While we’ve been traveling, I’ve noticed that the personality of people can change quite a bit depending on which country you’re in. I looked for some of the causes of why this might be, and I think religion might be a good reason why. One good example is Bali versus Spain.
While I was in Bali, I never heard any negative comments from a local. A local can’t even think negatively about a person because they fear they will have bad luck in the future. Let me explain. As some people might have already known, Bali is a super religious country that strongly believes in karma, a teaching that states that whatever sin you commit in the present will backfire on you later on in your life or even in your next life after you pass away. This is why you can leave all the doors to your house wide open when you’re away and have nothing stolen unless you include theft by naughty tourists. As a result, Bali has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Another (debatable) example of religion affecting culture is in Roman Catholic countries, or our case, Spain. One of their traditions is that once a week, you will confess all the bad things you have done during the past seven days and be ‘forgiven of your sins’ by the priest, and as it turns out, in some Southern European countries, there is quite a high crime/vandalism rate. This is particularly noticeable in a city in Portugal called Lisbon, where almost every building is covered (and I mean covered) in graffiti. Is this just a little coincidence? In my humble opinion, I think in some cases it might not just be a ‘little coincidence’. This is an extremely bold statement and there are probably many other reasons why a person might rob you but perhaps this tradition of weekly forgiveness might be one of the reasons that this is the case.
Theft isn’t the only way these countries can differ. Another big difference between these two countries is the people’s personalities. In Bali, people are very ‘warm’ to one another, including tourists. As it turns out, one thing many people often complain about during their travels to Bali is how aggressive the people are towards foreigners, but in reality, the ‘aggressive people’ are actually from different neighboring islands coming just for the money. In Spain, people are also very friendly, probably because one of their religious teachings is to keep their friend’s and family’s priorities before their own.
What I’m trying to say is, that religion seems to affect how people behave, so it is a reasonable guess that it may also affect their cultures. So perhaps you should also research into the cultures of the area you would like to visit and plan your safety routine accordingly because it just might result in one less item being stolen out of your pockets or you getting kicked out of a temple for pointing your feet at the Buddha!