Religiously Illiterate that is.
This week I have been reading Stephen Prothero’s masterwork Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know- And Doesn’t. Prothero’s “radical” idea that religion should be taught in public schools got a little play earlier this year when his ideas were featured in the April 2nd issue of TIME. In the article The Case for Teaching the Bible author David Van Biema quotes some staggering statistics from Prothero’s book.
According to Religious Literacy, polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Bible holds the answers to “all or most of life’s basic questions,” but pollster George Gallup has dubbed us “a nation of biblical illiterates.” Only half of U.S. adults know the title of even one Gospel. Most can’t name the Bible’s first book. The trend extends even to Evangelicals, only 44% of whose teens could identify a particular quote as coming from the Sermon on the Mount.
As a minister I know that these statistics are sadly the rules and not the exceptions. I get frustrated very quickly when I find that I cannot lead a Bible class or a religious discussion very far or deep because students (and adults) have a very, very limited working knowledge of Scripture.
At the outset of the book, Prothero provides the reader with a copy of a Religious Literacy Quiz that he gave to his university students in the Spring of 2006.
I took Prothero’s quiz and scored a 45 out of 50.
Are you interested in how you would fare in this basic exam? Many of you that read this blog grew up in a conservative background where you were at church if the doors were open and many of you were leaders in youth group and at school and you have continued to lead in the workplace. I know that you take your faith seriously. I think that many of you can pass this quiz with flying colors.
I have provided the quiz below and I will post the answers in the comment section. I am interested in how well you fared taking the quiz so leave a comment with your score or with comments on what you think about the quiz or teaching religion in schools. Good luck.
Religious Literacy Quiz
1) Name the four Gospels. List as many as you can.
2) Name a sacred text of Hinduism.
3) What is the name of the holy book of Islam?
4) Where according to the Bible was Jesus born?
5) Pres. George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking?
6) What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament?
7) What is the Golden Rule?
8) “God helps those who help themselves”: Is this in the Bible? If so, where?
9) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”: Does this appear in the Bible? If so, where?
10) Name the Ten Commandments. List as many as you can.
11) Name the four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
12) What are the seven sacraments of Catholicism? List as many as you can.
13) The First Amendment says two things about religion, each with its own “clause.” What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment?
14) What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated?
15) Match the Bible characters with the stories in which they appear. Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vise versa.
1. Adam and Eve
2. Paul
3. Moses
4. Noah
5. Jesus
6. Abraham
7. Serpent
a. Exodus
b. Binding of Isaac
c. Olive Branch
d. Garden of Eden
e. Parting of the Red Sea
f. Road to Damascus
g. Garden of Gethsemane
1) Name the four Gospels. List as many as you can. (1 point each.)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
2) Name a sacred text of Hinduism. (1 point.)
Possible answers include: the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishands, Punanas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Sutras, Laws of Manu, and the Kama Sutra.
3) What is the name of the holy book of Islam? (1 point.)
Quran
4) Where according to the Bible was Jesus born? (1 point.)
Bethlehem
5) Pres. George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking? (1 point.)
The Good Samaritan
6) What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament? (1 point each.)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
7) What is the Golden Rule? (1 point.)
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Matthew 7:12
8) “God helps those who help themselves”: Is this in the Bible? If so, where? (2 points.)
No, this is not in the Bible. Ben Franklin spoke these words.
9) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”: Does this appearing the Bible? If so, where? (2 points.)
Yes. Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” was spoken by Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount.
10) Name the Ten Commandments. List as many as you can. (10 points.)
Exodus 20:2-17
1) ““I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
2) “You shall have no other gods before me.
3) “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
4) “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
5) “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
6) “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
7) “You shall not murder.
8) “You shall not commit adultery.
9) “You shall not steal.
10) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
11) Name the four Noble Truths of Buddhism. (1 point each.)
1) Life is suffering.
2) Suffering has an origin.
3) Suffering can be overcome.
4) The path of overcoming suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.
12) What are the seven sacraments of Catholicism? List as many as you can. (7 points.)
1) Baptism
2) Holy Communion
3) Confession
4) Confirmation
5) Marriage
6) Holy Orders
7) Last Rites
13) The First Amendment says two things about religion, each with its own “clause.” What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment? (1 point each.)
“Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion (Establishment clause) , or prohibiting the free exercise of (Free exercise clause).”
14) What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated? (2 point.)
Ramadan is celebrated in the Muslim religion and is marked by a month of fasting.
15) Match the Bible characters with the stories in which they appear. Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vise versa. (7 points)
1. Adam and Eve (d)
2. Paul (f)
3. Moses (a, e)
4. Noah (c)
5. Jesus (f, g)
6. Abraham (b)
7. Serpent (d)
a. Exodus
b. Binding of Isaac
c. Olive Branch
d. Garden of Eden
e. Parting of the Red Sea
f. Road to Damascus
g. Garden of Gethsemane
*In an effort of full disclosure I answered every Christian religious question correctly and I have a working knowledge of Islam which helped me answer the question about Ramadan. I did however miss the question asking for a sacred text of Hinduism and I only partially answered the question on Buddhism.
I scored a 35.
I totally didn’t know about the Catholic sacraments, or anything with Hinduism or Buddhism (although I DID have lessons on those religions in my history class).
Good job on the 35 Caitlin!
What kind of lessons did you have on these religions in your history classes?
Prothero writes about most world history classes by saying, “Most world history textbooks offer quick-and-easy accounts of the origins of these religions and, in some cases, of the key beliefs and practices of contemporary adherents. But despite strongly worded calls for teaching about religion in state and national standards for world history, these accounts rarely extend beyond a few pages, and here too religion disappears with the rush of modernity- in this case around 1750. ‘Religion remains,’ Gaustad writes, ‘a classroom pariah.'”
Was this the case for you? It was for me. I remember that my world history textbook only allowed for a chapter covering “world religions” and only allowed a paragraph or two for each.
I only scored a 28. I missed the Hindu, Buddhism, and Catholicism questions. I couldn’t remember what Ramadan was for, but I knew it was Islamic because I had an Islamic student make me ramadan cookies before. I am ashamed about missing 5 of the 10 Commandments. I didn’t get those first few and I couldn’t remember murder for some reason. I am horrible about everything in history, so I missed the amendment question. I truly didn’t know that the Good Samaritan happened on the Jericho road…I was wondering why Bush would talk about the walls of Jericho coming down.
Brooke-
Whoa… a students made you Ramadan cookies? Cookies… to celebrate fasting… Buy a copy of this book and give it to this student!
The average American can only name 4 of the commandments. As long as you haven’t been breaking the murder commandment then your above average.
My dad probably mention the two religion clauses somewhere between “the bill of rights” and “how many gallons of fuel the Charger bus holds”