Posted on 06/13/2005 4:49:19 AM PDT by Dane
What we think when we think about God
The Associated Press
Results of Associated Press polls in ten countries on public attitudes about religion in politics and religious beliefs generally.
The AP polls were conducted by Ipsos, an international polling firm, in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the United States.
The AP-Ipsos polls of about 1,000 adults in each of the countries were taken between May 12–26 and each has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Summaries of public attitudes about religion in politics and religious beliefs generally.
AUSTRALIA: Three-fourths of Australians say religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. Just over half of them say that religion is important in their lives. Just under half say they definitely believe in God, though some of them have occasional doubts. Australians are not closely aligned with one religion, but describe themselves as followers of various religions with the Catholic church claiming the largest share at 27 percent.
CANADA: Almost two-thirds of Canadians say religion is important to them, but most seem to prefer that religion and politics not mix too closely. Seven in 10 Canadians say that religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. A majority of Canadians say they believe in God, though some of those believers admit to occasional doubts. Four in 10 Canadians described themselves as Catholic and 14 percent said Protestant with others saying they had other religions or no religion.
BRITAIN: A majority of Britons, 57 percent, say religion is not that important for them. Three fourths think religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. Only about a third say they definitely believe in God, though some admit to occasional doubts. Almost six in 10 Britons describe themselves as Protestant, with 14 percent saying they are Catholic and 19 percent saying “no religion.”
FRANCE: Though many of the French describe themselves as Roman Catholics, nearly half of the French say they do not believe in God or are agnostic. They overwhelmingly believe that religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions, with 85 percent taking that view.
GERMANY: Most Germans say they do not think religious leaders should try to influence government decisions, and about half say they don’t believe in God, though many in that group say they do believe in some kind of higher power. Just over half say religion is important in their own lives. More than a third, 36 percent, said they were Protestant, while about a fourth said they were Catholic.
ITALY: Italians are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and most, 80 percent, say religion is important to them. Yet almost two-thirds say they do not think religious leaders should try to influence government decisions. More than two-thirds said they definitely believe in God.
MEXICO: Mexico was one of the few countries polled where people were as devoutly religious as they are in the United States. Eight in 10 in the heavily Catholic country said they definitely believe in God, while slightly more said religion is important in their own lives. But three-fourths of Mexicans oppose religious leaders getting involved in politics.
SOUTH KOREA: Two-thirds of South Koreans say religion is important in their own personal lives, though only half of those polled said they definitely believe in God. Two-thirds said religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. About a third in South Korea identified themselves as Christians — either Catholic or Protestant — and a fourth identified themselves as Buddhist. Four in 10 said they have no religion.
SPAIN: More than half of Spaniards say that religion is not important to them in their personal lives. About half of Spaniards say they definitely believe in God and three-fourths say religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. The lukewarm enthusiasm for religion comes even though Spain is heavily Roman Catholic, with eight in 10 describing themselves as Catholic.
UNITED STATES: People in the United States have some of the strongest religious sentiments of all the countries polled. Eight in 10 say they definitely believe in God, and most in that group say they believe it without doubt. Almost nine in 10 say religion is important in their own personal lives. Almost four in 10, 37 percent, said they believe religious leaders should try to influence government decisions — the highest rate of any country to want religious leaders involved in influencing government
One would think to ask if the belief in God influences their personal decisions, or at this time of turmoil, to ask Iraqis, Turks, or Indonesians!
It is an interesting article. It was fun for me to see South Korean included. It would have been nice for them to include Japan too for reference, though anyone could tell you beforehand, almost what those results would be.
It is an interesting article. It was fun for me to see South Korean included. It would have been nice for them to include Japan too for reference, though anyone could tell you beforehand, almost what those results would be.
Most? Most? So some people actually say: "I definitely believe in God -- although I kinda doubt He exists."
That was interesting to read. One thing I concluded is that you can just about safely say that half of Europe does not believe in God. This doesn't bode well for them, in my book.
I bet you the results would be much different in a former eastern bloc country, such as Poland, as they are in Western Europe.
They need to have a disqualifier:
"Believe in God*"
* - but don't feel compelled to follow His Law or Biblical precepts.
The numbers would be much higher just counting Unitarians and most Episcopalians.
What religion would that be, the Republican party or Mammon?
Interesting poll numbers, particuarly if you try using simple arithmetic.
Good point. It was interesting which countries are profiled & which ones were left out.
Funny how they left out the Muslim countries? Some of those countries are ruled by Islamic fundamentalism and they are some scary whamma-jammas. The Ayatolas sure did help Iran with their world view(sarcasm).
Although some of my Christian fundamentalist friends have been a big help in getting our conservative agenda back on the map, both politically and socially. I sure wouldn't want them to influence the institution of policy to a degree that would counter the constitution and the Bill of Rights (we must preserve all 10 of the original amendments, not just the ones that appeal to religious folk). Just my $0.02
No matter what you may think of the Muslims, these observations have not escaped them.
Please explain who and or what is an enlightened secularist...
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