America the Outlier

[Valin]

Via Meadia:

Mar 13, 2015

 

American exceptionalism is a hotly debated topic, and much decried by one particularly dyspeptic op-ed contributor to the New York Times. Some people believe it’s a real phenomenon, others think it’s a dangerous idea. But does America really stand out in a measurable way?

 

Pew Research Center crunches the numbers, and its Fact Tank blog reports that on a number of key issues, Americans are genuine exceptions to rules and trends:

 

(Snip)

 

America is also a strong exception to the global correlation between religiosity and wealth. In general, the wealthier a country is, the less religious. Not so in America, as Pew’s most fascinating chart shows:

 

 

 

(Snip)