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Interesting!

Crazy to see "Faith" as one of the most important topic in the US...

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Crazy is a good description.

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Right? It explains sooo much.

I suspect that there were no Middle Eastern countries in this because it would imply that the US is just as "radicalized" as the Middle East.

And nowhere else.

Haha deep fried bars bars (UK)

And yet people give up their entire lives to work some corporate middle-manager position.

We have the tech.

Give gainful employment and better wages. That way, we can enjoy our lives, families, engaging work, etc.

I was surprised to find that material well being/occupation is not in top 2 for US. The stories about the office culture over there are insane, and a lot of people seem to be proud about working over 40 hours a week.

It's not "one of the most important topics", it's one of the top sources of meaning. If anything, I'm surprised it ranks so low in US, and it's surprising that it doesn't show up for any other country.

I'm frightened about countries in which General Positive is ranked so highly. Who is that general? Why is he such an important inspiration for meaning in life?

(And while my comment above is tongue in cheek, I still wonder about the exact question asked, because "General Positive" attitude towards life giving it meaning sounds incredibly hollow and to me it indicates a "General Dissatisfaction" and meaninglessness with inability to name what is important to the individual.)

You are surprised that believing in things without evidence doesn’t rank higher?

In Italy, the family is the occupation

I'm amazed it isn't higher in the U.S. and elsewhere

reddit moment

Korea is all about the moolah

Religiosity is insanely low in every other developed country

US: family. Also US: son, you're 18 now, so pay rent or gtfo

Health>Partner/Family>Friends

We're new-ish in NL (in 2015/2016).

It's great to see NLs have their priorities right.

Chart implies dutchies wouldn't take care at work.

We've needed many tradesmen over those 6 or 8 years.

All were so much better than what we knew before (in CA UK US).

All were reasonably $$, came when said they would, did good work, and some did great work.

(and we use coolblue instead of useless ama$on.)

They are asking "advanced economies" and my guess is that no middle east country meets that, though, not sure why UAE wouldn't meet it in a way that Singapore does.

Crazy how in a country of 330 million people there's more than 1 opinion...

I wonder how living in Taiwan is... Having Society as a priority sounds like the best option for me (at least objectively).

Key word: “stories.” The average American worker works just under 39 hours a week.

Well I assume that is self reported by unselfaware people. If it was close to reality, how would you explain the way society works ? 🤔

I'm pretty skeptical about that data, at least about Spain and the US, the order doesn't seem right.

While I would agree with you, I suspect that it is heavily counter balanced by the second one. Society is priority but society purpose is to serves the second priority which is material consumption. So my guess is that it's not very different than most western country that probably lies to themself when giving their priorities. I think the only difference is that Taiwanese people are self aware.

US office culture is more of a free for all than a lot of places, for good and bad. You don't have unions telling the Type As and workaholics to back off and stop working so much, so they're free to do so, and earn that sweet sweet overtime. The flip-side is when one of those types ends up in charge, there's not a lot to stop them from putting those expectations onto the people below them either. Which you end up with can vary by industry, company, and even division within a company.

I'm actually surprised it isn't higher elsewhere. So many people find meaning in their faiths. It's actually quite sad that "material well being" is a source of meaning for people.

Like "my Mercedes gives me my meaning" or "being an accountant is what give me meaning" is really sad to me.

Thinking something like "God's plan for me gives me meaning" just doesn't sound nearly as trivial or shallow as pointing to things you own or your current job.

Oh my goodness what a burn

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Well, what do we say? Salud, dinero y amor which is literally health, money and love, exactly in that order hahaha

Other measures back this up. For example, about 64% of Americans identify as Christian compared to about 44% of Australians.

I agree with u but damn bro u ok?

Universities from the available nations are pretty communicative with one another

Um… yeah. This was tame in comparison to what could be said about faith.

Funny way to put it. I’d say in the US it remains insanely high while for the rest of the 1.4 billion people in developed (OECD) countries it has generally declined much more quickly.

Lol, I have perspective bias I guess? I am envious of the rest of the OECD that doesn't have to deal with this.

Being an American is such a mixed bag sometimes. On the one hand, we're the only developed nation backward enough to have "Faith" make the Top 5. But on the other, I'm proud of the fact we prioritize Friends over Occupation. It's shocking how only two other countries rank Friends that highly.

