As someone who lives in Australia (but who visited USA for 4 months back in 1984) it seems to me that a majority of Americans cling to their god and their guns, as both give them a sense of security. Even USA banknotes have on them: "In God we Trust". Fortunately here in Australia we are far more realistic, though of course we have many people who are religious (or claim they are). At the most recent (2011) Australian census, 23% claimed "no religion", an increase since the previous census. The "established" churches (Anglican, Catholic, etc) have diminishing congregations, but the fundamentalist (Hillsong, etc) have large numbers of mainly youthful people, waving their arms and hugging each other as they "rock on" with their delusions. So we have our share of the deluded. My main impression these days is that the average Australian is indifferent about religion. This may change, as the proportion of Muslims gradually increases, bringing with them their worrying sharia law, etc. Islam is a very real threat to world tolerance.
As someone who lives in Australia (but who visited USA for 4 months back in 1984) it seems to me that a majority of Americans cling to their god and their guns, as both give them a sense of security. Even USA banknotes have on them: "In God we Trust". Fortunately here in Australia we are far more realistic, though of course we have many people who are religious (or claim they are). At the most recent (2011) Australian census, 23% claimed "no religion", an increase since the previous census. The "established" churches (Anglican, Catholic, etc) have diminishing congregations, but the fundamentalist (Hillsong, etc) have large numbers of mainly youthful people, waving their arms and hugging each other as they "rock on" with their delusions. So we have our share of the deluded. My main impression these days is that the average Australian is indifferent about religion. This may change, as the proportion of Muslims gradually increases, bringing with them their worrying sharia law, etc. Islam is a very real threat to world tolerance.