U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey
ScatteredThoughts
Posts: 3,562 Member
It is pretty short, and I imagine it could be argues that it is not very comprehensive, but I thought it was interesting. At 14/15, it showed me as scoring higher 97% of the people who were sampled. That is scary. I'm sure most here will get similar results.
http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/
And yes, I posted this in the other group first, though I meant to put it here. Sue me.
http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/
And yes, I posted this in the other group first, though I meant to put it here. Sue me.
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I also got 14/15, and wow was that easy. And I don't consider myself especially knowledgeable about religion.
Made me think, great post!0 -
Fun quiz, got 93% too (That last one I had no clue). Growing up, we read through the bible soooo many times. A lot of Jesus freaks are surprised how much I know. I guess they feel all us heathens just don't know, or we would be Christian.
Yesterday I was at a flea market, and the guy my daughter was buying Barbies from said (about her and her friend trying to decide which three to pick, but being hung up on the third), "It's like in the bible, where that guy had to split, um, you know the two mothers." I said, "Oh yeah, it was Solomon, and the baby." My husband laughed when we walked away. He was raised Catholic, and has no idea about any of the bible stories.0 -
Fun quiz, got 93% too (That last one I had no clue). Growing up, we read through the bible soooo many times. A lot of Jesus freaks are surprised how much I know. I guess they feel all us heathens just don't know, or we would be Christian.
Yesterday I was at a flea market, and the guy my daughter was buying Barbies from said (about her and her friend trying to decide which three to pick, but being hung up on the third), "It's like in the bible, where that guy had to split, um, you know the two mothers." I said, "Oh yeah, it was Solomon, and the baby." My husband laughed when we walked away. He was raised Catholic, and has no idea about any of the bible stories.
King Solomon's wisdom:
A women rolls over on to her own baby and suffocates it in the night. She takes her dead baby and trades it out with the living baby of some other women. When the morning comes the women is outraged and wants her baby back. The women who stole the living baby says that the baby is hers. Now right off the bat I am thinking this first women is crazy. She just wants a baby and it doesn't matter who's it is. In reality if a woman suffocated her own child she would be completely devastated. Not this women she shrugs gets back up like Willey. Coyote and starts baby swapping.
The women are taken before the king with their story and since this is the time before paternity tests Solomon has to decide what to do. I guess we are supposed to simply ignore that at other points in the story god has spoken directly to Solomon and you would think he could just ask god and get a perfect answer. Instead Solomon says "Hey I got an idea lets cut the kid in half." This brilliant idea is supposed to flush out the liar. In reality it would do nothing of the sort. Both women would protest and Solomon would be back at square one.
Instead because this story is fictional the writer can make whatever he wants happen in order to drive his point home. The liar AGREES TO LET THE BABY BE CUT IN HALF. What was she just thinking, I'll take what I can get? If a dead baby is just as good to her then why not keep the entire dead baby she has? Does this women just really hate the other women? Either way she tips her hand that she is at least an unfit mother by agreeing to Solomon's insane proposal and as a result he lets the poor women who was drug through all this crap have her kid back. At least the story has a happy ending but holy crap was it ever forced.
The only reason the trick worked is because one of the women was a pure evil monster. If this was attempted in real life Solomon would not come across as wise at all. He would just be remember as the sick *kitten* that suggested a hideous act of evil.0 -
I don't have to believe in it to know it. In fact the more I know about it the harder it becomes to believe.0 -
Ha, I'm a slacker among atheists at 13/15 correct. Among the religious, though, I'm an over-achiever. :laugh:0
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100%
I guess to ace this test it would be helpful to be a former Jewish and current Atheist (see the comparisons by religion). I thought that women as a group would score higher than men because they usually go to church more often. 0 -
Fun quiz, got 93% too (That last one I had no clue). Growing up, we read through the bible soooo many times. A lot of Jesus freaks are surprised how much I know. I guess they feel all us heathens just don't know, or we would be Christian.
