September 29, 2010
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Athiests know more about religion than Christians!
Are unbelievers really more knowledgeable about religion than the faithful?
Yesterday in the Los Angeles Times I read an article about a survey that measured Americans’ knowledge of religion. Of the groups polled, atheists and agnostics were more knowledgeable, on average, than the followers of all the major faiths. In descending order, Jews and Mormons were next, followed by Evangelical Protestants, and then Catholics.
The survery was released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
What is always interesting to me when I hear about polls and surveys is that so may people seem to take the “results” at face value. A little over 3000 people were polled. And only 15 questions were asked. EDIT: 10/01/10 4:30 a.m. pdt. It was noted in 2 comments that the actual number of questions on the survey was 32, and 15 were used for an online only version. Depending upon how many people identified their faith correctly, or were truthful in their answers, the numbers could possibly be skewered any number of ways. I took the test just now and got 93%. According to my numbers, I’m smarter than everyone. I got one answer wrong, and I really beg to differ somewhat. The question: Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering? The right choice was Buddhism. I picked Hinduism. I think I’m at least half right. I was thinking of “bhrama-nirvana”, which is the state of enlightenment in the Hindu faith. Hey, I knew that Jonathon Edwards was the preacher most affiliated with the Great Awakening. Did YOU know that?
I’m sure the blogosphere is awash with the “reasons” why seemingly skeptical people have more of a knowledge of religion than the faithful. Perhaps it is because the faithful don’t feel a NEED to investigate further. In fact, some religions don’t really ask their followers to go find out what the other guy is thinking. Most atheists and agnostics possibly were born into one faith or another, and began a search, like I did, when they were questioning their religion for some reason or another, and as a result of this search, they gained more knowledge.
The point I want to drive home is that nobody should take this particular “poll” at face value. I took it online. A lot of folks take IQ tests online too. And keep taking it over and over again until the numbers “prove” they have an IQ of 160 or some outlandish result. The IQ tests, and this “religious knowledge” test are not inclusive. The have very few questions. As I just said, I got 93% right because I answered all the questions right except for one. If there were only two questions, and I missed the same one, I would only have gotten 50% right.
Atheists are supposedly people who don’t believe in God. Agnostics are supposedly people who question a belief in God. The “faithful” believe “blindly” (That’s why they don’t need to investigate, folks) in the presence of a “supreme being.” Hindus believe in many gods. For Buddhists the existence of God is a moot point. Jews, Muslims and Christians pretty much believe in the same God. His name is Yahweh, but at one time in His early existence, He didn’t want anyone to voice His name, or else there were dire circumstances.
A long time ago there were religions like those of the Sumerians and the Zoroastrians. These religions morphed into the three “montheistic” religions we know today.
Jews still believe in the one God of their people, the God of Abraham.
Christians practice the teachings of Jesus Christ, who was a Jew.
Muslims practice the teachings of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was given the word of God and instructed to recite it to his people. This is the same God of Abraham as followed by those who practice Judaism.I am more in tune to the indigenous peoples of the American continent when it comes to belief in a godhead. The Universal Mind has possibly more in common with the beliefs of the Lakota tribe than with Christianity. I believe as much in the teachings of Christ and in those of Muhammad (PBUH) or of the Bhramins of the Hindu religion, or of the Buddha or his followers.
The Universal Mind is the end all and the be all. It is the beginning and the end. There is no one “God” guy in charge, and there are no appointed “saviors” running around the earth proclaiming that if you don’t believe in ME then you’re going to “perish” brother.
In fact, the all encompassing wonder of the Universal is that we humans don’t even KNOW what is in store for us until after we DO perish. It’s in the human condition of “death” that we attain Universal Life. As I’ve written so many times in these pages, we all “wonder” what will happen to us. When we die, we gain the “Final Realization” and in an instant, or in an eternity (they’re both the same in the Universal, cause there’s no “time”) we understand and never need to wonder, or worry about anything ever again.
I have this faith. Faith that no matter what humans preach, (and a lot of the preachers have either a great grasp of spirituality, or are uselessly clueless) it ultimately doesn’t matter. I’ve been given countless epiphanies which tell me there is more “right thinking” about the warring and ideologically different religions than there is “wrong thinking”. And sometimes the divisions in religious faith, which have all been engineered by humankind, in his search for the ultimate answers, are what divides and destroys us on a daily basis.
When I say I will “pray for you” I do not kneel and address an unseen godhead. I immerse my personal godhead with those problems or unimaginable sorrows you encounter, and I embrace the Universal Realities which permeate our beings while “trapped” here on this little ball of clay we call our home planet.
