An interesting article on our local news station today. http://www.komonews.com/news/national/103932204.html
cnn.com has the story too. They have a 10 question version of it online. It was pretty easy if it is representative of the whole test.
The survey doesn't surprise me at all. I can't believe someone would join a church and contribute to it without even reading its statement of faith.....but it happens all the time.
It's been said that the bible is the best promotional book for atheism.Most members of my local atheists united chapter were at one time believers but after reading the bible they became atheists.There are a lot of Christians who have lost their faith,and for them http://www.ex-christian.net helps them with their struggle and their new beliefs. I was given the 66 books of Moses at my Bar-mitzvah but never had any interest in reading it.
I think the survey was not about particular tenets of one's own faith but about religions in general. What I saw was mostly about Abrahamic religions.
For many people, religious affiliation is more of a socio-economic and/or ethnic matter than a spiritual one. When wars are fought ostensibly over religion, it is rarely over doctrine, it's really over longstanding grievances between groups who have been warring for generations. Many of the people involved know next to nothing about the spiritual beliefs of the sect they represent.
One of our local stations followed up by just picking out various groups and questioning them on the Bible. The Athiest and Agnostic Groups performed extremely well. Evangelical Christians did not do very well and the Catholics were really bad. Being a Catholic, I was shocked.
How interesting! What do we make of these results? June I think you're on to something in terms of controlling for variables like age etc. Might yield a different outcome.
Education in America is on the decline on all subjects. Americans don't know much about geography either.
Absolutely! Did you hear that gal on Amazing Race say that London was a country? How embarrassing. My 15-yr-old comes home all the time with these types of answers to what would seem like easy questions. It's very sad. And it seems like the majority of what my 23-yr-old has learned in college is how to party. (Like he needed any help in that area ... he's a great kid but ... that's MY view of his college experience.)
To un-complicate everything I decided to become my own church where I am head pastor, assistant pastor, the choir, usher, music director, secretary, and a one man congregation. And if I can't trust myself then I don't know who I can trust.
He he - Joy I think you're on to something there. US citizens don't score all that well on geography questions. BUT, let's be fair, US citizens, when you speak to them one-on-one are very interested in other countries and cultures. They just don't necessarily know all that much about them :0
We used to study about other contries in grade school. Every 6th grader knew tin was a major export of Bolivia. Now how many people know where Bolivia is or what it is? Everyone wants to be told they are smart, no one wants to study. (You say these things when you get to my age).
June, I sometimes wonder if today's education focuses too much on the idea that "everyone's opinion is equally valid" rather than teaching them to critically analyse claims and to require evidence in support of those opinions. I visited Bolivia a couple of years back. Fascinating part of the world.
There seems to be confusion as to what is fact and what is opinion. In the realm of opinion all are equal, but people who make up their own facts aren't playing with a full deck and get taken to the cleaners.
