Some Evolution:


Poll: Religious Devotion High in U.S. By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer
Mon Jun 6, 7:33 AM ET

Religious devotion sets the United States apart from some of its closest
allies. Americans profess unquestioning belief in God and are far more
willing to mix faith and politics than people in other countries, AP-Ipsos
polling found.

In Western Europe, where Pope Benedict XVI complains that growing
secularism has left churches unfilled on Sundays, people are the least
devout among the 10 countries surveyed for The Associated Press by Ipsos.

Only Mexicans come close to Americans in embracing faith, the poll found.
But unlike Americans, Mexicans strongly object to clergy lobbying
lawmakers, in line with the nation's historical opposition to church
influence.

"In the United States, you have an abundance of religions trying to
motivate Americans to greater involvement," said Roger Finke, a sociologist
at Penn State University. "It's one thing that makes a tremendous
difference here."

The polling was conducted in May in the United States, Australia, Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Spain.

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.

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.

A variety of factors contribute to the sentiment about separating religion
and politics.

"In Germany, they have a Christian Democratic Party, and they talk about
Christian values, but they don't talk about them in quite the same way that
we do," Nelsen said. "For them, the Christian part of the Christian values
are held privately and it's not that acceptable to bring those out into the
open."

In Spain, where the government subsidizes the Catholic Church, and in
Germany, which is split between Catholics and Protestants, people are about
evenly divided over whether they consider faith important. The results are
almost identical in Britain, whose state church, the Church of England, is
struggling to fill pews.

Italians are the only European exception in the poll. Eighty percent said
religion is significant to them and just over half said they
unquestioningly believe in God.

But even in Italy, home to the Catholic Church, resistance to religious
engagement in politics is evident. Only three in 10 think the clergy should
try to influence government decisions; a lower percentage in Spain, Germany
and England said the same.

Within the United States, some of the most pressing policy issues involve
complex moral questions — such as gay marriage, abortion and stem cell
research — that understandably draw religious leaders into public debate,
said John Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of
Akron.

The poll found Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to think
clergy should try to influence government decisions — a sign of the
challenges ahead for Democrats as they attempt to reach out to more
religious voters.

"Rightly or wrongly, Republicans tend to perceive religion as, quote-
unquote, `on their side,'" Green said.

The survey did find trends in belief that transcend national boundaries.
Women tend to be more devout than men, and older people have stronger faith
than younger people.

The Associated Press-Ipsos polls of about 1,000 adults in each of the 10
countries were taken May 12-26. Each has a margin of sampling error of plus
or minus 3 percentage points.

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