Yesterday I was at a flea market, and the guy my daughter was buying Barbies from said (about her and her friend trying to decide which three to pick, but being hung up on the third), "It's like in the bible, where that guy had to split, um, you know the two mothers." I said, "Oh yeah, it was Solomon, and the baby." My husband laughed when we walked away. He was raised Catholic, and has no idea about any of the bible stories.
King Solomon's wisdom:
A women rolls over on to her own baby and suffocates it in the night. She takes her dead baby and trades it out with the living baby of some other women. When the morning comes the women is outraged and wants her baby back. The women who stole the living baby says that the baby is hers. Now right off the bat I am thinking this first women is crazy. She just wants a baby and it doesn't matter who's it is. In reality if a woman suffocated her own child she would be completely devastated. Not this women she shrugs gets back up like Willey. Coyote and starts baby swapping.
The women are taken before the king with their story and since this is the time before paternity tests Solomon has to decide what to do. I guess we are supposed to simply ignore that at other points in the story god has spoken directly to Solomon and you would think he could just ask god and get a perfect answer. Instead Solomon says "Hey I got an idea lets cut the kid in half." This brilliant idea is supposed to flush out the liar. In reality it would do nothing of the sort. Both women would protest and Solomon would be back at square one.
Instead because this story is fictional the writer can make whatever he wants happen in order to drive his point home. The liar AGREES TO LET THE BABY BE CUT IN HALF. What was she just thinking, I'll take what I can get? If a dead baby is just as good to her then why not keep the entire dead baby she has? Does this women just really hate the other women? Either way she tips her hand that she is at least an unfit mother by agreeing to Solomon's insane proposal and as a result he lets the poor women who was drug through all this crap have her kid back. At least the story has a happy ending but holy crap was it ever forced.
The only reason the trick worked is because one of the women was a pure evil monster. If this was attempted in real life Solomon would not come across as wise at all. He would just be remember as the sick *kitten* that suggested a hideous act of evil.
It's hard to function in Western society no matter your religion or lack thereof without a basic knowledge of biblical stories. What would you make of:
The Prodigal Son
To Be His Brother's Keeper
In the Beginning ...
To have the Patience of Job..
The Good Samaritan...
Let their be Light ...
The Flood (title of last night's Mad Men episode)
I've studied French and you wouldn't believe the number of Catholic or Biblical allusions that are part of everyday speech.
As U.S. culture changes,, doubtless references from other religions will enter the language.0 -
Fun quiz, got 93% too (That last one I had no clue). Growing up, we read through the bible soooo many times. A lot of Jesus freaks are surprised how much I know. I guess they feel all us heathens just don't know, or we would be Christian.
Yesterday I was at a flea market, and the guy my daughter was buying Barbies from said (about her and her friend trying to decide which three to pick, but being hung up on the third), "It's like in the bible, where that guy had to split, um, you know the two mothers." I said, "Oh yeah, it was Solomon, and the baby." My husband laughed when we walked away. He was raised Catholic, and has no idea about any of the bible stories.
King Solomon's wisdom:
A women rolls over on to her own baby and suffocates it in the night. She takes her dead baby and trades it out with the living baby of some other women. When the morning comes the women is outraged and wants her baby back. The women who stole the living baby says that the baby is hers. Now right off the bat I am thinking this first women is crazy. She just wants a baby and it doesn't matter who's it is. In reality if a woman suffocated her own child she would be completely devastated. Not this women she shrugs gets back up like Willey. Coyote and starts baby swapping.
The women are taken before the king with their story and since this is the time before paternity tests Solomon has to decide what to do. I guess we are supposed to simply ignore that at other points in the story god has spoken directly to Solomon and you would think he could just ask god and get a perfect answer. Instead Solomon says "Hey I got an idea lets cut the kid in half." This brilliant idea is supposed to flush out the liar. In reality it would do nothing of the sort. Both women would protest and Solomon would be back at square one.