What? The data doesn’t imply anything about that. It’s what gives people meaning in life. Great “tradesmen” don’t necessarily need to derive meaning in life from their occupation in order to be good at their work.

well family is suppose to teach you responsibilities so...

I think it's crazy everywhere else uses material well-being.

My life has meaning because I have money is simply absurd, and it seems to be found practically everywhere.

Spain not choosing family?

I am pretty sure the question was not well translated

I think it’s crazy that material well-being is ranking higher than friends or health tbh

What’s wrong with finding meaning in faith? As long as you’re not hurting anyone I don’t see the issue. If faith helps a person keep going forward and find happiness in their life, I don’t see anything wrong with that.

Yup, there is no way Spain isn’t choosing family as one of the top 2

Fr that burn was so good omg, he is so smart, huge brain burn 😱

I was surprised "Guns" wasn't even there.

Interestingly, Faith is only ever mentioned by US

The Dutch really turned things around there

Coolblue is a pretty reliable company. They are also really lenient with returns and warranties.

Yes! Those of us with chronic health conditions know that nothing happens in life without health. You don’t get to spend meaningful time with family and friends (I spend a lot of time sleeping), you can’t work like you would like to, you don’t make it to church because you are resting from the work week, your finances are strained from medical bills and/or lack of work, etc.

Preserve your health!

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It is high in muslim countries and poorer countries, as well as im sure Israel, the Vatican city-state.

The US is… well, im sure they’d hate to admit it, but the only developed country with that many white ppl who still believe in the gods/goddess religious structure.

But realize, a large swath of america is basically underdeveloped countries, i guarantee you a survey of Nyc + LA + basically the most economically developed cities wouldnt result in Faith being number 5… maybe still top 10 though?

There's nothing wrong with faith being a priority, but it's wrong, and a bit sad, when this graph points out that in the US faith is a bigger priority than health, society or hobbies. Especially health.

Ukraine would also have society as the top priority

Wait what?? You do realize material well being here could also mean like… a house or apartment. Open ended responses means people wrote in various answers, and the analysts converted them to categories. So i highly doubt anyone wrote “Car” over family, but… they may value being able to move from home and provide for themselves materially as e most important thing in their lives rn.

No offense but, having a home sounds a lot more important to me than believing in someones god or goddesses. I do think Hinduism could be very enlightening and fulfilling… but like, would you practice it on the street?

My thoughts exactly

Here is the full report if anyone wants to read: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/what-makes-life-meaningful-views-from-17-advanced-economies/

Reading it, the authors are pretty open that the questions and options were interpreted really variably.

Edit: Also has this little neat interactive data explorer:
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/interactives/meaning-in-life/data/occupation_career

Health or society should be number one. Those are really the true things that guarantee survival in a society. Not going to live very long being obese or depressed.

Somehow Maternal Well-being made the top 3 when we are the only industrialized nation without mandated paid maternal/paternal leave

It's a kind of "Overall well-being" obviously.

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Because they're in state of emergency, that's no wonder lol

I’m not surprised at all tbh.

Loving your family doesn't mean you have to let an adult who's perfectly capable of taking care of themselves reside in your house for free. That being said, I hardly knew anybody whose parents didn't help their kids after they turned 18.

It's not a zero sum game though. I can be Christian or Muslim and feel very devoted to my faith and still take great care of my health. I don't wake up and have to choose between my priorities being my hobbies and having faith. Ranking my faith above health for my values does not mean I don't take care of myself just as much as somebody with no faith.

Faith/religion isn't important in Italy? . Hard to believe that.

I'm surprised Japan doesn't have Society, and surprised the US is the only one with Faith.

Seeing Society and Freedom for Taiwan is looking like they are really gearing up for something.

now i'm curious about india🤣

Love my UK up there still keeping hobbies alive <3

I wonder if any answers such as “quality of living conditions” have been pigeonholed into this category?

Maybe so, but faith is an important part of spiritual health ,spiritual health is an important part of mental health,and mental health is a significant part of physical health and hygiene.

A person's faith is often cited as the driving force for why they were willing to help others (especially in times of personal danger) .

