Is Australia surprising?

This recent table, aiming to show how religiosity (based on “confidence” in religious institutions) aims to show that religiosity is inversely correlated with suicide rates.

The table is interesting in the context of the “atheist nation with a religious ruling class” image I have developed for twentieth-century Europe, actually suggesting this image to be true almost exclusively of Spain. In fact, the suicide rates of some other nations where I have suspected very low real religiosity are lower than those for Australia and religosity higher.

There is reason to question even “founder effects” as the cause for Australia’s low religiosity since its suicide rate of countries adjacent to Australia - which if “founder effects” were really making Australia less religious than it should be in simple environmental and economic grounds would be higher than Australia - are not actually so. There are a few exceptions in South Korea and two ex-Stalinist nations, but in fact one would expect such exceptions to be in “small-government” countries if my own theories are true.

This is serious reading for me, I think!