This viewpoint was the justification for global colonization, the enslavement of numerous groups of indigenous people, and the massive enforcement of certain religions (such as Christianity) on different peoples throughout the world. There are a couple of interesting facts in denoting the contemporary view of this subject among the Western world. The U.S. was the only country surveyed in which more people still adhered to the belief that their culture was better than that of other civilizations and countries. All of the European countries have apparently abandoned this notion, or at the very least have more people who disbelieve the fact that they are culturally superior to others than those who do. Germany is nearly evenly divided on this subject (No author, 2011).
The category in which the U.S.'s views on autonomy are most prevalent is that in which compares the values of individualism vs. The importance of a state government. The U.S. is the only country surveyed in which more people preferred the liberty to live freely vs. conforming to state regulations. The vast majority of Western Europe has more citizens who believe the opposite point-of-view, that state regulation supersedes that of individual freedom. This difference between Europe and the U.S. is not surprising, considering the fact that individualism has always characterized the U.S. when compared to its European counterparts.
What is surprising for a country that values political independence is how reserved it is terms of personal...
European nations are far more liberal in terms of their tolerance for homosexual tendencies. Although there is a 60% toleration rate in the U.S. which indicates that this concept is prevalent within this country, the toleration for certain European nations, such as Spain, is approximately 90% -- which underscores a significance difference in the levels of toleration between Europe and the U.S. (No author, 2011).
In terms of morality and the role of organized religion in shaping it, people in America are more likely to believe that religion helps to enforce such ethics and plays an integral part in bettering people than people in Europe are. The European tolerance that is evinced in its views of homosexuality is also evinced in its views or religion -- which implies that organized religion is not necessary for people to lead good lives.
On the whole, the differences between the U.S. And Europe in terms of its values and cultural distinctions can be summed up with the fact that in terms of political and economic authority, the U.S. is much more individualistic than most of Western Europe. However, in terms of actual individual freedom and rights to expression, Europe is more tolerant than the U.S. is.
References
No author. (2011). "American exceptionalism subsides: the American-Western European values gap." PewResearchCenter. Retrieved from http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/11/17/the-american-western-european-values-gap/