To argue faith somehow undermines a person's priority to health or society is simply naive.

To begin with faith has a definition issue which causes confusion. Where people use it colloquially to mean different things that are similar but not interchangeable. Such as trust, hope, confidence, belief, evidence and evidence of things not seen. Then it can be misinterpreted between people, or have the meaning changed in-between premises which can trick people.

For what is the harm, faith is what allows people to smuggle in insufficient evidence to support their claims. This causes people to believe false information, which once convinced of they will then act on. This includes direct actions and indirect such as voting for harmful policies or not stopping someone else from doing something harmful. Another harm is false hope. Secondarily, if you use faith as a method for determining what is true in one situation, you are more susceptible to it in other. Opening yourself up to being conned.

Ya it was a little surprising the US was the only country that had that even on there. It's the top one for me, but I realize I'm a minority there lol.

My assumption is that a high number of people ranked it amongst top 3, while the rest did not rank it at all. Therefore the high ranking.

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> Crazy to see "Faith" as one of the most important topic in the US...

Tell me you aren't American without telling me you aren't American.

Kinda “their thing” 😏

Lame joke

South Korea getting their priorities right

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After two years of sideline watching the k dramas my gf watches, Im not surprised. Material wealth and status seems to be in front of every single show.

Really? Then why is it such a corrupt country?

Occupation is 5th for the NL, interesting! I always thought that the Dutch really love the work and do some good honest hard work.

Man, the UK was maybe 1 away from what it should realistically be, get occupation down below health.

The poll was an open-ended question, so I guess people will say the first things that come to their minds.

Now in Taiwan, we have regular threats of invasion from a country which society works very differently, so that's probably the reason why society and freedom rank so high. They also rank high in South Korea, probably for the same reason.

Pretty sure that the people were responding with what they're missing, not with the needs they have fulfilled. Spain is 10x more family orientated than the US.

Occupation is not something that gives your life meaning, just something that helps you survive. Most people in the US hate their job but they go anyway.

Honestly the reason the US is so depressing right now is because people don't feel like the things they spend most of their time doing are meaningful in any way.

I think this chart can also reflect what people are lacking in each country. The US is very individualistic and people actually crave more connection. The responders probably didn’t think of material well-being as having as much purpose because they already have it.

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As someone who's currently residing in Taiwan, it is interesting to see 'Society' being placed as the 1st choice. Makes me ponder if that is the reason why the people here, in general, are quite respectful and cordial to others in public settings

Taiwan has this shit figured out.

I would rank health as the most important thing in life, but I don't see how it is a source of meaning at all.

My spidey sense says the outcome is a result of badly phrased questions and confused respondents.

edit: Going to the source it turns out the exact question is "What aspects of your life do you currently find meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying?"

"If you know what I mean" ;)

I found that surprising as well...That's crazy. No wonder why their electronics are kick-ass.

The question was "What aspects of your life do you currently find meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying?"

The healthy man has many wishes, the sick man has one.

Yeah, but what was the question in Spanish? I wouldn't know how to properly translate that question tbh.

I say that less about how the country operattes, and more because of the time surveyed (Spring 2021). I'm guessing that Taiwan wanting to be its own society and not China is influencing that outcome. Hence, I believe Ukraine would similarly have society as #1 right now.

And there's nuance to that too. I'm sure a high percentage of British people still identify as Christian, as that's how they were brought up, but an incredibly small percentage are active.

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I’m pretty sure it’d be something on the lines of ‘what do you reckon is more important/ the bare minimum needed to live a pleasant/good life’. The “health comes first” bit is a very ingrained thought in the Spanish mindset (“La Salud es lo primero :)”) so I’m not even surprised, and material well-being is sort of tied to health as well, because if you can’t pay your heating and utilities… so for me as a Spaniard it all makes sense. We’re family-oriented but we’re also very realistic and the basics come first.

Also the Occupation bit I’m pretty sure it just means “a job” and not a career, when asked in Spain. Unemployment has been rampant in Spain for years so even the thought of a proper career is a bit laughable.

So yeah, health, material well-being, occupation and then family sound good to me in that order as a Spaniard.