Instead because this story is fictional the writer can make whatever he wants happen in order to drive his point home. The liar AGREES TO LET THE BABY BE CUT IN HALF. What was she just thinking, I'll take what I can get? If a dead baby is just as good to her then why not keep the entire dead baby she has? Does this women just really hate the other women? Either way she tips her hand that she is at least an unfit mother by agreeing to Solomon's insane proposal and as a result he lets the poor women who was drug through all this crap have her kid back. At least the story has a happy ending but holy crap was it ever forced.
The only reason the trick worked is because one of the women was a pure evil monster. If this was attempted in real life Solomon would not come across as wise at all. He would just be remember as the sick *kitten* that suggested a hideous act of evil.
It's hard to function in Western society no matter your religion or lack thereof without a basic knowledge of biblical stories. What would you make of:
The Prodigal Son
To Be His Brother's Keeper
In the Beginning ...
To have the Patience of Job..
The Good Samaritan...
Let their be Light ...
The Flood (title of last night's Mad Men episode)
I've studied French and you wouldn't believe the number of Catholic or Biblical allusions that are part of everyday speech.
As U.S. culture changes,, doubtless references from other religions will enter the language.
I do have a take on all of these stories some of them aren't all that bad as far as morality tales go. I think the other brother had a valid argument in "The Prodigal Son" I could go in to greater detail on that. "In the Beginning and "Let There Be Light" are both parts of the same story and the gross scientific inaccuracies are the main problem with that story(till you hit the garden) just like "The Flood" and I would not have any problem with pointing out those as well. What I recall of the "Good Samaritan" it was actually a pretty good little story I'll have to reread that one and get back to you.
The cherry on the top of this sundae is a story that is so bad I was pointing out problems with it as a child that still haven't been answered. I actually got to the point where priests actually avoided discussing it with me. I am talking of course about the story of Job.
God was just sitting around in heaven CHATTING WITH THE DEVIL. Yeah I think that is huge deal. Why is he chatting with the devil? The conversation is actually quite civil. The devil didn't ask permission to mess with any of his followers or anything like that. God just sort of volunteers this guy.
He says "Hey have you seen my follower Job? He is fantastic. He does things that are pleasing to me in everything that he does."
So the devil being the best person to say this stuff to says "He only loves you so much because you bless him so much. If you let me ruin his life he'll stop praising you." God says "Do what you want to him just don't harm his body."
The devil kills his family kills his live stock and ruins him financially. Job took all of this in stride and just said praise be to god. And lucky thing he did to. How embarrassing would it have been for god if the devil was proven right. God would probably have had to punish Job if he let him down on this point.
The devil wasn't done yet he told God will the reason he did not lose faith was you didn't let me harm his body. I guess God was feeling particularly generous to the devil that day since he actually tells him "Go for it. Why not? This is fun! Just don't kill him because this game will cease to be amusing if you keep killing off all our pawns" At this point the devil could point out that God has killed way more people than him but he doesn't.
The devil infects job with all manner of painful and debilitating diseases to include boils. Job has literally given up resisting his attackers at this point. He makes no effort to fix his situation anymore. In that respect one could say that he was broken. Job actually tells god. "Put a curse on the day that I was born." He was truly without understanding as to why God would permit all this to happen to him when he was so loyal. This is the story where we get the line. "The lord giveth and the lord taketh away." Job still decides to say praise be to god.
God actually comes down to talk to Job and asks him questions like "where were you when I laid downs the foundations of the earth?" I guess Job dropped the ball on that one too. I don't really see Job as having done anything wrong here. His life is basically ruined because of a bar bet God has with the devil.
I guess at some point God and the devil grow bored with the bet and God gives back all that was taken plus more. Except for his family that died. They all have to stay dead. So the only things that Job actually ended up losing as a result of this bet between God and devil were those that were most important to him after God of course because god must be the most important in everyone's life. That is really important to him. It is a little bit odd that Job did not get his family back. I don't see why God couldn't just give them back as well since they were only killed as a part of the test they were putting Job through. It seems rather cruel that your entire family can be killed on a whim but I have been assure by a lot of believers that God is still a good guy in this story.0 -
It seems rather cruel that your entire family can be killed on a whim but I have been assure by a lot of believers that God is still a good guy in this story.
