Religion
Related: About this forumOk, this should be fun for one and all! Are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz
Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups in a 32-question survey of religious knowledge by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. On average, Americans got 16 of the 32 questions correct. Atheists and agnostics got an average of 20.9 correct answers. Jews (20.5) and Mormons (20.3). Protestants got 16 correct answers on average, while Catholics got 14.7 questions right.
How will you do on the quiz?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0105/Are-you-smarter-than-an-atheist-A-religious-quiz/When-does-the-Jewish-Sabbath-begin
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)OK - I am a complete and confirmed atheist.
26 out of 32.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)The headline is the CSM's.
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)I once spanked my fundy freak brother and sister in law in a game of biblical trivial pursuit. At the time I thought it was strange give the way they live by the bible etc.
Now I understand that they don't really study it, they just hide behind it.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)28/32
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)Who knew a teacher is allowed to teach the bible as literature.
Also did not know what the major religion of Indonesia is. And the one about Job and the first 4 books of the bible.
Cirque du So-What
(25,932 posts)I knew that World Religions class I was compelled to take at the Catholic-run school I attended would come in handy one day.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)enlightenment
(8,830 posts)Only one I had to guess at was number four - which is technically incorrect, since both Buddhism and Hinduism believe in nirvana. Number seven was also poorly worded (and CRS having set in, I no longer remember why, just that it was poorly worded!)
on edit - yes, I am an atheist.
rurallib
(62,406 posts)atheist here
never heard of maimonides
drm604
(16,230 posts)Considering that there are only 32 questions, it's amazing that you were able to get 33 out of 34 correct.
rurallib
(62,406 posts)Goblinmonger
(22,340 posts)I guessed Hindu.
Dorian Gray
(13,493 posts)here in Brooklyn named Maimonides. It's vegetarian fare, but highly reviewed. Just from the existence of both institutions do I know who he is.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,681 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Being agnostic means you do not know (in this case, whether there is a god or not), but belief has nothing to do with knowledge. When it comes to belief you either do or do not believe, so which applies to you? Believer or non-believer.
Me? I am a non-knower, non-believer (Agnostic Atheist)
I'm curious only because you opened your post with your position on knowledge but made no mention of you belief (or lack of it)
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,681 posts)I tend not to believe, and I definitely don't know.
rug
(82,333 posts)Put down "Don't know".
Kookaburra
(2,649 posts)lastlib
(23,216 posts)(gonna be hard to out-smart this atheist.....)
Kookaburra
(2,649 posts)And I guess I'm best classified as "woo woo". You don't have to believe a religion to know it's tenets.
Arkansas Granny
(31,515 posts)OffWithTheirHeads
(10,337 posts)Trajan
(19,089 posts)I stupidly mistaken 'Mormon' for 'Moslem' .... And I guess I had better bone up on the Great Awakening ....
Or maybe not ...
MineralMan
(146,287 posts)It's a seminal sermon in the Great Awakening, and will give you some clues into the attitudes of the Fundies.
Here's a link to a pdf of the original printing:
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=etas
Joseph8th
(228 posts)... creepy guy. One of the original patrons of Yale and of... dum dum DUMMMM...
the Skull and Bones Society.
spin
(17,493 posts)I consider myself a Christian although most Christians would disagree. I enjoy studying religion as it is a fascinating topic.
The question that I failed to answer correctly was:
Which of these religious groups traditionally teaches that salvation comes through faith alone?
I need to study Catholicism in more depth.
lastlib
(23,216 posts)(not King--the Protestant Reformation guy)
amerikat
(4,909 posts)drm604
(16,230 posts)I missed the one about Maimonides and the one about "The Great Awakening". The rest were easy.
But who wrote those questions? Were they checked by an editor?
"Would you tell me if..."
"Would you happen to know..."
The correct answer to anything starting with either of those phrases is either "yes" or "no".
"Yes I would tell you", or "no I wouldn't tell you".
"Yes I do happen to know", or "no I don't happen to know".
Sure, it was obvious what they meant, but CSM should have higher standards than that.
rfranklin
(13,200 posts)Had no idea on that one.
pokerfan
(27,677 posts)I ruled out Graham and guessed Finney but really had no idea.
31 of 32 questions correctly for a total score of 97%.
2ndAmForComputers
(3,527 posts)Hepburn
(21,054 posts)...and I am an atheist.
Guess it's because before I decided that none of the religions suited me, I looked around at many of them and that is why I know some of the answers in that quiz.
Behind the Aegis
(53,952 posts)MineralMan
(146,287 posts)The test was far too easy, and its format was very clumsy. It took too long to take.
madmom
(9,681 posts)religious home, and still got 26 of them right.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Quiz results
31
Correct
1
Wrong
You answered 31 of 32 questions correctly for a total score of 97%.
murielm99
(30,735 posts)I am a Christian, and not a Mormon. (Some Christians don't think Mormons are Christians). But the quiz said that Mormons were among those who scored well. That may be because Mormons are involved in a lot of group and individual study of religion.
