New poll on religion
A very interesting poll was done in May about religion in 10 countries, including Canada, the USA and Mexico. You might find some of the stats interesting.
1. Do you think religious leaders should or should not try to influence government decisions?
The USA was the #1 country here, with 37% saying that they religious leaders should try to influence government decisions. Interestingly, Canada was #3 at 25%. Mexico was tied for 6th at 20%. That’s not surprising considering Mexico’s history. I was a little surprised that Canada was so high on the list – consider this earlier blog entry.
2. How important would you say religion is in your own life?
86% of Mexicans said it was important, making them the #1 country in that regard. Canada was #4 at 64%, and the USA was #2 at 84%. Those numbers don’t surprise me at all – it particularly shows how different Canada is from the other two countries. In case you’re interested, France was at the bottom of the list at 37%.
3. Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing what you believe about God?
This one was basically asking if you were sure there was a God, or at least some higher power. When it came to faith in God, Mexico beat all 10 countries by a mile, with 80% saying that they knew God existed and had no doubts. Only 1% said they did not believe in God.
The USA was way out in front of the rest, with 70% saying they believed in God with no doubts. Canada lagged way behind in fourth place at 43%.
4. What is your religion, if any?
This and other questions were added, including questions about political parties. The “no religion” numbers were interesting. Italy was #10 at 5%, then Mexico at 6%, then the USA at 9%. Canada was 5th from the bottom at 18%.
So it’s interesting that in many ways we have three very different countries here – Canada the USA and Mexico. But the most “different” of them all is Canada. These three countries have certainly followed very different paths. In some ways their cultures have become more similar over the years, but in many ways the distance between them seems to be widening.
For more on these polls, visit the AP/Ipsos website.