Posted on 09/27/2010 10:13:02 PM PDT by svxdave
A new survey of Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.
Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn’t know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.
More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.
The survey released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history. The U.S. is one of the most religious countries in the developed world, especially compared to largely secular Western Europe, but faith leaders and educators have long lamented that Americans still know relatively little about religion.
Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.
Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, while Catholics followed with a score of about 15.
Not surprisingly, those who said they attended worship at least once a week and considered religion important in their lives often performed better on the overall survey. However, level of education was the best predictor of religious knowledge. The top-performing groups on the survey still came out ahead even when controlling for how much schooling they had completed.
On questions about Christianity, Mormons scored the highest, with an average of about eight correct answers out of 12, followed by white evangelicals, with an average of just over seven correct answers. Jews, along with atheists and agnostics, knew the most about other faiths, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. Less than half of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist, and less than four in 10 know that Vishnu and Shiva are part of Hinduism.
The study also found that many Americans don’t understand constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools. While a majority know that public school teachers cannot lead classes in prayer, less than a quarter know that the U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that teachers can read from the Bible as an example of literature.
“Many Americans think the constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools are tighter than they really are,” Pew researchers wrote.
The survey of 3,412 people, conducted between May and June of this year, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, while the margins of error for individual religious groups was higher.
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Online:
Pew online quiz about religion: http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/28/survey-americans-dont-know-much-about-religion/#ixzz10nV6vmib
The more I learn .... the more I realize how much I don’t know. Fortunately, I have my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's because they are tighter than they "really are". That is, they are tighter de facto than they are de jure.
Got 14 out of 15.
Thought a teacher could read from the Bible as an example of literature. They read from other religions.
Guess we are on the outs.
Oh well, I’m off to the lions den.
Interesting that they didn’t ask any muslims whether they knew that mohamed (may pigs be upon him) raped a 9 yr old girl.
Reflects the organization of the Mormon church. Whatever one thinks of their doctrines, Mormons do take their religion seriously and try to pass it on to their children.
Overall, this study is a major embarrassment. I am told that: "You scored 15 out of 15, better than 99% of Americans." In fact, any literate American should know these elementary religion facts.
US Catholic Priests, Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals should be on their knees, sweating blood and praying for forgiveness for failure to transmit the central truth of The Eucharist!
This is proof positive that the Novus Order Mass, which was written by a suspected Mason, is an instrument that furthers Satan's War on Salvation. Please bring back the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass for the salvation of the flock
They can. If you said yes to that one, it's not the one you got wrong.
I got 15 out of 15, but then again I have a degree in religion...
That is a history answer, not a Christian answer, it helps for people to know history but Martin Luther is not a biblical figure, or a holy figure, he is a historical figure.
Yep.
How can there be a successful drive against islam if these are the stats?
State religions were a bad idea then just like the state religion of politically correct agnosticism is a bad idea now.
This is about religion in general, including five answers that were of religions that are not Christian or Jewish and other answers of history or of law.
It is not a test about Christianity, so the results are pretty unimportant.
So you ask "what does that mean"... and they get a blank look.
I can't speak for others, but as a relatively new pastor, I can speak for at least some Christian denominations - we have completely missed the point of Christ's Great Commission - we have tried to sum it up as "go get folks to wear this name badge that says "Christian"... For many of us, that meant get them to profess faith in Christ, dunk-em, and add them to a list (aka - "Church Roll"). Yet the Great Commission doesn't say that at all - it says "Go make Disciples..." That means teaching them ALL that Christ commanded/taught. Making disciples is also more than just telling someone in a Sunday School class... it is demonstrating what faith REALLY means. It means taking time with people, holding their hand, and showing...
For us Christians - it is our own fault.
Maybe someone else can pipe in for other faiths...
I think that most people are relatively ignorant. Check out the Jaywalk All stars.
That's because the teachers and administrators are the ones who think they are "tighter than they really are."
Thought you all might be interested in this.
I don’t have an Inman list but maybe they will find it interesting.
Oops. It was the religion of Pakistan which is Islam of course and I mistakenly answered Hindu, which would be India.
Oh well.
I grew up Christian, but have no religion now, so I guess I am in the atheist category.
I got 15 out of 15.
As far as I am concerned, most 8th graders should know the answers to the questions if they have been awake for most of their lives. The quiz is not even a religious quiz as it is just having a basic understanding of trivia.
I think the hardest question was the Jonathan Edwards question and I remember that from the my US history class in junior high.
And forgive me if I sound like a know it all; I have actually learned a lot about religion from some of the religion threads on Free Republic.
Some of the religious folks here really know their stuff. This lame quiz doesn’t compare to their erudition which I am in awe of.
You answered 14 out of 15 questions correctly
for a score of 93%.
Not bad for a layman.
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