Assaying Americans' Religious Seriousness

Despite a consensus that Americans are more pious than people in other developed countries, debate simmers about just how serious they are in their religious commitments. A poll by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life gives some indications. Looking at the chart here, you can say the pews are half full (almost) or half empty on any given week, depending on your druthers. There is less ambiguity in response to a question about how often (if at all) people “pray to God outside of religious services”: 64 percent said they do it every day, with another 10 percent saying “more than once a week” and 5 percent saying “once a week.”