Is America Really That Exceptional?

    Dick Johnson's article in Newsweek mentioned poll data that suggests that "80 percent of Americans say a belief in God shapes their views." This is a pretty broad statement. Looking at specific evidences, at least about Iraq, we get a different view.
     Forgive me for going outside of our readings, but a Pew Research survey from 2003 found that "Nearly six-in-ten (57%) of those who regularly attend religious services say their clergy has spoken about the prospect of war with Iraq. But just a fifth (21%) say their priest or minister has taken a position on the issue." with "Just one-in-ten Americans cite their religious beliefs as the strongest influence in their thinking about the war"
     This contrasts to 53% being influenced by friends and family, and 43% saying the same about political commentators.
     Is it fair to point to religious conviction or participation as such an influential aspect of American public opinion? It seems churches are not the forums where discussions of just war are happening, and opinion on war seems to more closely fall along party lines, sometimes contrary to a church's stance.