the rest of Europe – the younger population is basically secular, with church going an old people’s activity, and slowly dying out.

it’s common for people in the UK to say things like “Oh my god, it’s enormous”

Are you sure? I can’t remember the last time someone said that to me…

Years ago I had a girlfriend that lived in Maine. She was a trainee doctor and atheist. Being an atheist was very difficult where she lived. She was forced to move when she didn’t have her son circumcised, no shop would serve her, people would cross the street to avoid her. Scary stuff.

Predictably, someone will now claim that circumcision has nothing to do with Christianity. Equally predictably I will reply with this quote from some US Christian spokesperson

“Jews, Muslims, and Christians all trace our spiritual heritage back to Abraham. Biblical circumcision begins with Abraham. No American government should restrict this historic tradition. Essential religious liberties are at stake.”

the younger population is basically secular, with church going an old people’s activity, and slowly dying out.

Well it will never die out but daresay the number of young Christians is lower than in the past. Some very busy churches in London.

Mogrim don’t confuse history with historical record ( what’s written down and by whom) for instance the historical record shows that Vikings went from from church to church, pillaging and raping, that’s not to say Vikings didn’t solely go to those places, it’s just that the folk writing down what was happening were religious orders and they were mostly concerned with what happened to churches.

What’s left if our history is v religious,I agree that’s not to say however that the evidence says that people in this country necessarily were….

Several years ago I worked for an American co. & spent several weeks each year over there. This subject came up more than once – usually because they were interested in why the church had declined in the UK. A few things have stuck in my mind:

In many States, it is seen as ‘normal’ to attend church on Sunday irrelevant of your beliefs, therefore folk do.

It was more common for them to say “I believe in God” rather than “I’m religious”.

Practicing Christians will not use phrases such as “Oh my God” as this is seen as edging toward blasphemy – you are more likely to hear “Oh my gosh” from them.

This was a decade ago so things may well have changed – and this was from experience in New York & Michigan so could well be local viewpoints.

it’s common for people in the UK to say things like “Oh my god, it’s enormous”

Are you sure? I can’t remember the last time someone said that to me…