Well done America!

[franko2]

Why is it that america is a secular system yet it also remains a very religious country? It’s always puzzled me

 

[puzzleannie]

it depends on what you mean by “religious”. we are very good at making up our own religions.

 

[franko2]

Good point america seems to have alot of D.I.Y religions, i suppose what i mean is that the majority believe in God.

 

[Beno]

I think the majority of people that lay claim to a religion may not be attending church regularly. To them, believing in God means that they’re religious. But that brings up another question: what defines religiousness?

 

[Beno]

I think the majority of people that lay claim to a religion may not be attending church regularly. To them, believing in God means that they’re religious. But that brings up another question: what defines religiousness?

Oops. Puzzleannie just posted the same response that I did while I was typing.

 

[KarenNC]

Why is it that america is a secular system yet it also remains a very religious country? It’s always puzzled me

I believe it is precisely because it was set up deliberately as a secular system. There was not a single state-funded religion, so that those who wanted a religious organization had to make it work themselves and the religious organizations are responsible to their adherents if they desire support and continued existence, not the government.

Also, don’t equate “religious” solely with Christianity, as some folks do. There are many, many Americans who consider themselves to be religious but who are not Christian (me, for example). America includes religious Jews, Neopagans, Muslims, followers of various Native American religions, Buddhists (I think they would describe themselves as religious, not positive), etc. As there is ideally not supposed to be any preferential treatment for any specific religion (though, IMO, this is often honored more in the breach), all of these groups are free to develop congregations, etc to the same extent that Christianity is.

 

[Allweather]

Why is it that america is a secular system yet it also remains a very religious country? It’s always puzzled me

Various reasons. A lot of is has to do with the melting pot factor, that there are so many cultural groups here, and that they are always in flux.

America has also been the birthplace of most of the world’s weird cults.

I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that America is the Land of Weird Religion.

Just look at the American Catholic Church. There is a heresy, now pretty much defunct, known as Americanism. Yet, even though that heresy has been well-suppressed, the basic idea has continued to live on, such that in America we find strong support for many of the liberalizing tendencies within world Catholicism, such as womens’ ordination, married priests, etc.

 

[theguidedheart]

Why is it that america is a secular system yet it also remains a very religious country? It’s always puzzled me

In America, religion is like Burger King, ‘have it my way’… so what seems to be increasingly frequent, is that religion is only good up until its not ‘my way’ anymore, and then secular ideals creep in to redesign a faith that works for the individual - ie. Christianity(as the largest religion) allowing contraception, divorce and remarriage, etc etc… I don’t know what the stats are, but my guess is America is leading the way in Christian denominationalism, how could it not? We have become a spoiled country, and not even religion is sacred enough for many people. So I don’t know that this is religion at all, for many choosing religion is no different than choosing the clothes you wear for the day.