A bunch of my students called my attention to that Pew poll which found atheists to be more informed about religion than the general population, including Catholics and Evangelicalism. Holly blogged about how Mormons scored very well … for people of faith, that is! (My editorial comment, not hers. Go read her post for her own take on this.
A lot of the commentary on this poll has suggested that American atheists score well because they were raised in a religion and did a lot of research and soul-searching before they turned apostate. I’m curious how this will play out in the current crop of 20-year-old, many of whom were raised with little to know religion or churchgoing. Even the Catholics among them tend to be 1) doubters and 2) less educated about their own faith than one might expect, given years of religious instruction.
I’ve been too busy tending my own secular flock to think much about this poll, much less wonder how I’d fare. Over the weekend, I caught up with my blog reading and found that Ampersand had posted a link to a mini-version of the poll on Alas. Curious how you’d do? Check it out and post your results in comments (or on your own blog, with a link) and share, if you’re willing, a few words about your religious upbrining. Bear in mind this isn’t the complete survey, just a rough gauge of your knowledge. Still, it’s many cuts above Hello Quizzy.
You know, of course, that I can’t resist an Internet quiz. I took it. I am smirking because I got 15 out of 15. But I’d better stop gloating. It would be downright embarrassing for me to do worse, now that I’m teaching a class on religion, gender, and sexuality. Believe me, my real expertise is still in the latter two areas.
Do share, people!
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
13 out of 15 correct for me.
I was raised in a relatively secular home, despite my grandfather’s being a pastor (we lived far away).
I’ve also never managed to become particularly religious even though I attended private religious schools from kindergarden through 8th grade and then attended a private four-year university associated with the ELCA (Lutherans).
I probably wouldn’t know as much if not for all the private school education, but most of the questions seemed very easy to me.
15 out of 15
Fits the pattern. Grew up in a household free of religion. Even my grandparents were all atheist/non-religious. Until age 8 or so thought going to church and believing that stuff was something only a few people did a long, long time ago. It was a harsh awakening to realize that my family wasn’t typical.
Guess God got some revenge as I became religious later in life (doing zen Buddhism). Sometimes wonder how my daughter will turn out in terms of religion (she’s 8 and pretty much thinks it’s nonsense now).
I’m grateful for my upbringing, but do see the risk of a certain arrogance/lack-of-perspective in not submitting in any way. I think there’s something useful for a young boy to see his father bow down to something larger. It’s a huge and unnecessary burden to be at the center of the universe.
15/15
Guess I did learn a bit before I was kicked out of Sunday School!!
Got 15/15, though my answer to the Great Awakening question was a lucky guess. I grew up in a pretty secular Jewish home and went to public schools. I have an anthropological interest in evangelical Christianity, having married someone who grew up in that subculture, and I’m kinda sorta practicing myself, without really believing in God, at least not the kind of deity who is a being in his own right and concerns himself with human affairs.
But I don’t think the test was so much a test of religious knowledge as a test of general cultural knowledge. Many of the questions involved things I learned in school, and the rest I just picked up here and there.
I got 15/15, but if I’d answered the way I wanted to on “What day does Shabbos start on?” I would have gotten 14/15. Shabbos starts on Saturday. That’s the whole point of the thing. Friday just happens to end at Sunset. That’s how it works.
I was raised Jewish, I’m still Jewish, though I have no faith. I only scored well because of cultural literacy.
I believe strongly that a person gets more jokes and has more opportunities to laugh when they have a greater familiarity with a variety of subjects.
15/15. Raised Methodist; became atheist in a lengthy and painful deconversion process, ages 12-13, due to rational arguments I found on the Internet. (See, they work on a fewpeople…) Learned most of what I know about Christianity during that process and shortly thereafter. If I was going to convince myself, much less others, that Christianity was not correct, I figured I had to know a fair amount about it. Acquired some of my knowledge about other religions at that time was well, but learned more in high school and college as a history enthusiast/major.
@BenYitzhak, I agree that #4 should have done a better job distinguishing between yom shishi and the “clock standard” version of Friday.
I almost flubbed “Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?” because Abraham is a choice. But then I saw Job, and I suppose he does win that round of the Oppression Olympics.
The results of the formal poll are here. They’re separated by category, which may be helpful in seeing why the results shook out the way they did. (For instance: Mormons and white evangelical Protestants are very often biblical literalists; Judaism counts as a “world religion”; Jews and atheists are today more directly threatened by changes in the role of religion in the public sphere than Christians.)
14/15 although I shamefully admit my knowledge of the mormon faith comes from southpark. Raised Catholic but never confirmed by my choice. I still classify myself as catholic.