Survey: More Americans know Big Mac ingredients than Ten Commandments

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Quick. Name each of the Ten Commandments. OK. Now name the ingredients in a Big Mac hamburger sold at McDonald's.

According to a new survey, the Big Mac wins the memory contest.

In truth, the Big Mac has advantages. There are only seven ingredients to remember, and they have a catchy jingle behind them. McDonald's Corp. has poured enough money into commercials that the decades-old jingle remains familiar today.

The survey of 1,000 Americans, by Kelton Research, was undertaken to help promote the new animated movie "The Ten Commandments," which will open on 700 screens nationwide Oct. 19. Voice talents featured in the movie include Ben Kingsley as the narrator, Christian Slater as Moses, Alfred Molina as Ramses and Elliott Gould as the voice of God.

The vast majority of those surveyed could easily name the primary ingredients in a Big Mac: two all-beef patties (80 percent), lettuce (76 percent), sesame-seed bun (75 percent), special sauce (66 percent), pickles (62 percent) and cheese (60 percent).

By comparison, "You shall not kill" was known to fewer than six in 10 respondents. Less than half (45 percent) could recall the commandment to "Honor your father and mother."

Even those who said they go to church at least once a week had trouble naming all of the commandments. Seventy percent recalled "You shall not kill" and 69 percent remembered "You shall not steal" but the Big Mac's all-beef patties and lettuce got more recognition from the survey group (79 and 76 percent, respectively).

Survey participants also had an easier time remembering the names of the kids from the old TV series "The Brady Bunch." The least remembered of that sextet, Bobby and Peter, had a 43 percent recognition rate, better than the two least-remembered commandments to keep holy the Sabbath (34 percent) and to not have any gods besides God (29 percent).

During an Oct. 2 conference call to promote the movie, Paul Lauer of Motive Marketing said survey respondents were asked to write down the commandments they remembered, so even though Catholic and Protestant formulations of the Ten Commandments differ slightly, responses from either faith group would have been declared correct.

Here's a quick review of the Ten Commandments, as found in Chapter 20 of Exodus in the 1970 edition of the New American Bible:

-- "I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me."

-- "You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain."

-- "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day."

-- "Honor your father and your mother."

-- "You shall not kill."

-- "You shall not commit adultery."

-- "You shall not steal."

-- "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

-- "You shall not covet your neighbor's house."

-- "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, or anything else that belongs to him."

The screenwriter of the "Ten Commandments" film, Ed Naha, a Catholic whose previous credits include "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," said he hopes the movie "will appeal to people who don't know the Bible."

Cindy Bond, president and chief operating officer of Promenade Pictures, said, "'The Ten Commandments' was the movie he (Naha) was being called to write." Bond added that it is the first in a series of 12 planned animated "Epic Stories of the Bible."

"Noah's Ark: The New Beginning" is halfway through production, she said. "David and Goliath" has just started production. "We're looking at 'The Battle of Jericho' as the fourth" in the series, Bond added.

Other Bible stories still in the discussion stages may include Daniel in the lions' den, Samson and Delilah, the Book of Genesis, and stories from the New Testament.

Long time since I had any direct connection with el-hi education, but -- from what I hear -- it's also a long time since memorization was considered respectable!

My early Catholic childhood education dates back to the mid 50s. The classrooms were packed (50+) and assigned to one nun for the entire year. As an adult, I can appreciate how daunting a task it must have been for these women to maintain order, much less instruct their charges. I still have some of my 'Composition' books from when I attended SHS in Cambria Heights, NY. At age 5, I was placed in grade 1 (insufficient number to establish a Kindergarten class). The good sisters used the Jesuit system of rote - repeat, repeat, repeat. On day 1 of my 1st grade Composition book, the assignment was to write the number 1, 100 times. At the top of the page, 'Sister' placed a stamp for 'good work'. The other pages are much like the first one insofar as repetitive practice of what was learned throughout the year.

Ironically, my boss (I am the most senior in the office) occasionally pulls out some Encyclopaedia books that date to 1952, and quizzes the staff. I am usually the one who comes up with the correct response. It amazes both him and me :-). My best guess is that the Jesuit system of rote .... WORKS!. We learned the basics and were graded not only on our work, but also on our penmanship. It would be refreshing to see the Educational System today, adopt a similar approach, rather than bog down youthful minds with minutiae.

Hmm...My Greek and Hebrew are a little weak, but the Vulgate renders it thus:

Exodus 20:17 non concupisces domum proximi tui nec desiderabis uxorem eius non servum non ancillam non bovem non asinum nec omnia quae illius sunt

Deuteronomy 5:21 non concupisces uxorem proximi tui non domum non agrum non servum non ancillam non bovem non asinum et universa quae illius sunt

illius can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Now yes, you could argue that it must be masculine, in view of the use of uxor (wife)..

Boy, ain’t it the truth! Just this evening, I taught my first week of 7th grade CCD in my territorial parish (I normally attend the TLM 60 miles away toward Boston), and it was a revelation! I asked a few “basic” questions of the kids to see where they are, taking into consideration that all of them have reportedly been in the CCD program for some years. I asked them if anyone knew all of the Ten Commandments. One kid knew two, but he also put “going to communion” out there as one of them. Not one could even name, nevermind explain in basic terms, the seven Sacraments. Well, okay, once I gave an example, three of the nine kids came up with one each. Four claimed to have never even heard of the Trinity! When asked if they could name any of the Gospels, John was mentioned, but so was Peter, Vincent (the boy thought the Virgin Islands are named after Gospel writers! At least that’s original!), and Gabriel. Oy. They had no idea what grace is, how the Apostle’s Creed goes, why there are two Testaments in the Bible, whether the Bible can still be added to today, etc. It goes on and on. These kids are 12 and 13 years old! I have taught CCD for a number of years in more “conducive” venues, and, even in those places, the first few weeks clearly show major cracks in “common knowledge,” so I really wasn’t expecting much. But I was shocked by the TOTAL lack of substance. I’m not blaming the kids. The catechesis is dreck and the parents are all too young to have had much of a chance for proper catechesis in their own childhoods, so, in all honesty, not much was expected to shine forth this evening.

I’m trying to figure-out a tactful way to inform the DRE and the pastor that their entire CCD program is clearly useless and counterproductive. I’ve sure got my work cut out for me with this collection of young people. Some of them DO actually seem interested in learning, and I gave them half the class to ask about whatever they wanted (also part of seeing where they’re at knowledge-wise). This seemed to animate them and keep interest high, though, for me, it only served to shine another spotlight on their appalling ignorance.

But next week we have to get down to real business. I’m supposed to teach the subjects in the textbook, to the extent that one can discern any content there in the first place. So, as far as teaching the curriculum is concerned, my own tactic is to simply use the chapter title from the textbook and teach something related to it without reference to the actual text. “Stand up, keep your hand on the pages of the open book, and teach the Faith extemporaneously” was advice I learned long ago when first encountering this drivel they dare to call catechesis. It’s sort of crypto-underground, but, hey, the dismantlers did the same sort of thing 30-40 years ago. I’m just reversing the process!

We have a LONG way to go before solid catechetical materials pervade the CCD programs once again. It will probably be true for another generation that more people will know the ingredients in a Big Mac than know the Ten Commandments. But, from tonight’s experience, I can only say that we can get a leg up on the process by insisting that whoever wrote and approved for publication the “RCL” series should be marched in front of a firing squad and shot for spiritual malfeasance and misfeasance!

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