If most of the following attitudes and traits describe you, you likely come from a specific culture, according to the psychometry of cultural differences.

You think actions speak louder than words, and that a person’s words and deeds should align. You believe that discovering the truth is vital to matters of scientific inquiry and problem-solving. You think problems should be solved and mistakes should be corrected. You are self-critical; you know you are not perfect and are willing to take a hard look at your character and seek to improve it. You think it is important to consider the future consequences of today’s actions.

You believe life is short, and that there should be more to it than just fitting in or getting by. You see time as linear, and think of stories as having a beginning, middle, and end. You have goals and want to make a difference in the world. You are suspicious toward concentrations of power and prefer self-rule over being ruled. You believe might does not make right, and that no one should be above the law.

You believe that people are accountable for their own behavior and responsible for their own lives. You believe in self-restraint: that not every thought should be spoken or every impulse acted upon. You think civility is important and that people who differ should try to get along as much as possible. You have a strong, internal moral code. You believe that a gentleman never presses his advantage.

This cluster of attitudes, though broadly Western, is particularly indicative of Anglo-Protestant culture: the culture that tends to exist wherever imperial Britannia planted her flag and settled her people, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

As obvious as these cultural precepts might seem to Yankees, Canucks, Aussies, and Kiwis, they are not widely held in the world at large.

The uncomfortable truth is that in many cultures, words speak louder than actions, and saving face supersedes telling the truth. Shame and blame are the only rejoinders to wrongdoing. Problems and mistakes are buried or ignored. Power is used to steal and oppress. Right and wrong are dictated by the local autocrat rather than objective moral principles. Time is seen as so plentiful that few things ever get done, and progress toward any goal is slow. Violence erupts over minor disagreements, and people are imprisoned and killed for the crimes of others.

The uncomfortable truth is that in many cultures, words speak louder than actions, and saving face supersedes telling the truth.

There is no denying that these lapses can and do happen in every country. However, it is also undeniable that our peculiar Anglo-Protestant cultural inheritance wields formidable injunctions against corruption, despotism, kleptocracy, violence, poverty, stagnation, injustice, and misery: a healthy skepticism toward ourselves and our motives; a willingness to admit and learn from mistakes and thereby move on from guilt to repentance and redemption; a common law that so carefully distinguishes between word and deed; a truth-seeking orientation; an emphasis on rectitude, integrity, and civility; a work ethic that knows time is of the essence; a robust moral absolutism; and a stubborn individualism.

Where did we get this inheritance? Christianity, mostly.

It is easy to overlook the extent to which Christian presuppositions have built our culture and institutions, right down to the very psychological outlook our citizens carry. As Dorothy Sayers noted in her speech entitled The Lost Tools of Learning: “Many people today who are atheist or agnostic in religion, are governed in their conduct by a code of Christian ethics which is so rooted in their unconscious assumptions that it never occurs to them to question it.”

For example, an American nonbeliever might be willing to admit that he is not perfect, and on occasion be willing to say: “I’m sorry, I made a mistake.” His cultural instinct toward this notion and behavior has been influenced by the long legacy of our culture’s belief in the doctrine of original sin, though he claims not to believe in original sin.

It is easy to overlook the extent to which Christian presuppositions have built our culture and institutions, right down to the very psychological outlook our citizens carry.

This cultural instinct is quite rare in countries not informed by centuries of Christianity. Where shame-and-honor cultures predominate, the cultural instinct is to avoid admitting to mistakes in any way possible, whether that means remaining silent, casting blame on someone else, or committing suicide.

The practice of cross-examination in English common law justice systems provides another instructive example. The very existence of this powerful truth-seeking mechanism came from the presuppositions that figuring out the truth is of the utmost importance and that people sometimes lie. Our forebears took Proverbs 18:17 seriously: “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”

In other cultures, cross-examination is poorly done, or does not exist at all. Wherever the rule of law is sparse, the whims of the most powerful person in the room decide who is innocent or guilty. The first question on anyone’s mind is rarely: “What is the truth?” It is more likely to be: “Who is the most powerful?”

In some cultures, when two people meet each other for the first time, it is completely normal for them to ask how much money the other makes, what their education background is, how old they are, and other seemingly touchy information, all for the purpose of hammering out who holds the higher social status. That way, they can sort out whose words and behavior get to dominate the other’s. Though this might help guide their interactions on a normal day, it is not difficult to see how this might complicate court proceedings.

It is deeply unpopular in the current age to suggest that some cultures might be preferable to others, but it is simply true that people worldwide notice and prefer the conditions that Anglo-Protestant culture tends to create. They vote with their feet by flocking to the countries formed by this inheritance, with the United States as the most popular destination by far.

Honest thinkers can make the connection between the influence of Christianity and the most desirable places to live, but too many write this off as an accident of history. However, if it is true that a culture is only as good as the values, beliefs, and behaviors of the people who compose it, then those values have explanatory power, and the honest thinker is left with a particular conclusion to make.