Here's a noteworthy but not at all surprising article. Americans don't know religion, including their own. This becomes a problem when we're becoming more and more religiously diverse in America and also fighting across seas with opponents whose mentality is rooted in a religion very different than the most popular at home.
The article points out that 60% of Americans can't even name five of the 10 commandments. Perhaps their faulty memories are the reason that they feel the need to plaster them everywhere?
It goes on to mention the problem with teaching about religion in the classroom and the thorny issue it's become. Religious leaders obviously fear that anything except a glowing affirmation of their faith will lead children away from God. I'd agree with them. If you want your religion taught in schools, that's fine, but it should be done with warts and all.
For those that want to try out their luck, there's a quiz along the left side of the article. I scored about a 70%. The questions I had trouble with were the ones regarding Buddhism and some of the less popular texts of Christianity.
Monday, March 12, 2007
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3 comments:
Thanks for the article. That was an interesting quiz and I have to admit I didn't know as many of the answers as I thought I would :)
I scored in the 80's. I should have scored 100. I needed to think harder. Perhaps i'm still jetlagged from DST.
I'd be willing to bet that the fraction of American Christians who know five of the ten commandments isn't much better.
Presumably, the book is better than the quiz. Knowing these facts may reflect that you know the important stories and their significance. But the quiz just says what you know of these facts. This is a problem with tests in general.
Thanks for the article. That was an interesting quiz and I have to admit I didn't know as many of the answers as I thought I would :)
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