Is the US a "freak" country in the acceptability of religious conversions?

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Something that has been discussed in IRC before. Basically it appears that many non-Americans believe (to give a rough quote) "You can choose your faith, but not your religion." and that someone born into some religion is always going to be affiliated with that for life even if they stop believing (hence the whole "atheist Catholics" idea.) The fact that this doesn't occur in the US really is excused by the US being an unusual country in this regard. After all by some Pew study 44% of Americans are in a denomination/religion they weren't raised in now (keep in mind that while this does include people raised in one who now identify as "none" about half of people raised "none" have also converted as well) and an addition 9% converted at some point and now reverted back to their childhood one. So 53% of Americans have converted at some point. I'll admit these numbers are probably far less in most other countries and they even probably have less of an official conversion from something to "none" even if this is de facto occurring in far higher numbers, which I think is absurd. But according to some this is something where North Americans and non-North Americans think so radically different there's no way they can understand the mindset of the other.

(Although I'll note the UK Tony Blair's conversion to Catholicism wasn't seen as particularly bizarre.)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

(Although I'll note the UK Tony Blair's conversion to Catholicism wasn't seen as particularly bizarre.)

It was still considered as newsworthy though - despite the fact that he was pretty much always one in practice. Of course had he formally switched to another Christian denomination it wouldn't have been.

[DC Al Fine]

I think it has something to do with the variety of sects in America. You basically have one, maybe two groups in a given area which means there is less exposure to a variety of groups. For example a German might see Catholics, Lutherans, and maybe Muslims on a regular basis while an American could see all those plus Baptists, Pentecostals, Calvinists etc.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

In general I think there's a hemispheric divide on this, and within the Western Hemisphere it strengthens the further north you go.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

In general I think there's a hemispheric divide on this, and within the Western Hemisphere it strengthens the further north you go.

I dunno, a lot of people also convert in Brazil.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

In general I think there's a hemispheric divide on this, and within the Western Hemisphere it strengthens the further north you go.

I dunno, a lot of people also convert in Brazil.

Good point. There's also some interestingly ambiguous racial dynamics in Brazil.

[All aboard the Carney-val]

We should note that even 40 years ago most people in North America were somehow expected to stick with the religious affiliation they were raised with.

Even today most French Quebecois are nominally Catholic despite Quebec's famously secular environment.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

We should note that even 40 years ago most people in North America were somehow expected to stick with the religious affiliation they were raised with.

Even today most French Quebecois are nominally Catholic despite Quebec's famously secular environment.

Well Quebec is quite different culturally from the rest of North America, I almost just said "America" there too but realized that someone like me in Canada wouldn't be considered too unusual, nor someone raised Catholic but who now affiliates with the United Church, etc.

[DemPGH]

In other words, why do there appear to be more religious conversions in the USA than elsewhere? In the past I think it's had to do with the fact that religions and faiths were more overtly tied to nationality (literally) and even policy, whereas that was never the case in the USA. Sure, the religious right tries to enact their social agenda, but the United States from the get-go was a dumping ground for lots of mainstream and non-mainstream religions, and they all mixed. Many towns in the USA have rows of churches - if you don't like one, hit the next one, and so on. It's kind of part of public, social life.

Notions of spirituality may be different in America too, although I don't know for sure. Matters of faith may be considered more private in other industrialized countries.

And certainly in the Middle East and less developed countries it's basically illegal in many cases to proselytize.