In any case, even if we assume the validity of the NationMaster statistics, numerous other researchers (Barna, Gallup) have shown that Americans adhere to major points of Christian doctrine at a higher percentage than Europeans, especially Western Europeans. If you were to calculate a weighted average of the Western European nations cited in the NationMaster chart, the church attendance figures in the U.S. would be higher. That being said, my main point was not an attack on European agnosticism and atheism but the clear evidence that American religious belief is heading in the direction of Western Europe.
‘The home page for NationMaster.com states that it draws its statistics “from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD.” Assuning the primary sources are valid, which must be questioned in the first place when one is dealing with UN statistics due to the leftist bias of that body, the issue is whether NationMaster interprets data correctly. There is no evidence that NationMaster conducted an impartial, scientificly valid survey of church attendance in the many nations that are represnted in this chart. Unless such evidence exists, it is justifiable, and indeed necessary, to question the statistics you cited.’
A fair point, but in lieu of better ones, these are the fairest I can find. I prefer an argument backed by slightly biased sources, than no sources at all or even worse, highly biased ones.
‘numerous other researchers (Barna, Gallup) have shown that Americans adhere to major points of Christian doctrine at a higher percentage than Europeans, especially Western Europeans.’
You simply cannot make such judgements about ‘Europe’. Some European countries go to church far more than America does, some far less. Different European countries have different intrepretations of what Christian doctrine is that disagrees with US Christian doctrine. No-one could’ve been a more devout Christian than my maternal grandmother, but her puritan upbringing saw no need for a middleman, her faith connected her straight to God without the ritualistic theatre (as she saw it) of a church.
To me and I venture to suggest, many other Britons, churches are for weddings, funerals and fetes, private faith is the real Christianity.