China is so messed up, it’s not even on there…

Not surprised faith was a priority in the US. People of faith often spend much of their social time in their church activities, volunteering, bible study, choir, etc. I am lucky to be in good health so don’t think a lot about it. But I pray daily and am appreciative of my faith. And as a Christian, we believe in the resurrection and afterlife, which is kind of a big deal. So, not surprising to me at all that faith made one of the top sources of meaning. I know my Jewish and Muslim neighbors feel the same.

Yup. U.S. is definitely missing Health and Society. Instead -we have Faith. Thoughts and prayers everyone!!

For a country like America that prides itself with "hustling", working for 12 hours, doing 2 jobs (without paid maternity leave or even paid holidays) and having the most anti-humane possible "9 to 5" system, while marriages that last for a lifetime are almost nonexistent, it's pretty unlikely that occupation is only the fourth and family the first.

Surely health is the core value which enables you to actualise and enjoy all the other values, its absence being death.

I don't :-(

No wonder people kill themselves a lot in South Korea

Gives interesting context to the UKs GDP per capita is lagging behind with occupation coming 4th.

Lol, ofc USA is the only one with faith on this list.

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/what-makes-life-meaningful-views-from-17-advanced-economies/pg_11-18-21_meaning-of-life_0_3/

What does it say about the idea that religion is needed for social cohesion, that the United States is the only country to value it?

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if that is the question there have been problems in the traslation somewhere, because health is a really weird response for that

Yeah, my bet would be that the question was along the lines of "what do you consider most important?" or something. That would explain health being so high too

There is some truth to it. I'm thinking those stories come from salaried office jobs. Most lawyers, doctors, auditors, military, and other professionals I work with can easily put in 70 hours a week. And as far as those weekly hour averages are calculated, I wonder how they include people with 2 or more jobs. Also, I suspect that we don't have a great leave system here compared to other developed countries.

> The “health comes first” is a very ingrained thought in the Spanish mindset (La Salud es lo primero :) )

Especially after a global pandemic

Material well being steadily increases happiness to 100k approximately, knowing you could get fired and still have enough savings etc. to keep your lifestyle up for a long time is very securing and not having to worry about bills etc. Can be a big relief. And if you are paycheck to paycheck you might not even have time/ energy or a good enough job to be able to hang out with friends.

Without any material you're out sleeping on the street without any belongings or possession and have to ride the bus everywhere.

And if you're introverted you dont really need friends or socializing regularly to maintain your energy.

When i didnt have any good job or career i just felt internally and viewed myself as not as good as other people, i viewed others that did on a higher level and felt like tgere was something wrong with me and didn't even want to get a relationship or hangout with friends because i just felt sham

News just in from China: Occupation, Occupation, Occupation, Occupation, Occupation.

I dont think being satisfied with ones health is weird.

This is not a reddit friendly graph.

I did not find that surprising. My impression as a tourist two years ago was that especially young Koreans were immensely superficial. Outer appearance (Make-Up, designer clothes, plastic surgery) and posing for social media seemed to be the very defining thing in their lives.

Yo hear me out. What if we start exporting thoughts and prayers in exchange for materials again? It’ll be the greatest trade deal, the heathens get high quality ‘murican thoughts and prayers and we get critical resources like oil and fancy minerals!

Man they should make me the secretary of commerce

Not sure why that’s relevant? British people are less than 1 in 25 Australians. There are many many more Asian born people here in Australia than British. This is a mainstream trend not an immigration thing though. But yes the Anglican Church here is loosing people faster than the Catholic Church is.

I was just imply that putting a religion down on a census and actually being religious are two very different things, that often can't be picked up on surveys etc.

No mate this is real and has moved on from that. Once Australians did tend to report “Christian” in the census when they only went to church for weddings, funerals and Christmas when grandma made them go, but nowadays these people of all ages report “no religion”. The default culture is not Christian and so people (generally) don’t feel the need to say they are that when they aren’t.

Yeah I'd say it's probably the same with my generation here in the UK, but wouldn't be surprised if my parents and their generation would still put Christian on a census despite not being in a church for 10 years!

Mafia groups are usually run by a family that control many places, business and even sectors of a city or country

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Let people believe in what they want.

No, beliefs do not exist in a vacuum. First you believe in magic, then you are taking away reproductive rights for all women in America. You believe silly shit, you do silly shit.