A large part of my education was done in Christian schools. The Lutherans don't fool around. We had sex education and we learned about evolution, too. I don't know what is wrong with those fundie idiots, but many of the Lutheran kids I went to school with scored higher on tests and did better overall than their public school counterparts.
Speck Tater
(10,618 posts)I never could keep those Greek and Roman gods straight.
Goblinmonger
(22,340 posts)and none of the rest.
Speck Tater
(10,618 posts)Some of my relatives get offended when I refer to "Christian Mythology". On the other hand, as a Buddhist Atheist myself, I have no qualms whatsoever about referring to "Buddhist Mythology". After all, regardless of the fact that his methods of meditation have practical value, there are really no "facts" about the life and times of the Buddha, only mythology, and it would be dishonest to refer to it by any other name. Even the most "authentic" of the Buddhist texts (the Pali Canon) weren't committed to writing until 450 years after the supposed date of the Buddha's death. So it's mythology, plain and simple.
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)I blew two on the minutiae of the Christian mythology, though.
LARED
(11,735 posts)I teach 8th grade Sunday School and most of the students would have easily gotten 25 or more correct.
If there is any accuracy to the scores listed it is a sad commentary on America no matter what a persons faith or non faith happens to be.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)I credit that with two things. First, I had a darned good religion course in college. Second, like many atheists, I tried a wide variety of religious traditions before figuring out that they were all just hopes and wishes, without substance.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)religion, while those that have tried out many are much better informed.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)Finally found peace when I just set the search aside and accepted the fact that I wasn't ever going to believe.
immoderate
(20,885 posts)Go figure.
--imm
MissMarple
(9,656 posts)I should have known that.
Every newspaper should publish this.
LeftishBrit
(41,205 posts)Rob H.
(5,351 posts)which is none too shabby, considering that I've never been to church a day in my life. (Good thing it was more of a "world religions" type of quiz!)
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)TlalocW
(15,381 posts)I was sleepy and misread Mormon for Muslim in one of the questions. I knew the right answer; I just can't read as well as some atheists.
TlalocW
Doc_Technical
(3,526 posts)I guess I actually learned something while watching
all those "Sword and Sandal" movies. ("Release the Kraken!"
I believe in a higher power but I don't believe in
organized religion
Curmudgeoness
(18,219 posts)Who the hell is Maimonides????
And did anyone wonder, why did they have the option "don't know" on almost all the questions? Who is really stupid enough on a multiple choice test to not take a stab at an answer that MIGHT be right???
Also, that site slowed my computer down so badly that I had to reboot my computer to clear it. WTF.
rug
(82,333 posts)Curmudgeoness
(18,219 posts)PADemD
(4,482 posts)not an athiest
cordelia
(2,174 posts)Not an Atheist.
edhopper
(33,573 posts)I didn't read the Catholic/Protestant faith question right and missed the Great Awakening.
But I think anyone with half a mind should get the high 20s. The Average American got 16. We are one stupid ass country.
No wonder the Repugs can get elected
Thats my opinion
(2,001 posts)You bet, DUers re smarter than the average American---by far. at least on this quiz.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)I've always belonged to churches that emphasized education, and as such, I thought the quiz was really easy and am surprised that so many Catholics and Protestants flunked it.
Adsos Letter
(19,459 posts)...those are really very basic questions.
AnOhioan
(2,894 posts)tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)nt
Green_Lantern
(2,423 posts)The Nirvana question could have been Hinduism.
deacon_sephiroth
(731 posts)to be fair though it was mostly the geographical demographic questions that got me, I've always been complete shit with geography.
EvolveOrConvolve
(6,452 posts)And I got 31 out of 32 (missing only the question about long-suffering Job). I never took a comparative religion class, I didn't investigate other religions after leaving the Mormon church (although I attended an Episcopal church for awhile), and don't consider myself an expert on religion. I'm not sure how the hell the average American only answered 16 of the 32 correct. Is America really THAT dumb and ignorant?
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)Faith alone, works alone, both, neither, Catholics Protestants - way too confusing. Give me that old time Apollonian religion any day, and just let me incubate.
Dorian Gray
(13,493 posts)so it would appear that I am. In all honesty, most of this stuff is common sense and a very basic understanding of world religions. (I am a practicing Roman Catholic, went to a Jesuit University -- Boston College -- and lived abroad for a number of years... background information.) And no, I don't think I'm smarter than atheists. Just glad to be proving that not all Catholics are dummies!
Here are my results:
32 Correct 0 Wrong
You answered 32 of 32 questions correctly for a total score of 100%. Comment on this quiz.
Share your results
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)I can't say I'm smarter than an atheist, because I am an atheist!
Joseph8th
(228 posts)Trick question! There were two answers... either #3 or #4: "Don't know."