Survey: Jews and Atheists Have More Religious Knowledge Than Christians

[NeoGreen]

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/07/23/survey-jews-and-atheists-have-more-religious-knowledge-than-christians/

Survey: Jews and Atheists Have More Religious Knowledge Than Christians
By Hemant Mehta, July 23, 2019

When it comes to basic knowledge about what different religions teach, Jews and atheists know more than every kind of Christian.

That’s the bottom line in a new survey from the Pew Research Center, which asked 32 questions testing everyone’s religious knowledge.

Let’s discuss the results, then get into what the heck is going on here.

Only 9% of people got a score higher than 75% — which doesn’t sound all that impressive — but Jews, atheists, and agnostics fared better than Christians overall.

None of those scores are worth bragging about. We’re a nation of religious people who know nothing about religion.

Still. It’s telling that the people who reject the most popular brand of religion in the country are the ones who know more facts about faith. (For what it’s worth, atheists knew more than agnostics, and agnostics knew more than “Nones” in general.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

1. I'm not surprised.

I'm also not surprised that so many "Christians" in the USA ignore the warnings from Jesus about wealth.

If it makes them uncomfortable, such as the idea of death or "Hell" in the first place, then ignore it or try to circumvent it with cognitive dissonance.

[customerserviceguy]

7. Me, either

Most Christians don't bother to learn about a religion outside their own, unless it is something bad about that religion.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. A bit unfair...

Complete article:

https://www.pewforum.org/2019/07/23/what-americans-know-about-religion/

The 32 questions included such things as transubstantiation, salvation by faith alone, the Buddhist Four Truths, the major religion in Thailand, when does the Jewish week start (that one got me-- it's Friday, not Saturday, btw)...

Most people aren't that knowledgeable about their own religions, much less someone else's. Atheists? I suspect they spend a lot of time learning about religions to argue against them.

[trotsky]

5. Or perhaps...

a lot of atheists actually looked into various religions before rejecting them.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Also a good possibility.

[Major Nikon]

16. There's many notable atheist theologians and biblical historians

Some started out as pious and later rejected the faith after learning about the biblical contradictions and doctrine based on convenience.

[TreasonousBastard]

18. And I have known a few. It's fascinating how many UUs and Quakers are atheists...

perhaps most of them. UU ministers, too.

Some do leave their churches when they can no longer accept the mythology, but others understand that a religion is not necessarily dependent upon a belief in a deity.

It's a process. A journey.

[customerserviceguy]

8. That was my path. n/t

[trotsky]

9. Mine too. n/t

[Bretton Garcia]

15. Me too

In academe, many study "comparative religions." Which compares religions ... and uncovers the basic core idea of most of them. Once you see that, you know enough to adopt - or reject - that general essence. Its good and bad general qualities.

Those who see only the good qualities, and adopt it, end up with say, Guil's general, nonspecific, generic "Creator." Those who have finally seen/had enough, who see the bad that always slyly accompanies the good, become atheists.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. You can take a 15 question quiz at the link. I'm a non believer and got 13.

[murielm99]

4. I got a 13 as well. n/t

[Pendrench]

10. Hi NeoGreen - Interesting post (as always!)

I also did pretty well on the quiz (15/15).

Wishing you well and peace!

Tim

[catrose]

11. 15/15 & Christian. No wonder I'm uncomfortable in church.

[czarjak]

12. Justifying their hateful ignorance is all that matters...

Period.

[No Vested Interest]

13. 15/15- Roman Catholic.

I guess DU members who choose to participate in Religion Group are not truly "average".

[Igel]

21. People in interest groups typically

know more about their topic of interest.

A critical thinking study years ago collected a bunch of scholars and researchers in literature, science, social sciences and got a set of questions that would involve critical thinking of each set. Then they gave those questions to everybody in the set.

The chemistry PhDs scored really high when it came to their field. But around the level of their latest coursework in other fields--which often meant high school history or literature. It was the same for mathematicians, historians, philosophers, materials engineers, computer scientists, political scientists. The real take-away is that there is no general "critical thinking" apparatus, you need to know facts and issues and even analytical techniques for each field, and while there can be some overlap (chemistry and physics, perhaps, or political science and history) for the most part expertise in political science doesn't make you any more knowledgeable than a high-school senior in chemistry, and if you're an expert in economics that really doesn't mean you know squat about engineering.

In other words, from bottom to top, if you're interested in something and work at knowing more about it, you're going to know more than if you're not interested in something and don't pay attention.

That could be "religion." It could be "Xianity." It could be the development and practice of sonata-allegro form or wander-words and their connection to archeology.

[No Vested Interest]

22. Agree in general. DU's subscribers are more likely than the average person in US to be

more knowledgeable in many subjects because they tend to be curiosity-based fact-consumers in general.

A short-answer quiz of limited number of questions is fairly easy for many to ace; in depth questions in a specific field would be much more difficult for all.

Many or even most subjects advance as one grows older, so a well-informed person has to continue in adapting what was learned in high school or college to current knowledge standards.
How much adaptation or new learning is done is usually a free choice by the individual.
I count myself as one who has not grown much in adulthood in certain fields.

Time, interest and demands of work and life limit our ability to consume new knowledge.

[Karadeniz]

14. 15/15 Gnostic Christian, I guess

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. Take note of where Evangelicals land.

The "fake Christians" know their Bible better than the other Christian denominations. Strange, innit?

[AtheistCrusader]

19. Ethnically or Religiously (practicing) Jewish?

(or both?)

[NeoGreen]

20. With the assumption that these are self-identified descriptions made when responding...

...I would assume it would be 'both'.