WASHINGTON (RNS)—Baptists in Tuscaloosa and Muslims in Tehran might not seem to have much in common, but Alabama and Iran agree on one thing—the importance of religion.
Nearly identical percentages of people in both locations—82 percent of Alabamians and 83 percent of Iranians—say religion is an important part of their daily lives.
The comparisons come from the Gallup Poll, which recently compiled findings about the importance of faith to individuals in all 50 states and 143 countries.
“Georgians in the United States are about as religious as Georgians in the Caucasus region,” wrote Steve Crabtree and Brett Pelham, in a report on the Gallup website. “On the less religious end of the spectrum, residents of New Hampshire look similar to their neighbors in Canada, and Alaskans are about as religious as Israelis.”
Residents of the least religious U.S. state—Vermont—registered the same percentage as Switzer-land—42 percent—when asked, “Is religion an important part of your daily life?”
Among the most religious countries—with 98 percent or more answering in the affirmative—are Egypt, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Congo. Least religious include Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Czech Republic, with 21 percent or less saying “yes.”
Just as the United States has a disparity in religious fervor, similar diversity is likely in countries across the globe, Gallup researchers said. That means one shouldn’t assume that people in a particular country are less or more devout than the average American, researchers noted.
“Recognition of that fact should give Americans pause when we’re tempted to apply blanket generalizations to other cultures,” Crabtree and Pelham wrote. “It should also help those outside the United States avoid applying such oversimplified judgments to Americans.”
The global findings are based on face-to-face and telephone interviews conducted between 2006 and 2008 of about 1,000 adults per country, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.