This column originally was published on Jan. 25, 2007.

Reliable polls tell us that America is the most religious nation in the industrialized world. More that 90 percent of our population say they believe in God, and that they pray regularly.

What does that mean in terms of our behavior?

In his New Testament Epistle James expressed the Christian view that "faith without works is dead." Similarly, Judaism calls for "mitzvahs" — good deeds. And Islam requires acts of charity. So what does our religion report card look like?

We are a religious nation:

The gap between rich and poor is widening. The Census Bureau reports that 36 million Americans live in poverty. That includes one in five children.

We are a religious nation:

Our growing population of working poor often must choose between gasoline for getting to work and food for their families. Nearly half of the more than 24 million Americans who rely on food banks come from working families.

We are a religious nation:

The elderly poor and other seniors on fixed incomes are often forced to choose between food and medicine.

We are a religious nation:

A new class has emerged in America: the working homeless.

We are a religious nation:

Thirty-eight million Americans — one in 10 households — including almost 14 million children — experience hunger or the risk of hunger. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hunger in American households has nearly doubled in the last five years.

We are a religious nation:

The food service industry throws away 96 billion pounds of food each year.

We are a religious nation:

The current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour places a family of three with a full-time working breadwinner far below the poverty level. The current House of Representatives bill to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 over two years will still keep those families hovering at the poverty line. Yet the president is threatening to veto the bill if the Senate passes it.

We are a religious nation:

France, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, England, the Isle of Man, and many other nations have a higher minimum wage than we do.

We are a religious nation:

We are the only industrialized nation that doesn't provide healthcare for all its citizens. According to year 2005 Census Bureau figures, 46.5 million Americans, including 12 million children, have no health insurance — and that figure is climbing. By every measure, the United States is the richest nation in the world, but it is ranked 37th for health system performance by the World Health Organization.

We are a religious nation:

Katrina destroyed New Orleans and the lives of hundreds of thousands. We stood by and did little. New Orleans continues to sink into poverty and misery. We still watch and do nothing.

We are a religious nation:

A million innocents were slaughtered in Rwanda. We watched and did nothing. Now we witness the ongoing genocide in Darfur — more than 400,000 already killed — and do nothing.

We are a religious nation:

In the United States there are at least 26 Holocaust museums to raise our awareness of the Nazi genocide and help prevent these horrors from happening again. Who is listening, who is learning? Who is acting?

We are a religious nation:

Scientists warn that the environmental doomsday clock is ticking. The icebergs are breaking away and melting before our eyes, revealing islands we never saw before. We watch and debate and do little to preserve the environment for ourselves and future generations.

We are a religious nation:

Americans make up 5 percent of the world population and produce 25 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, which are raising the earth's temperature ("greenhouse effect") to dangerous levels.

We are a religious nation:

Fossil fuel consumption is destroying the planet, and we refuse to develop a "Marshall Plan" for alternative energy.

Smoking continues to compromise the health of over 20 percent of our population who still smoke. The Surgeon General tells us that smoking, in addition to contributing to a number of cancers, increases the risk of almost every known disease. The American Lung Association reports that each day nearly 6,000 children under 18 years of age start smoking. We refuse to put an end to smoking.

We are a religious nation:

Leaders of some of our biggest corporations (men and women of "faith") have cheated, raped and destroyed their companies, ruining the lives and futures of untold numbers of individuals and families.

We are a religious nation:

The U.S. military budget request for fiscal year 2007 is $462.7 billion. That's up from $288.9 billion in the year 2000, and does not include $50 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our military spending is seven times larger than that of China, the second-highest military spender.

We are a religious nation:

We went to war on false pretense (weapons of mass destruction) and continue to sacrifice the blood of our dedicated and patriotic military and of innocent Iraqi civilians.

What is religion? It's love, caring, serving, giving, sharing, oneness, brother- and sisterhood, compassion and selflessness. Summed up: Thy neighbor is thyself.

I'm so glad that we are a religious nation.

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Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches "Spirituality in Film" and leads "The Spiritual Forum" at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. He can be reached at {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.