In order to draw a comprehensive picture of one culture in comparison to another, one element worth looking at is their religious beliefs and practices. Since religion is a very personal thing, we will have to rely on statistics to make our comparisons.
A 2016 poll by the Public Religion Research Institute estimated that 69% of the Americans are Christians, with 45% professing attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant, and 20% professing Catholic beliefs. 4% decline to be specific within the framework of Christianity. The highly-regarded Pew Research Center found that 78% of Americans claimed to follow some religion and 22% were atheist or agnostic. Pew lays it out by individual religion quite nicely at this web site. (click here)
Germany is about 26% Protestant, 25% Catholic and 40% non-affiliated. Some of the higher number of non-affiliated may be driven by the German Church tax which takes money from those affiliated with a major religion directly from their monthly salary. It may be easier to say you are affiliated with a religion when there is no direct cost (USA).
The Muslin faith has risen dramatically in Germany since 2015 with the large number of asylum seekers who entered the country. Followers of Islam now represents 5% of the German population. This compares with 1.1% in the US.
In the US, the growth of Islam is driven in part by African American Southern Baptists who are more comfortable in a religion which is not dominated by Whites. One such famous conversion was the boxer Casium Clay who became Muhammed Ali when he became a Muslim in the ealy 1960s.
Religion in Europe
For a comparison of religions in Germany compared to other major European countries, click here
Beyond the Stats
One thing which is not reflected in the numbers is a difference in the role of houses of worhship in the US vs. Germany. Americans move around their large country for jobs and personal reasons much more than Germans do around theirs. Students of culture use the word Bodenständig (deep-rooted) to describe Germans.
The greater nomadic behavior of Americans means that they often seek help to develop roots fast in a new community. For people who are religious, American churches have many activities like lectures, dinners, dances, food drives for the poor and they organize visits to the infirm. This helps newcomers feel a sense of community and belonging.
