The Poorest Countries Are the Most Religious

Gallup researchers surveyed thousands of people in 114 countries and found a strong relationship between a country’s socioeconomic status and the religiosity of its residents. The most religious countries are relatively poor, they found, with a per capita gross domestic product below $5,000.

In America, however, a high percentage of people—65 percent—say religion is important in their daily lives. (Other rich countries that have high religiosity include Italy, Greece, Singapore, and the Persian Gulf states.)

Why would this be? Independent researcher Gregory Paul’s hypothesis is that secularism and atheism increase as socioeconomic conditions improve, but religious belief is more prevelant in the United States because:

America’s high-risk circumstances, the strong variation in economic circumstances, and chronic competitiveness help elevate rates of social pathology, and strongly contribute to high levels of personal stress and anxiety. The majority of Americans are left feeling sufficiently insecure that they perceive a need to seek the aid and protection of a supernatural creator, boosting levels of religious opinion and participation.