This is a great point. Did God not care about Job's family? Were they just not as devout as he was? Why would he allow Satan to take the lives of innocents?
I imagine a devout believer would justify it by saying that Job's family is now in heaven, having sacrificed their lives in God's name. Sorry, but that kind of thinking does not cut it for me.0 -
The Good Samaritan:
Basically some guy who was very well versed in the law of god asks Jesus what he has to do to get in to Heaven. Jesus asked him, "What does the law say?" The guy quote to Jesus from memory exactly what is says. "Love the lord your god with all your heart and all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself..." Then Jesus says "Then do that." (I wonder if Jesus muttered dumbass under his breath after he answered the guy.) They guy decides to go all lawyer on Jesus and he says. "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus responds with a parable known today as the good Samaritan.
In this story a guy gets his *kitten* kicked and left naked and penniless on the side of the road. Then he says the first to find him is a priest. He just walks on by. Well I am not sure what order he comes from but you have to be a particular brand of *kitten* to leave a person like that. Then a Levite does the same thing (perhaps he is studying to become a priest.) Then a Samaritan shows up and actually helps the guy. Jesus then gets to his point and says which of the three men were a neighbor to the beaten man? The man answers the Samaritan. Then Jesus told him "Now go do likewise(dumbass)."
I really don't have a beef with this story. I do think it is a little messed up that this guy has be told this and I think it is even more messed up that the reason this guy is not being a douche is so that he can get in to heaven rather than just doing it for the sake of being nice and Jesus seems ok with that fact.
Other than that this is really a pretty simple morality tale without a lot of filler. It uses the same format as so many jokes have. You get one then two and then three and the third one drives home the point of the story. Sure it has been written before by both secular and nonsecular writers and I do feel the story is a lot stronger when it isn't weighed down by the rest of the BS that you find in the bible. But this story is found in the bible and I have to call it like I see it. This is a good story with a legitimate message.0 -
The Good Samaritan:
Basically some guy who was very well versed in the law of god asks Jesus what he has to do to get in to Heaven. Jesus asked him, "What does the law say?" The guy quote to Jesus from memory exactly what is says. "Love the lord your god with all your heart and all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself..." Then Jesus says "Then do that." (I wonder if Jesus muttered dumbass under his breath after he answered the guy.) They guy decides to go all lawyer on Jesus and he says. "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus responds with a parable known today as the good Samaritan.
In this story a guy gets his *kitten* kicked and left naked and penniless on the side of the road. Then he says the first to find him is a priest. He just walks on by. Well I am not sure what order he comes from but you have to be a particular brand of *kitten* to leave a person like that. Then a Levite does the same thing (perhaps he is studying to become a priest.) Then a Samaritan shows up and actually helps the guy. Jesus then gets to his point and says which of the three men were a neighbor to the beaten man? The man answers the Samaritan. Then Jesus told him "Now go do likewise(dumbass)."
I really don't have a beef with this story. I do think it is a little messed up that this guy has be told this and I think it is even more messed up that the reason this guy is not being a douche is so that he can get in to heaven rather than just doing it for the sake of being nice and Jesus seems ok with that fact.
Other than that this is really a pretty simple morality tale without a lot of filler. It uses the same format as so many jokes have. You get one then two and then three and the third one drives home the point of the story. Sure it has been written before by both secular and nonsecular writers and I do feel the story is a lot stronger when it isn't weighed down by the rest of the BS that you find in the bible. But this story is found in the bible and I have to call it like I see it. This is a good story with a legitimate message.
My point wasn't disapproval of the stories. It was that familiarity with them is basic cultural literacy.0 -
My point wasn't disapproval of the stories. It was that familiarity with them is basic cultural literacy.
