Americans pray daily more than any other wealthy nation, and the credit is going to the nation’s embrace of religious freedom that has created an “open religious market.”
On the National Day of Prayer, heralded in a Rose Garden address by President Trump, the Pew Research Center said that 55% of Americans pray daily.
That is higher than the world average of 49% and significantly higher than the 40% average of all wealthy nations.
At a dinner last night to shine a light on prayer, the president said, “Tonight we break bread together united by our love of God and we renew our resolve to protect the sacred freedom of religion.”
Pew suggested that it was the country’s fight for religious freedom that has made prayer so big in the U.S. “Why does the U.S. have higher self-reported daily prayer than other wealthier countries? Some scholars posit that the lack of government interference in religion in the U.S. has created an open religious ‘market’ – a landscape where different religions enthusiastically compete for new members,” it said.
Poorer nations pray at a high rate. For example, nearly 100% of Afghanistan prays daily.
“Tonight we break bread together united by our love of God and we renew our resolve to protect the sacred freedom of religion.” — President Trump at tonight’s dinner for the National Day of Prayer pic.twitter.com/hQshgKt3JH
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 2, 2019
But that’s not true among rich nations. In Canada, only 25% pray daily. For Norway, it’s 18%.
“Many Americans pray every day – not just on the Day of Prayer. Indeed, out of 102 countries examined for frequency of prayer by Pew Research Center, the U.S. is unique in that it has both a high level of wealth ($56,000 per-capita gross domestic product in 2015) and a high level of daily prayer among its population,” said Pew.