Why is finding meaning in faith "backward"?

Slippery slope fallacy, okay guy

That is not how the slippery slope fallacy works. People who believe in magic DID take away reproductive rights for all women in America because they believe in magic. It is not a hypothetical, it actually fucking happened. Slippery slope requires hypothetical, which I am not doing.

Calling religious belief magic is reductive and untrue. People who are religious have done tons if things, including the original Roe ruling.

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If it wasnt magic, it would be science. It is not science, because it is magic. Believing in angels and god, is magic

Sure, you can have that opinion.

Sicilian mafia goes by “Cosa Nostra” which means “our thing”.

If you do not think resurrection, turning water into wine, walking on water, parting a sea, casting demons into sheep, healing blind people, and all other "miracles" are not magic, then you being intentionally dishonest. It is magic.

I think it's incredibly reductive. I also think you're associating all religion with the Christian mythos.

Sacra Corona Unita sounds badass, though

They all have their own equally magical mythos. And there is nothing wrong with being reductive. Either way it is believing in unfounded nonsense that goes against reality.

The whole point of faith is that it can't be objectively proven. I'm an atheist myself who is outraged by the decision against Roe, so I understand at least in part why you feel the way you do.

Nonetheless it irks me when people go hard against religion and mock it and people who follow it. Let people believe what they want to believe. The actions of overzealous American Christians is not an indictment on all religions everywhere. Let people bask in the comfort and assuredness religion brings them. Attacking it and calling it magic is hateful and unnecessary.

I disagree. Fuck all magical thinking. It is dangerous and is poison to the mind.

It helps a lot of people. It isn't poison to every mind and blanket statements are almost never correct.

Taiwanese here, I'd say we mostly recognize the problems by ourselves(self aware). The interviews are pretty much spot on.

• Good social relationship(knowing as many people as you can) is a must have if you work in Taiwan.

• Price index/inflation(material well-being) is a rising concern, especially real estate market(dare I say it's shit).

• Taiwan is a small place, you wouldn't have to worry about arranging and traveling 500+ km just to have family reunion.

• Work hour and wage(occupation) is a problem(again, shit) compared to western countries. Hard working is pretty much taken to the next level in Taiwan. We're well aware of this but life still has to go on. (This has some sort of correlation with craving for freedom.)

• We have one of the best national health care system in the world, that's why we're not really concerned about health.(though cancer prevalence rate is still concerning)

Everything sounds fine or normal (at least to me), except the working thing. I hope you have a non-stressful job.

family is not as important in Spain, IDK where u took that from.

So basically you have never meet people from Spain, or you are Spanish and have never meet people from Sweeden, USA, etc. so you can't compare.

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Why people love to speak about things they know 0 in internet?... seriously, stop.

I am spanish and spend all my summers in sweden lmao

Spaniard here who has lived in the US for 10 years. We wouldn’t respond like Americans “oh, family!”; we would be honest. Health (and we probably are not thinking just OUR health) absolutely comes first.

Yeah, sure. What a coincidence, just the two countries I said...

read my comments lmaoooo you were just unlucky with your theory.

If you wanna hear my opinion is that sure, family is kinda always there, but there isn't as much of a "doing it for you family". Sure I see my family once every two weeks and talk with my mother quite a lot, but there isn't much of an obligation to meet, you kinda meet if you wanna. Possibly after Franco's regime people were fed up with family traditions and expectations.

Having a family near doesn't mean its your priority, people here are very social and family is just another social circle, people my age and older 20s-30s kinda have given up of forming families due to economic stress, that could also be part of it.

Thanks man, contentment is strong among Taiwanese citizens and we're happy about what we have now, no worries on my part!

Additional info on society: Again, Taiwan is so small and the chances of meeting someone you knew is quite a thing, not crazy common but possible.(population density is 640 people/km^2)

i.e. Your colleague or even the boss might be your old schoolmate or used to be at the same platoon(if you served in the military). Chances are, just eating in a random restaurant and met with your old friend is entirely possible.

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Yes yes we know everyone is wrong and you are right...

just another perspective from the locals what r u american? lmaooo

Americans Lied on this survey

Wow, freedom barely made it on the list for any country

That friends and society are so low on Canada's list displays how individualistic Canada is