The most religious country in the world

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The United States is quite religious compared to similarly situated countries in Europe.

But when it’s compared to countries around the world, it falls to the middle of the pack, according to a new analysis from Pew Research Center.

Pew’s analysis — titled “Where is the most religious place in the world?” — compares responses to two key survey questions: 1) How important is religion in your life? and 2) How often do you pray?

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East-North Africa stand out on these measures due to the large number of adult residents who say religion is very important to them and who pray daily.

People in Europe and East Asia are less likely to say religion is very important to them and less likely to pray, Pew found.

“People in nearly all European countries surveyed are among the least likely to say that religion is very important in their lives. In Estonia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Latvia and Finland, 10% or fewer adults say this,” the analysis said.

Whether you list the world’s countries in order of what share of people there say religion is very important to them or in order of what share of people there pray daily, the United States’ result is about the same — it ends up somewhere in the middle.

“Adults in the U.S. are in the middle of the 102 countries and territories analyzed when it comes to rates of daily prayer. Some 45% of Americans say they pray daily, which is nearly identical to the 102-place median of 46%,” Pew reported.

Americans slide down the chart slightly on the question about religion being important.

“In the United States, 42% of adults say religion is very important in their lives. This is below the 102-place median of 55%,” Pew said.

Indonesia is at the top of both lists.

In the analysis, researcher Jonathan Evans cautioned that questions about religion’s importance and prayer habits aren’t the perfect measure of overall religiosity. Prayer is central to many, but not all, religions, he noted.

Pew is currently in the process of adjusting its global survey strategy to better explore how religious practices are changing and to better account for spiritual habits that haven’t always been addressed by U.S.-based researchers.

“Using measures from a variety of cultures and religious traditions will help us move toward a richer understanding of people’s spiritual lives,” Evans wrote.

Fresh off the press

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What Kamala Harris’ pick for vice president has said about faith

Term of the week: Micro-community

A micro-community, or micro monastery, is how Christian author and podcaster Elizabeth Oldfield refers to the home she’s built with her husband, kids and the couple they’ve combined their lives with.

The Oldfields decided to pool resources with a family from their church in order to afford a house in London, and now they all use the house to organize faith-based community events in an effort to deepen social ties in a bustling city. They share the space, the list of associated chores and the responsibility of spreading the “gospel” of their unique arrangement with others.

“The housemates are now piloting a training course for people who are ‘community curious,’ covering everything from finding your people to the structures and set-ups that make it work,” The Times recently reported.

In addition to speaking about her micro-community with The Times, Oldfield was interviewed about it on the latest episode of the “Saved By the City” podcast.

What I’m reading …

After Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Christianity Today investigated his relationship with religious groups in the state he leads and determined that he’s alienated many religious conservatives since taking office in 2019. “Walz’s brand is more left than Lutheran among Minnesota evangelicals,” the headline said.

New York Times reporter Dan Berry recently dug into a fascinating conflict in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, which pits a Muslim land developer and the sod farmer who made a deal with him against community members who are upset about the developer’s plan to build a Muslim-friendly new neighborhood, including a large mosque. Berry’s story is thoughtful and heartbreaking. It illustrates how fair concerns can quickly devolve into something more dangerous and discriminatory.

As they work to defend their new policy requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, Louisiana leaders have offered some controversial advice to parents who are upset with the law: “What I would say to those parents is that if those posters are in school, and they find them so vulgar, just tell the child not to look at it,” said Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry last week, according to The Washington Post.

Odds and ends

As expected, the “Art But Make It Sports” account on X had a heyday during the Olympics. Here are some of my favorites: 1) Steph Curry against Serbia. 2) Synchronized swimming. 3) LeBron James against Puerto Rico.