Remember the big news story mid-September about the Pew survey finding that, in the US, atheists know more about religion than believers do? The trouble is, the survey found no such thing. Yes, the atheists correctly answered more questions. But no, the questions did not ask about religion. It was more akin to a dumbed down version of Trivial Pursuit.
You’ll find the questions in question (heh) listed below, but answering these questions no more shows knowledge of religion than naming the top three home run hitters shows knowledge of baseball. Hundreds of thousands can name Barry, Hank and Babe, but precious few know how to throw a curve ball, when to play the corners on the grass or what happens when the pitcher opens his lead shoulder too soon. These questions are better described as “religiness” (like Colbert’s “truthiness”) than religious—at a gut level they feel religious, but the feeling cannot survive even a casual encounter with real religion. These questions are to religion what bumper stickers are to philosophy.
It’s not American believers who don’t know religion, it’s the people at Pew who wrote these trivia questions. Given the inanity of the questions, it’s not surprising that the atheists scored highest, because the best known of our militant atheists – Hitchens, Harris, Maher and Dawkins – typically traffic in inane caricatures of religion and religious people. If religion really was a thing that could be represented by the Pew questions, I’d be an atheist, too. Here’s how Pew’s questions to measure knowledge of religion break down:
20 asked for the name of something;
2 asked for definitions of terms;
2 asked about dates;
1 asked about a holiday;
1 asked about the US Constitution;
1 asked about American schools; and
1 asked about the meaning of a ritual.
Pure trivia. In a superficial way, the Pew questions measure familiarity with history, politics, science, literature, English, the calendar and cultural traditions. They measure absolutely nothing about knowledge of religion.
There was not a single question about any religion’s belief about the nature of God, of the relationship between humanity and the divine, of the process of spiritual growth, of the nature of good and evil or even of basic moral teachings.
Pew has shown us nothing. Actually, it’s worse than that: Presenting this trivia as reflecting knowledge of religion contributes to the general debasement of our understanding and discussion of religion. It may very well be that most us don’t know squat about religion, but we don’t know, because Pew didn’t ask about anything like religion. And if we are ignorant, Pew just made us a little more so. I’ve got no problem with a third grade understanding of religion — so long as you’re in the third grade. Pew will have to do far better if it’s going to earn an ounce of credibility with me.
The “religious” questions in the Pew survey
When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?
Is Ramadan: The Hindu festival of lights, a Jewish day of atonement, or the Islamic holy month?
Do you happen to know which of these is the king of gods in ancient Greek mythology: Zeus, Mars, Apollo?
Do you happen to know the name of the holy book of Islam?
Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering?
In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures?
Is an (atheist, agnostic) someone who believes in God, someone who does NOT believe in God, or someone who is unsure whether God exists?
What is the first book of the Bible?
Will you tell me the names of the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible, that is the Four (sic) Gospels?
“Can you name any others?”
Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born?
When was the Mormon religion founded?
The Book of Mormon tells the story of Jesus Christ appearing to people in what area of the world?
Which of the following best describes Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion: The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ or the bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood Jesus Christ?
Which of these religious groups traditionally teaches that salvation comes through faith alone: Protestants, Catholics, both or neither?
Please tell me which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; Keep the Sabbath holy; Do not commit adultery; Don’t steal; All are in the Ten Commandments.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering: Job, Elijah, Moses, Abraham?
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt: Job, Elijah, Moses, Abraham?
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with willingness to sacrifice his son for God: Job, Elijah, Moses, Abraham?
Mother Teresa was Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, Hindu, Other ?
The Dalai Lama is Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, Hindu, Other ?
Joseph Smith was Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, Hindu, Other ?
Maimonides was Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, Hindu, Other?
Which of the following statements best describes what the U.S. Constitution says about religion ?
1-Christianity should be given special emphasis by the government
2-The government shall neither establish a religion nor interfere with the practice of religion, or
3-The Constitution does not say anything one way or the other about religion
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to, or not?
a. lead a class in prayer
b. read from the Bible as an example of literature
c. offer a class comparing the world’s religions
Do you happen to know what religion most people in India consider themselves? Is that…? Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Divided
Do you happen to know what religion most people in Indonesia consider themselves? Is that…? Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Divided
Do you happen to know what religion most people in Pakistan consider themselves? Is that…? Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Divided
What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther, Thomas Aquinas, John Wesley?
Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, Billy Graham?