When I agree with you, whether you be a Catholic, or a Muslim, of a Holy Roller (the friendly epithet given my chosen religion of the 70s, the Pentecostals), a Mormon, a Hindu, or a Lakota Souix, I agree with the tenets of your faith, not the dogma. All faiths preach love and brotherhood. It’s man (those little devils) who has created the divisions between brothers, and has turned love into hate.
When I talk to “God” I am in fact talking to myself, and you, and every other soul in eternity, in the past, in the present, in the future, and in “times” and “places” which are simply not known to my “puny human brain.” Are there extra terrestrials? Who knows for sure, but why not?
Perhaps those who identify themselves as atheist or agnostic in polls such as the one given by the folks at the Pew Forum are really just as spiritual as those who go to Church every Sunday, or Synagogue on Saturday. Perhaps they simply don’t blindly follow, but in their questioning, have developed beliefs which simply transcend those of the followers of the world’s “organized” religions. Other “polls” have diagrammed a decline in “organized religion”. I don’t think humanity should be locked into little boxes which attempt to catalog us and dictate our thinking. The Universal Mind is much bigger than these arbitrary divisions anyway. I like to think “outside” these little boxes.
My “faith” has always been in the “why not” instead of the “why.” I agree more than I disagree. Science and faith can exist in my “Universal Mind.” I think it’s about time that we stop listening to polls engineered, if intended or not, to divide us, and attempt to join our hands and believe in ourselves, and our abilities to make this spinning ball of clay a “better place” to live while we’re still the tenants.
An instant is an eon.
A leaf is a tree.
A rock is a world.
A mind is all minds.
Forever.
Through history.
Through space.
Through time.
Forever.
Now.
Comments (23)
Book knowledge on this topic means less to me than what someone feels. I wish I could say it better than that, but I can’t think of how.
Indeed. The divisions between different types of faiths spring not from the religious tenets, but from the believers’ (and non-believers’) tendency to place more value in the “words/concepts” more than the idea/feeling behind those. “Mistaking the pointing finger for the moon.” (Reality is not made up of words; words are mere tools.)
Also, polls are overrated. Unreliable. I don’t understand why some people even base their philosophy/actions on those…
This topic seems to be a hot one. I am going to try to get to the
source and see what insights I can glean from methodology and such. All
kinds of plausible explanations but I doubt the survey recorded enough
data to do anything conclusive.
@Ro_ad808 - Dear Michael, You’ll notice I link to the source and also to the quiz itself. 3000 people and 15 questions. “I doubt the survey recorded enough
data to do anything conclusive” myself.
Excellently stated. I think we are of like minds I just said it in a comment a different way.To say it even shorter than I have before “Predijuce stiffles knowledge.” I learned what I have learned not through particular study but through an interest in different peoples and societies world over. Today I chatted on the YM with some very long time friends, one in Italy (Catholic) one in India (Hindu) one in Pakastan (Islam), one in Hong Kong (Tao) and a sprinklng of Americans Faith or lack thereof is such an intrigal part of a person that if you talk to someone very long, the subject comes up and that is when you learn…..I love to learn. So according to the “test” I took the official test was longer than 15 questions so I wouldn’t know how I would have fared there but as it was 80% satisfies me and one of those I pinged the wrong button. Have a great evening. I may get back to the links you listed to see how I fare there
).
My “faith” has always been in the “why not” instead of the “why.” I agree more than I disagree. Science and faith can exist in my “Universal Mind.” I think it’s about time that we stop listening to polls engineered, if intended or not, to divide us, and attempt to join our hands and believe in ourselves, and our abilities to make this spinning ball of clay a “better place” to live while
we’re still the tenants
I actually agree with this whole statement. I think we should stop trying to be divided and unite. Everyone believes in something different and we have to respect that. Too bad, it can’t be that easy..
@baldmike2004 - Indeed for which I thank you. Makes researching it much easier.
Yes I figured that poll wasn’t accurate, primarily was a way to stir up people talking…I enjoyed reading about your personal faith beliefs. I find it’s hard to judge others at the end of the day for their beliefs because we all come from different backgrounds, have different paths, and different stories. I do know that my faith is where I find my strength and inspiration but again, that may not be the same for another individual.
Hm a correlational study at best. Demographics are self identified, controls weak at best but it could be a springboard for further research. I took the quiz and only missed one. As soon as I submitted the response I realized I hit the wrong thing- when the Jewish Sabbath begins. I didn’t catch the begins and hit Saturday (the day) and not Friday (the beginning).
You said what I would like to say if I could write as eloquently as you. Thanks for sharing your beliefs with us. Hope that your week is going well.
Kat
Well-said, Mike. Indigenous cultures have always fascinated me, particularly in the “realm of religion” (but it can’t really be called that). Cultures in which what they believe about everything is so interwoven in their everyday have so much to teach us. I really want to search out some good books on the topic but haven’t known where to start.
