Through the Looking Glass - Religious Synonymity

[richlevy]

From here

February 10, 2009
Alabama, Iran have more in common than first thought

Baptists in Tuscaloosa and Muslims in Tehran might not seem to have much in common, but Alabama and Iran do agree on one thing: the importance of religion.
Nearly identical percentages of people in both locations -- 82 percent of Alabamians and 83 percent of Iranians -- say religion is an important part of their daily lives.
The comparisons come from the Gallup Poll, which recently compiled findings about the importance of faith to individuals in all 50 states and 143 countries.
"Georgians in the United States are about as religious as Georgians in the Caucasus region," wrote Steve Crabtree and Brett Pelham, in a Monday (Feb. 9) report on the Gallup Web site. "On the less religious end of the spectrum, residents of New Hampshire look similar to their neighbors in Canada and Alaskans are about as religious as Israelis."

They say that opposites attract. By extension, that implies that like minded individuals may repel. If you conducted a survey in Tehran and Birmingham, and swapped the words "Christian" and "Muslim", I wonder how alike the answers would be.

BTW, having eaten street food in Israel, I will say that Southerners and people from the Middle East also share a "lets throw this in hot oil and see how it tastes" culinary philosophy.