Nations Versus Religions: Which Has a Stronger Effect on Societal Values?

The World Values Survey allows a comparison of the relative contribution of nations versus global religions on the cultural values of nations and in-country religious groups. We analyzed the answers to 16 questions from 2005–2008 about personal values and values for children at the level of 121 in-country religious groups from 56 nations. We found that the national influence is much stronger than the influence of global religions. This results...