Hi Mike,
You used the survey to segue into your beliefs very well. I can’t say that I agree with you, but will say that there is a possibility that you are correct. Of course I would say the same about any one’s faith, with all due respect. The closest I can come to using words to express my belief is that God is ineffable.
There were more than 15 questions. That was just a sample for the online quiz. I think the total was 100 questions, and the entire quiz in on Pew’s site. There were 32 religious questions, and 9 on general knowledge.
This survey and previous Pew Forum studies have shown that Jews and atheists/agnostics have high levels of educational attainment on average, which partially explains their performance on the religious knowledge survey. However, even after controlling for levels of education and other key demographic traits (race, age, gender and region), significant differences in religious knowledge persist among adherents of various faith traditions. Atheists/agnostics, Jews and Mormons still have the highest levels of religious knowledge.
Atheists were a very small part of the total polled, and were included with the people who said that they were agnostics.
I really liked this. I do know that a great many atheists have read the Bible many times while some Christians I know have not. I think maybe they are afraid to read what’s really in there, LOL!
It is just crazy to insist that one religion has all of the answers and the others are just wrong. I guess this is why I dislike organized religion so much. However, I do believe in God and consider myself a Christian.
Now, to take the test!
Polls and how they are interpreted are very curious for sure!
Great post. I think that extremely “religious” people are somewhat blinded, at the least narrow minded, and this makes them intolerant and ignorant.
That being said, I took a quiz once, (not a poll), my beliefs were catagorized as neo pagan.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx
There were actually 32 questions. Only 15 are available for the public quiz.
I read about that poll, too. I found it interesting, although am not sure about the accuracy.
Right now, I’m so short of time I don’t have time for a sensible comment on this. I hope to read more in detail later, but you’ll probably have posted another thoughtful blog by then.
~~Blessings ‘n Cheers
@an_OM_aly - @helvetebrann - Dear Linda, Helvetebran, Your correction of 32 religious questions (still a fairly small amount, as far as I’m concerned) has been noted in the entry. Thank you. When I posted this, the Pew Forum site hadn’t put up the article yet (it’s on their main page now), and I don’t believe the Times reported the exact number of questions. I looked at the “Take the Quiz” link, which was a pared down version of the phone survey. I am glad that the Forum called cellphones as well as landlines. I was having a conversation with someone at work about whether polls used cellphones nowadays, since mose everyone has cellphones.
Yeah, I can believe that poll was pretty accurate. I thought they were going to be question on beliefs but many of them had to do with history and policies. I got 13/15 on that quiz, because I didn’t know who Jonathan Edwards was and had never heard of the great awakening. I picked Billy Graham, lol! Second, I pick Saturday for the Sabbath. I knew it had to be either that or Friday, but afterward I realized I should have pick Friday because according to the Jewish calendar a new day starts after sundown. Then the third one I missed was the Bible as literature in the classroom in which I said no being that I figured it was a no no because prayer in the classroom was against government policy. There are many religious people who don’t know what they believe in and don’t read at all. Sad.
Well said!
Mike:
Without a doubt there are boocoo’s of people out there that know way more about the Bible than I do, and there are way more that know more about religion than I do… I am a believer in my salvation through Jesus… I have faith in God… no religion gives me that peace mainly because human type people make up religion as they go and all the rules like if you go to my church you must not wear make-up, you must always wear dresses and have your head covered, never cut your hair or for goodness sake never ever color it, dance, go to movies, and for pete sake you must hate anyone that doesn’t believe in the man created rules of your church…this type of thinking is just not my thing at all…I don’t judge the people that believe in these rules and laws I am just saying it is not my thing…
But never th less I am a believer and I find it sad that non believers lump me in with all the others just because I am a believer in Jesus. I get slammed just because someone else was mean to them and said they were going to go to hell… That someone was not me… and will never be me.
well enough of my venti rant
Mae
Christians have often been uneducated about many things. That’s okay. I wish for all people to be well educated. This next week I have an opportunity to spend time with a Buddhist priest at his Dharma center for a friendly discussion about Christianity and Buddhism.
Though I believe that a universal plan is in place. Religion has not served man well. It has been the cause of our wars and the separation of people. And whats even worse, those that claim to be the voice of truth, have only falsely guided people with blind faith.
I think society as a whole would of been better served, if a teaching of “free thinkers” would of been in place. Where each individual has his own thinking and the state, does not allow others to impose their will on us.
As I see it, no one will save me. I will save myself. And a truth is personal. What I rationalize myself without imposing it on others. And no one will go to hell for thinking differently.