Why is America so religious?

[thesummerqueen]

You think once we get through the whole Baby Boomer BS we'll even out again, DP?

[DeistPaladin]

You think once we get through the whole Baby Boomer BS we'll even out again, DP?

Assuming that there even is still an America or a planet Earth after they're done trashing it, yes.

[AthiestAtheist]

Having said that I still remember in school a woman teacher screaming at a girl who must have been only about 7 for not saying her prayers in assembly.

That is very illegal. That teacher should be fired.

[Justtristo]

The reason I believe the United States is quite religious in comparison to other Western nations is that for over two centuries, the government has been explicitly secular and not willing to politically or financially support religions.

Thus with the absence of state support churches in America developed their theology to get as many "bums on seats" in what developed as a marketplace of religions. It is no surprise so many sects and religions emerged in the United States. So I see it as not surprising the United States is the most religiously observant country in the Western World.

[Phaedra]

I'm sure part of it is our low quality of edumacation.

[Rokcet Scientist]

I'm sure part of it is our low quality of edumacation.

Any population's religiousness is inversely linked to its average education/development level. That's a hard and fast statistic. Proven over centuries.

So you can draw your own conclusions about your country's average education/development level.

[frankiej]

Having said that I still remember in school a woman teacher screaming at a girl who must have been only about 7 for not saying her prayers in assembly.

That used to happen to me every week at primary school. And it isn't illegal here.

[R-e-n-n-a-t]

Most countries which have the highest standard of living are becoming increasing secular and less religious.
In the UK its less people with each generation who seem to believe in myths and it seems to be becoming more and more atheist, whereas America seems to be obsessed with religion.

In short, we're stupid.

The long answer is:

I think most of us here can agree that humans are primates. Because this is the case, we only know what we learn, and we don't have some supernatural ability to learn stuff. This means that a person's philosophy directly relates to how much we think about philosophy in a lifetime. Here in America, philosophy is the boring thing that old dumb people do. Therefore, people are basically uneducated monkies who can use cell phones, when it comes to deep meaningful ideas. In America, (where I live, so I'm not just hating for no reason), most people simply don't think about anything (and I mean anything at all) that doesn't directly relate to getting money or spending money, and therefore 'God' is filled in by default, by people who never really think about anything.

Besides, people's lives are so planned out ahead of time, it's tough to be interested in anything. All you hear is how you need to make money. Literally everybody in the country is supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer. If you do something risky, like become a hair stylist, a programmer of any kind, or some other random career, all you'll hear about is how you should have done something that'll ensure a bright financial future (even if you'll hate your life). I understand money is improtant, but it's really taken to the extreme where I live. Money is really the only kind of success people understand.

[Michelle_Patton]

Things often start for one reason and continue for another. Its a disease passed on from parents to their children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LACyLTsH4ac

Wow, that was some disturbing shit (the 2 minutes I could stand to watch)

It's voodoo. It's mental manipulation, mass hypnosis, of the worst kind. At least with waterboarding everybody involved knows it's wrong.

When I was 6 (I am the eldest of 4) my parents sent me to Sunday School. Not because they were religious, but because it was convenient to have me out of their hair on Sunday afternoons, ;-), and I would be with lots of other kids. That was the theory. But after the first Sunday School class I (6 years old) came home bawling my guts out "HE DIED FOR US, HE DIED FOR US" as if the world had ended!
My parents, as you would expect, were shocked and never let me go there again.

But that was half a century ago. One would expect that the world had progressed since then, wouldn't one? But is hasn't.

I also went to Sunday school when I was younger (4-5) and I spent a good amount of my childhood scared for my mother because she didn't believe in god. I can't tell you how many times I bawled my eyes out because my Mum was going to hell!

To the OP, I have absolutely no idea why one of the most advanced countries in the world is so backwards when it comes to religion, but I can't tell you how glad I am I live in Australia.

[helmespc]

I think a big difference between the US and the European nations is that the US is MUCH more spread out.... even though some bastions of reason exist, its really hard for them to cause a "reason" mob mentality to sweep across the nation because there's just vast swatch of "uninhabited" ignorant land that essentially act as a "reason insulator"... Intercity drives in the US generally require at minimum hour of travel across these no man's lands... its hard for culture to traverse these buffers. Radio, TV, and internet has made it easier, but it will be a long time before people living in the outskirts are educated enough for a culture of reason to truly flourish... I may be totally off base, but I truly believe geography plays a large role in the ignorance of american culture.