5. Views of national identity by country
h3>What does it take to be ‘truly American’?h3>What does it take to be ‘truly American’?
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121645/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-04.png)
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.
More than eight-in-ten think a person’s 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.
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121645/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-04.png)
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.
More than eight-in-ten think a person’s 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.
In Europe, language, culture are central to national identity
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121643/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-03.png)
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.
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 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 important, fewer than four-in-ten in the Netherlands (37%), and roughly three-in-ten or less in Germany (29%) and Sweden (26%) agree.
Fewer Europeans say the land of one’s 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 important.
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.
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121645/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-04.png)
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.
More than eight-in-ten think a person’s 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.
In Europe, language, culture are central to national identity
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121643/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-03.png)
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.
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 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 important, fewer than four-in-ten in the Netherlands (37%), and roughly three-in-ten or less in Germany (29%) and Sweden (26%) agree.
Fewer Europeans say the land of one’s 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 important.
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.
What it means to be Canadian
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121641/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-02.png)
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.
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.
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121645/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-04.png)
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.
More than eight-in-ten think a person’s 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.
In Europe, language, culture are central to national identity
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121643/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-03.png)
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.
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 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 important, fewer than four-in-ten in the Netherlands (37%), and roughly three-in-ten or less in Germany (29%) and Sweden (26%) agree.
Fewer Europeans say the land of one’s 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 important.
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.
What it means to be Canadian
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121641/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-02.png)
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.
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.
Australians link language and culture to national identity
![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/31121639/PG.02.01.17_national.identity-5-01.png)
More than nine-in-ten Australians (94%) say speaking English is at least somewhat important to being truly Australian. A similar proportion says the same about sharing customs and traditions. Relatively few Australians think being born in Australia (31%) or being a Christian (29%) is very or even somewhat important to being a true Australian.
Speaking Japanese seen as particularly important to being Japanese