Wednesday, November 19, 2003
U.S. more religious than other nations, researchers find
Political scientists once believed that modernization would diminish the importance of religion. But the United States, which is considered the most modernized country in the world, has not followed this trend, University experts say.
For years, researchers have studied the United States’ religious fervor, a peculiar blend of moral piety and economic progress.
The University’s World Values Survey, a division of the Institute for Social Research, has released a study confirming the United States’ pervasive religious beliefs — or traditional values, as political scientists say.
The study has broad implications for political science research and raises a number of sociological questions concerning demography, social welfare, minorities and immigration.
According to the study, 46 percent of American adults attend church every week, compared to 14 percent in Great Britain, 7 percent in Sweden and 4 percent in Japan.
The study also reported that 58 percent of Americans look for purpose and meaning in life. Twenty-five percent of British adults and 26 percent of the Japanese said the same.
Reasons for this phenomenon are numerous. Political science Prof. Ronald Inglehart, who directs the World Values Survey, said the widespread theories on secularization and industrialization are flawed and that the post-modern world actually supports religious views.
“The post-industrial world, the world of the computer, in a way, is more compatible with ideas, and, in a sense, magic. You can tell that you almost understand (technology), but you don’t really,” Inglehart said.
But technology is not the only cause. Inglehart’s main thesis is that the United States’ social welfare policy, which is considerably less extensive than the European model, is a cause of religious fervor in America.
“The United States is a considerably less expensive welfare state than other rich countries,” said Inglehart, referring to the disparity in unemployment services between the United States and Euope. “One of the really clear factors is that economic insecurity leads to the need for a higher belief. I think that the welfare state killed off religious participation.”
John Downer, president of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, mentioned that in times of academic and financial stress faith is very important.
The World Values Survey draws a significant distinction between the United States and European nations. Countries like France, whose main religion is Catholicism, have seen declining religious involvement.
Engineering grad student Pierre-Yves Meslin explained the historical precedent for this trend, which is markedly different from the United States’ history of entrenched religious belief.
“In French history, during the revolution, there was a big separation between the church and state,” he said. As a result, “there was an anti-clerical spirit that developed.”
As a nation founded by and large by religious refugees, the United States has a long history of religious participation. Successive generations of immigrants have come to this country for religious freedom, a phenomenon that has perpetuated traditional values, according to a written release.
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