Berkley Center

American religious culture is American culture. Religion is built into the way most Americans live their lives, from Sunday morning service to saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes.

British religious culture does not overlap quite so easily with popular culture. First of all, it is more religiously diverse. There are many Protestants, but also Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and everywhere in between. As a result, conservative Christian culture is not as embedded in the social fabric. Drinking in public is permitted. Contraception is more readily available. Smoking, swearing, and drinking are more common. Churches seem to exist more as vestiges of a more religious time, and there are far fewer in London than there seem to be in any average American town.

While I can’t be certain that the more liberal social policy of Great Britain is a result of the fact that it is a less religious nation than American, I must wonder, how would American culture be different if it were not rooted in a Puritan history? Would shops still close early on Sunday? Would the drinking age still be 21? Would charitable giving and volunteer work with links to the First and Second Great Awakenings cease to exist? Would abstinence education still be taught? Would it still be true that every modern American president has been openly Christian? And would these changes be better for the American spirit, or worse?

We are certainly more unified in being a largely self-proclaimed religious nation. But some of the most historic trials of the twentieth and twenty-first century have been based in religious conflict. Is American Christianity more unifying or divisive?

Religion in Britain is never on the center stage of culture. In my interactions with others, it never comes up casually in conversation. When questions of morality are raised, no one involved in the discussion ever ties morality to religious values. No one frets over going to church. From what I have observed, religious distance has not been detrimental to Britain in any way.

But this formula may not translate so well across the Atlantic. Perhaps certain aspects of life are made more difficult by our religious roots. Liquor licensing laws in different states may make alcohol less accessible. The grocery store closing at 5 p.m. on a Sunday is a bit inconvenient. But American culture is distinctly American because, among a plethora of other reasons, it has a strong relationship with Christianity without sacrificing diversity.

My experience in London has been one devoid of religious undertones. In some ways it is refreshing, in other ways I find it makes me feel more disconnected from the world I’ve spent the past few months in. I can’t quite put my finger on it beyond that. But when I step out into the public world, there’s something missing, some sort of deep undercurrent of religious affiliation that gives many American citizens an instant source of common ground.

Perhaps this is why no one speaks on the tube here, why no one says, “Excuse me,” when they’d like to squeeze past you in the supermarket, or why no one helped me with my cumbersome luggage on my way from Heathrow. I suppose there’s no way to know for certain just how greatly America’s religious identity has shaped its citizens and the ways in which they relate to one another. But comparison is an excellent way to start.