{"id":29449,"date":"2017-02-01T13:52:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T18:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2017\/02\/01\/views-of-national-identity-by-country\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:56:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:56:54","slug":"views-of-national-identity-by-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2017\/02\/01\/views-of-national-identity-by-country\/","title":{"rendered":"5. Views of national identity by country"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does it take to be \u2018truly American\u2019?<\/h3>\n\n
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Roughly nine-in-ten in the U.S. (92%) voice the view that to be truly American it is very or somewhat important that a person speak English, with 70% saying it is very important.<\/p>\n\n

More than eight-in-ten think a person\u2019s American-ness depends on whether she or he shares U.S. customs and traditions. In addition, a majority of the public believes that to be truly American a person has to be born in the United States. And the public is divided over whether one has to be Christian in order to be considered American, with roughly a third saying it is very important and another third saying it is not at all important.<\/p>\n\n

In Europe, language, culture are central to national identity<\/h3>\n\n
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European opinions vary widely about the key components of national identity, but publics agree that language is fundamental. Across the 10 EU countries surveyed, a median of 97% think that being able to speak the national language is very or somewhat important.<\/p>\n\n

There is also a strong cultural component to national identity for Europeans. A median of 86% believe sharing national customs and traditions is at least somewhat important, with 48% saying this is very<\/em> important. But the intensity of such sentiment differs between countries. While 68% in Hungary and 66% in Greece say national customs and traditions are very<\/em> important, fewer than four-in-ten in the Netherlands (37%), and roughly three-in-ten or less in Germany (29%) and Sweden (26%) agree.<\/p>\n\n

Fewer Europeans say the land of one\u2019s birth matters to national identity. A median of 58% say it is important for someone to be born in their country to be truly considered a national of that land; a third think this is very<\/em> important.<\/p>\n\n

Religion is generally seen as even less central to national identity. However, it is an essential factor to many in Greece, where 54% say it is very important to be Christian to be considered truly Greek.<\/p>\n\n

What it means to be Canadian<\/h3>\n\n
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On questions of national identity, nearly nine-in-ten Canadians think it is either very (59%) or somewhat important (29%) to speak either English or French to be truly Canadian. A similar proportion believes it is either very (54%) or somewhat important (36%) to share Canadian customs and traditions in order to be truly Canadian. Fewer voice the view that it is important to be native-born or Christian.<\/p>\n\n

French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians are generally in agreement about whether language is very important for being a true Canadian. Roughly six-in-ten of those interviewed in French (63%) and English (58%) say speaking either French or English is very important to being truly Canadian.<\/p>\n\n