Why Europe Still Misreads America

But there is one aspect that cuts deeper than debates about foreign policy or capitalism, and that is religion. When German observers confront American religiosity, something happens that goes beyond cultural criticism. It triggers genuine bewilderment that often shades into alarm. According to 2022 data, 37 percent of Americans describe religion as “very important” in their lives. In Germany, the figure is thirteen percent. For most European intellectuals, this God gap confirms a simple diagnosis: that America is backward and still awaiting the secularisation that Europe completed decades ago.