I did not feel that you were trying to shoehorn my responses in any way. It is just that for the most part bible stories are so full of problems that they actually overshadow their purpose. The good Samaritan is one of those rare cases where I think that the message still stands up despite the fact that it is in the bible.0 -
It's shocking how different the message of a Bible story can be to a believer versus a non-believer. My husband and I watched Django the other night (good movie, btw) and toward the end Django makes a statement like "I'm doing the Lord's work" as he's about to go off to kill the rotten slave owners. I muttered that the Bible says otherwise (the approval of slavery thing). My Christian husband couldn't believe that there are any pro-slavery passages in the New Testament, so I found several and presented them to him. His response? I'm taking the passages literally when they're meant to be allegories. So when are we supposed to know to take a passage literally versus taking it to have a hidden message? It makes sense to me that Christians are using their own sense of morality to pick and choose which passages have literal meaning, but try telling that to a Christian.
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Some believers actually know their whole bible pretty well but they cherry pick the good parts out and share that with the world and they remain silent about the nasty parts. Then you have the Christians who learn from the aforementioned Christians so they have never even heard the nasty parts and they don't have any plans to actually read the book themselves so you end up with Christians that are not even aware of these other passages existing. Often times they will deny the existence of these parts of the bible the moment they are told about them without even checking.
I remember I told my wife's nephew about some nasty parts of the bible and he at first responded with "That is not in the bible." I brought the verses up on the computer and showed him and he said "You are taking that out of context." I responded by saying a minute ago you were claiming the verses didn't exist and now you are arguing for their context?
It's like in his brain he has a simple tree to follow.
1. Everything the bible is good.
2. If something in the bible is not good then it is taken out of text.
Conclusion: Everything in the bible is good if taken in context and I have reached that conclusion without reading it.0 -
100% but I'm an overachiever at everything but weight loss. Interesting quiz. I'd think that a person who paid attention in history class back in high school and had a fair amount of cultural literacy would be able to answer at least 12 or so of the questions right.0
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100% but I'm an overachiever at everything but weight loss. Interesting quiz. I'd think that a person who paid attention in history class back in high school and had a fair amount of cultural literacy would be able to answer at least 12 or so of the questions right.
I agree. It is just disturbing that the average american would so poorly on those types of questions. Maybe I'll poke around and see if other similar surveys have been done, and what kind of results were seen.0 -
A couple Christians tried to preach to me and they were telling a story from the bible that they couldn't remember very well
(it was Jesus and the Fig tree) so they would get to points where they were stuck and I would fill in the blank for them. Then when they finished they acted like I should be converted.
I told them "I knew the story better than you did. If this story was going to convert me wouldn't it have worked when I first read it?"
I pointed out all the problems I had with the story and I gave them my interpretation of it. Their response was very candid.
They said "Your problem is that you hate God so you hate his wisdom. Just remember the fool in his heart knows there is no God."
So my response was,"Why haven't you figured it out then?"
I had the distinct impression that they didn't find my joke amusing and they walked off in a huff but I think if someone is going to take up the responsibility of going out in to the world and preaching to people then they should take that responsibility seriously enough that they can get to the end of their own bible story without their mark filling in the blanks for them.0 -
So my response was,"Why haven't you figured it out then?"
This made my day 0 -
So my response was,"Why haven't you figured it out then?"
This made my day
I thought it was rather clever as well. They had no sense of humor about it at all.0 -
12/15... I had no clue about the questions involving the US Constitution :P (I'm not from the US)
I'm very sure that most atheists know and/or understand the Bible better than the believers, or at least that's what I've noticed with catholics and christians :P
I remember one of my students tried to trick me once, into answering if the Devil was evil or not, because he was a punisher, and punishments make people suffer; and I said: "The Devil is nothing of the sort... He'll just let you be and hope you do what he wants... the one that's mean and a punisher is God" -the kid's eyes went huuuuge- "read the Bible again, and let me know who sent the flood, who killed all the people in Egypt, who made Job suffer so much "
He just shut up... and didn't try to bother me with that kind of crap again :laugh:0
