Why is the US more religious than Western Europe?

While it varies regionally within both the US and Western Europe it seems overall that the United States has a more religious society than Western Europe's.
Curiously, the US has the separation of church and state enshrined constitutionally yet religious matters seem to come to the fore there in political life way more than they do in much of Europe. Am I correct in this perception? And If I am what is the reason for it? Is this a hangover from early religious settlers in what is now the US or is there more to it?

Stuff like Creationism isn't a mainstream issue in most of Western Europe notwithstanding the odd exception. Evangelical churches, whilst they do exist here don't seem to have nearly as strong or as vibrant a following as many of those churches within the US.

My take on it is that everyone else used America as a penal colony for their religious whack jobs and we're left with a creeping sense of puritanical hangover that may never really go away. Every year in grade school we learned about the Pilgrims and other early colonists and the like, and really those people held reprehensible ideas about society and religion which we've never taken the oppertunity to denouce correctly.

My uncle is a decendant from someone who came over on the Mayflower, which is considered a big deal in some social circles, but really those were a bunch of weirdos that even the goddamned Dutch couldn't tolerate. We're a country founded by Golgafrinchams.

You're correct in your perception. There are plenty of statistics out there showing the difference between how important religion is to Americans versus Western Europe and Americans are much more likely to cite religion as very important to them.

I have no real evidence to back this up, but I've always thought that a big reason as to why things are this way is because of the separation of church and state. Rather than religion being an institution in America, it's more like a product. American churches are competing against one another in a way as they try to get and keep parishioners. That competitive fervor has created a different cultural environment, one where people are more likely to be drawn in to religion and continue to consider it important.

It may have a lot to do with the generally rural flavor of the US. While city people are often still religious, it's out in the country that people are more likely to want religion to seep into public policy and be generally intolerant to unreligious people.. Western Europe is a lot more densely populated than most of the US.

These are all good reasons and probably work together. It is clearly a more rural thing then not. We did start with the idea of religious freedom being a big part of the reason people came to America and that legacy has stuck. But I like the competition thing that Zuul mentioned. I never really thought of that one before. We seem to be big on Evangelicals in this country and have been for a long time. We even have a major sect of Jews who are otherwise never Evangelical that recruit from other Jewish groups. They are fairly major in NYC at least. I cannot recall the name of the group but it is something like Lupovich.

Let's not overlook the fact that religion is tax exempt and thus can be both big money and easy money in many ways. I mean we know why Scientology was started at least. We have a fairly good idea about the giant churches too.

Within Ireland, religosity is a more rural thing too i think. For a number of reasons, rural areas tend to be a bit more conservative, and also just the old factor that if you don't turn up at Mass people notice, also Mass is a way for otherwise geographically isolated individuals to meet up, the social need is more in evidence out the country than in the city. Despite the legacy of sectarianism, in the Republic of Ireland at least, a politician's religious beliefs are their own concern and seldom an issue with the electorate. We've had several Jewish TDs (parliament members) and numerous Protestants have held high office in what is popularly thought to be a staunchly Catholic country. With the recent influx of people from all over the world I wouldn't be surprised if we have Muslim/Animist/Hindu etc. representatives with the near future.

I would say that the lack of a strict separation in many European countries is part of the explanation. Another aspect is that many areas are dominated by a single, cohesive denomination (or in Germany at best split between two). This means that for the vast majority of Germans who are members of a church their church is a solidly mainstream multi-million member organization that could almost be mistaken for a branch of the municipal government. These churches don't proselytize to any significant degree and there are real disputes among them, they just agree to disagree on certain issues. Of course some people here are much more religious than others, but the lack of competition makes it less interesting for public displays. The way the system is set up even obscures the boundary between believers and non-believers. At least in the west of the country most people were baptized in one of the two major denominations, had church-approved religion classes in school and and have had at least some exposure to their denomination. Many leave later because they don't see the need to pay taxes for their membership, but the fact that more Germans voluntarily pay church taxes than believe in God (let alone recognizably Christian specifics) tells you something about the attitudes towards church membership.

