Bollocks, as you folk say. There is absolutely no evidence of this and plenty of evidence to the contrary. What people say they believe and how they act is utterly independent.

Seen anyone, ever, “turn the other cheek” in societies replete with Christians?

Or how do you explain that millions continue to smoke when, incontrovertibly, cigarettes are harmful?

Or what about women who dress provocatively yet claim to be prim and proper?

I don’t really think anyone should draw solitary conclusions from statistics, even over long periods of time. They can be a helpful tool in analyzing scenarios and causation but they should always be treated as part of an overall summary. Statistics are a hard thing to do right and should be handled carefully. Most statistics I’ve seen can be debunked with simple reasoning but for some reason people treat any statistical correlation drawn as authority and gold.

With regards to American inheritance of British hangups – I think it’s been pointed out before and I find it puzzling and ironic how in America, where there is a constitutional separation of church and state, politicians appeal to Christian sensibilities, the majority view is of America as a Christian nation. Whereas in the UK, where there is no such constitution and the government is legally and structurally involved with the church, politicians dare not inject religion into their rhetoric, most Christians see church and state as a separate affair and the majority would not consider Britain a Christian nation.

I actually prefer the British approach to church and state – there is a lot less animosity from mainstream in the UK – although we do seem to have a problem with American culture and ideas seeping into our country. It’s kind of irritating to see people employ American cultural solutions when it’s clear that the solution is for an American problem.

A bit like trying to watch British actors follow an unedited/unadapted script from an American TV show – it’s not a pretty sight.

I was also surprised how little remains in Britain of the two hangups we Americans inherited (caught?) from the Brits: Puritanism and Victorianism.

Conclusions about statistics are best drawn over time. Any given snapshot may be a fluke.

There are multiple examples from previous posts on his blog. Maybe I was being a little disingenuous by not including a link to an example but if you require one they can be found.