How much do you know about Religion?

[nemo]

Somewhat bizarrely, given the increasingly fractured state of US politics into those who describe themselves as religious (with of course various sub-splinters by faith) and those who do not, a religious think tank out there recently carried out a large scale questionnaire.  Said survey asked some questions about religions (predominantly Christianity, but a few on Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism.  the results showed that on average, atheists and agnostics out performed every single religious group in terms of the number of questions they answered correctly.  Next came the Jews and Mormons.  Catholics know fuck all, apparently, which doesn't really surprise me much.

Anyways, 15 of the easier questions have been posted online at the think-tank's website.  Give them a bash, see how you do.

http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/

Sadly, I got 15 correct, though I did have to make an educated guess at the last question.  3 of the questions are basically about religion in the USA, which does make things a little more difficult for us foreigners, but nothing some common sense can't overcome.

And what (if anything, obviously) do these results say about those who claim to be (or not to be) au fait with the workings of religion?

[mooney]

10/15. I dont think that is too bad. Some of the questions were quite specific things i thought, so not overly suprising that not many people know about them. Such as the last question.

To answer your question, i think it demonstrates what many people already expect/think. Religion is cherry picked in order to adhere to social norms. So im not suprised in the slightest that someone who calls themself religious knows fuck all about religion, seeing as a lot of people are, let's be frank, brainwashed from a young and impressionable age. Furthermore, someone older, who decides to become religious, are unlikely to join if they are presented all the facts, id suspect, seeing as they aint all that pleasant - (cherry picked, as i mentioned). I mean, a lot of the stuff doesnt really resonate with peoples sense of reason, or society in general, so is left out.

From personal experience, religious people seem rather misinformed generally (with regard to religion, science etc...). and that's not to say im "informed" by any means, but then again i dont go knocking on peoples door trying to convert them with blatant, (and i suspect unintentional, even if sincere) misinformation.

[UcudBmine]

wow these questions are retarded

anyway, 10/15 which surprises me because i care 0 about religion

[Sean]

I'm more screwed up by being in private catholic school as a youth than I thought.....                 I'm like a mexican on this.


but really I shut this stuff out of my life like the plague yet I have so much catholic garbage go through my head all the time

[anythinggoes]

 i know enough to respect the views (within reason) of those that believe in it, but also enough to know its just not for me.

[machinegunlotus]

re: the quiz - I didn't know some minor insignificant details ABOUT them but I know about the religions. They're basically for people who think they need them or for people who wish to exploit the need for them. It might start out being the first case and then the second, but much less often the other way around.

[a_bitch_called_hope]

13 out of 15 which is around what I thought I'd get.

[anythinggoes]

Oh i got 9/15

The American ones i got wrong, the bread and wine, and the ones about specific people

[2NaFish]

i got 15/15. I also had to make an educated guess with the last one. I think the reason atheists/agnostics do better is due to the insular nature of the major religions - 'no ones comes to the father except through me' or 'extra ecclesiam nulla salus' i'm sure the jews and muslims have one too. As such its wrong to learn about these other faiths.

As for christians not knowing the bible? This surprises me not one jot. I dont think as a group i've ever encountered so many people ignorant of their own revelations. A brilliant bible scholar called Prof Bart D. Ehrman teaches in north carolina, every year he asks his new students, "How many of you believe the bible to be the literal word of god?" - Whoosh, being the bible belt, 95% of the hands go up. "Good. Now how many of you have read Harry Potter or Dan Brown?" - Whoosh, 95% of the hands go up. He then asks, "How many of you have read the bible cover to cover?" A smattering of hands. If I believed there was a god and that that god had written a book telling me how to live life i'd probably spend some quiet time in a comfy chair reading the book.

Give islam its due, the logical conclusion of having a book written by god is to READ THE FUCKING BOOK, and most muslims i know, even lapsed ones, know the book very well. Imo, god didnt write the book; a simple assessment of the book as an historical document will tell you god didnt write it, but if i thought that i'd read the thing. As such most christians only receive the book on a sunday, if at all. Therefore, the old testament is ignored (no bad thing) and some of jesus' more socially unacceptable sayings are omitted.

Put simply a proud and encouraged ignorance of anything other than one's own god leads to ignorance of others and the nature of christianity means few know their own faith inside out.

When it comes to non-believers, i'm not sure. so i can only give my own reasons and develop it from there. I like learning about other faiths as i find structures of power interesting; when i studied history i loved learning about the church and continue study privately about the early years of different faiths as emerging power structures. Beyond that they are often stunning pieces of literature; i often have people tell me they hate shakespeare and thats fair enough but i doubt they'd make it through the day without using a phrase the man came up with. Same with the bible. Further to that i enjoy learning about different cultures, something that doesnt lend itself to insular religions. I suppose the fact that i never had a religious upbringing (i was free to choose my own path, bloody parents). The last point is one i almost omitted cause its quite petty, but i really enjoy learning about other religions so that when i have, inevitable, debates about the nature of god i can speak to them on their terms. People of faith are used to rebuffing the arguments of dawkins et al but to be quoted scripture either stumps them or i meet someone who knows their stuff and i learn something.

So, to recap, I got full marks.

[Rocket Queen]

13/15. I'm fairly(read: know a little bit about everything from Jianism to Islam) well informed when it comes to religion, as it interests me. I think it would be hard to ignore something that is so incredibly important to many people; being in West Virginia.. I have hardly ever encounter more Christianity, people seem to choose that path without ever questioning it (choosing might be the wrong choice of world, it seems like it's their only option, seriously, they pray before Quizzes.). It's in their blood. I tutor at this school..and it's also in their papers...

[UcudBmine]

i knew the joseph smith question thanks to southpark tbh

[Sean]

i knew the joseph smith question thanks to southpark tbh

same here

[mooney]

if only i watched south park!

[2NaFish]

if only i watched south park!

the mormon episode is a joy to behold.