A different and uniquely German issue is that with the background of the third reich the 'establishment' side lost the cultural struggle starting in the late sixties more thoroughly than in other places.

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Originally posted by What Exit?

Let's not overlook the fact that religion is tax exempt and thus can be both big money and easy money in many ways. I mean we know why Scientology was started at least. We have a fairly good idea about the giant churches too.

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Here recognized religious organization are not only tax exempt, they don't have to disclose their earnings in any way. Nobody even knows how much the big churches make.

My take on it is fear. There is a lot of fear-mongering going on in the US, from this outsider's perspective, and people respond to fear by trying to cling onto something that relieves their fear, and religion is it for a lot of people.

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Originally posted by featherlou

My take on it is fear. There is a lot of fear-mongering going on in the US, from this outsider's perspective, and people respond to fear by trying to cling onto something that relieves their fear, and religion is it for a lot of people.

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Hmm, that's a good point that I didn't take into account. I think that preying on fear as a way to influence people is a common tactic throughout the world, but in America that fear tends to be directed towards secularization in particular. Atheists don't just lack belief, but are actively out to take away everything good and fun about America:

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Originally posted by Zuul

... Atheists don't just lack belief, but are actively out to take away everything good and fun about America:

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Hey from some atheists it is easy to see that point of view in the religious.

The occasional attacks on Christmas Trees and the like are not as common as some of the Theocrats make it seem but they have happened and happened often enough to fuel the belief Atheists are "actively out to take away everything good and fun".

I know of many extreme atheist examples even on the Dope. God Bless America is not annoying to them, it ruins the ballgame for them. The "God" in the Pledge of allegiance is offensive. Any religious symbols at Xmas Time is offensive and should be illegal. Xmas plays should not exist. etc.

I think most of you know I am generally anti-religious but I don't get the hate for the simple trappings that mean almost nothing. To me Xmas is less religious now than the celebration of Capitalism. I came to that belief while in Hong Kong for Christmas back in my Navy days. They really take pleasure in the Holiday and ignore the religious side for the most part.

Sorry, I am not sure what my point was on all that. It just kind of flowed out.

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Originally posted by What Exit?

I know of many extreme atheist examples even on the Dope. God Bless America is not annoying to them, it ruins the ballgame for them. The "God" in the Pledge of allegiance is offensive. Any religious symbols at Xmas Time is offensive and should be illegal. Xmas plays should not exist. etc.

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No offense, but I wouldn't take behavior on the Dope as an indication of how reality in general works. IME, people are the most religious (and the most paranoid about atheists) in rural areas. Yet in the cities where atheists are the most outspoken people are more relaxed about religion. My experience is limited, I'll admit, but I live in a very religious place and I've just never seen the sort of militant atheists people are afraid of. I have, however, seen people who think it's all right to walk up to you in a gas station and start rambling about how you need to git yerself right with the Lord. So when those folks are afraid of atheists? I'm not sure they've ever even knowingly met one.

What Exit, you're thinking of the Lubavitchers. They are rather loud, but at least they limit their evangelism to other Jews.
This is an interesting thread. It makes me want to reread Snow Crash.

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Originally posted by artifex

What Exit, you're thinking of the Lubavitchers. They are rather loud, but at least they limit their evangelism to other Jews.
This is an interesting thread. It makes me want to reread Snow Crash.

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Yes, that's them. Thank you.

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Originally posted by Peeta Mellark

I have, however, seen people who think it's all right to walk up to you in a gas station and start rambling about how you need to git yerself right with the Lord. So when those folks are afraid of atheists? I'm not sure they've ever even knowingly met one.

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Oh. Good. Golly. I grew up around those people. Then again, one of the towns that my high school drew from had more churches per-capita than any other place in the entire state of Kentucky.

My grandmother, IIRC, had known Zuul all of thirty seconds when I went to the bathroom and my grandmother gave Z the "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" line.