According to the Pew Research Center, around 88% of Americans had at least some belief in a God, with around 63% being "absolutely certain" of this. This is in stark contrast to other comparable countries, such as the UK, where a 2011 YouGov poll found that only 34% of respondents reported belief in a God.
A 2017 study of 15 Western European countries, again conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that the median percentage of respondents reporting belief in a higher power across the nations was 65%, which is still a good deal less than the US.
This is emulated in the nation's politics, with a 2018 poll finding that only 60% of Americans would entertain voting for an atheist, and only one member of Congress identifying as "religiously unaffiliated". This is a vast difference to attitudes in the UK, where a 2015 YouGov poll found that the announcement by two of the main candidates for the General Election that they were atheist made only 6% of voters view them more negatively, while the announcement that the remaining main candidate was a member of the Church of England made 7% of voters view him more negatively.
What are the factors that have led to religion being so important in the US, relative to other Western countries?
