What do we know?

      A survey released yesterday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life among Americans' revealed some startling information.  Among the Americans surveyed it was discovered that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions.  Many of the respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.


     45% of Roman Catholics who participated in the study did not 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.

The survey was 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 United States is considered to be the most religious country in the developed world, especially when it is compared to secular Western Europe.  However, religious leaders have often been critical of the fact that Americans know very little about religion as a whole. 
    Those that responded 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.  Another question was what century the Mormon religion was founded.  On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.

     The surprising study is reveals that 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.  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 even their responses revealed how little they knew about their own religion. 
     On questions about Christianity, Mormons scored the highest, with an average of about eight correct answers out of 12.  After Mormons, white evangelicals, averaged 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.

    Another surprising aspect of the study revealed that many Americans do not 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.  Did you know that?    The Pew researchers stated: "Many Americans think the constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools are tighter than they really are,"

3,412 people between May and June of this year responded to the survey.  I was not one of them, but I would hope that I would be able to make a good showing.  How would you do?  Do you know what you believe?  Do you know what others believe?  These are important questioins to consider because how can your give a ready defense of the gospel if you do not know even the basics. 

If you would like to read the entire report you can go to the following website:
http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/U-S-Religious-Knowledge-Survey.aspx

Also at this website is a short 15 question quiz you can take to see how you compare to every one else.  I would be interested in knowing how you do?  Take the quiz and report back to me.  And no you want be disciplined if you do not get them all right.  What do you know?