Americans woefully ignorant about religion, study says

[SensibleManiac]

why should you know about religion?


who ever said everyone had to start liking everyone else or have just cause for not liking them? "well you have to justify you are not a bigot and know enough to not like them." Okay then i ask simply "why?". Goes back to play nice with the toys, in the sandbox, team player "orthodox " that has run rampant in recent years. That in itself is a brainwashing concept. Why do you have to have just cause or reason for not liking something or someone? seems to me that if you dont like something that is a individual choice, not be decided by others. Just as if you choose not to know about it.

You don't have to "know about religion" as you put it, but if you say anything about religion or judge others based on it or claim to be religious, then YES, you do have to know about it, or else you're just a hypocrite and an idiot.

You don't have to like everyone else either, but if you don't have a reason for not liking something or someone then what does that say about you, besides that you're not very bright. You can choose to be an idiot too, but don't expect everyone else to think very highly of you, or you of yourself.

I'm of course not talking directly about you as I don't know you and maybe you're only asking to have an answer, but to answer your question, if you don't like someone for no reason at all you are usually hiding from your own inadequacies and it's easier to take when you hate someone else. That way you don't feel as bad about yourself because you take the focus off of what you hate about yourself.

 

[Ken Morgan]

I was once told by a woman she knew all about Jews because she'd seen Fiddler on the Roof a few times.
Education is the key to defeating bigotry, the more we know about each other the more we find we have in common and the less chance of misunderstandings or at any rate more chance of sorting them out. Well hopefully

I don’t necessarily disagree with you TEZ, but how you are raised I believe is just as important as education. I grew up in a very multicultural area, and knew very little about the cultures of those around me, but my parents taught me to treat everyone with respect and dignity, so that’s what I did. I think I had one or two friends from my own cultural background growing up, everyone else I knew were from all over the world.

Bigotry is hereditary.

 

[elder999]

why should you know about religion?.

Because it's part of who we are:







By "we." I meant human beings, btw...

 

[Ken Morgan]

Or who we were...

(btw Love the photo's Elder!!)

 

[Carol]

I think Elder is right. Who we ARE. Religion, language, and culture are tightly intertwined. A person may not be Christian or Jewish in their own worldview, but with an (Anglophone) North American upbringing, their language is still going to reflect, among other influences, Judeo-Christian culture. (Maybe British and Australian too? Not sure) Many scriptures are magnificent works of literature.

"Snuff you out"

"Missed by a hair"

"He took his life in to his hands"

"Asking for it"

"Stumbling block"

"More or less"

"Fly in the ointment"

"Go the extra mile"

"How the mighty have fallen"

"Laughingstock"

"On the tip of my tongue"

"Sour grapes"

"Nothing new under the sun"

"Scapegoat"

"Pearls before swine"

"Nothing but skin and bones"

"Wolf in sheep's clothing"

"Eat, Drink, and Be Merry"

"Old Wives's Tales"

 

[Aikikitty]

Here's the actual quiz from Pew, if you can get through:

http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/

Also:

This one is good too:

:lurk:

I got 9 out of 10 on the short quiz. I missed the Most Popular Religion in Indonesia. For the full quiz, the only question I didn't know (besides the Indonesia one) was the last one---Maimonides was Jewish. I'm a non-denominational, Bible-believing Christian. I suppose that puts me in the "White Evangelical Protestant". I also went to Youth Group in my teens so according to the study that's bonus points for scoring well.

From the article

"They were raised in a faith and have made a decision to identify themselves with groups that tend to be fairly unpopular," atheists and agnostics, he says.

I guess it depends how you look at is as plenty of people get bashed in this country for being "Christian" too. I realize the article was meaning to go at the angle of the atheists and agnostics growing up in religious backgrounds and being unpopular with their family and groups.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of "religious" people scored low on the quiz because they were just raised "that way" and didn't go through the questioning phase to research, or have an in-depth study of the Bible (or whatever). As a teen, I went through the questioning phase and eventually decided that my faith wasn't just from how my parent's raised me, but I chose to believe what I believe on my own...just like the atheists and agnostics. We just decided to believe (or not know what to believe) differently. Also, how many of the "religious" people who did the survey are sincere in their faith or "in name only" because of whatever school they went to as a kid or they pop into a church during the holidays? Or those people could go to a church where the teachings are watered down--quite a few of those churches around.

Robyn

 

[bribrius]

You don't have to "know about religion" as you put it, but if you say anything about religion or judge others based on it or claim to be religious, then YES, you do have to know about it, or else you're just a hypocrite and an idiot.

You don't have to like everyone else either, but if you don't have a reason for not liking something or someone then what does that say about you, besides that you're not very bright. You can choose to be an idiot too, but don't expect everyone else to think very highly of you, or you of yourself.

I'm of course not talking directly about you as I don't know you and maybe you're only asking to have an answer, but to answer your question, if you don't like someone for no reason at all you are usually hiding from your own inadequacies and it's easier to take when you hate someone else. That way you don't feel as bad about yourself because you take the focus off of what you hate about yourself.

too deep for me.

what if i just don't like someone or something. No particuliar reason. Just don't.

 

[bribrius]

i didn't even take the quiz. I don't like the topic enough to bother. So technically that must make me even more woefully ignorant because now i dont know about the quiz and my results either...

 

[elder999]

i didn't even take the quiz. I don't like the topic enough to bother. So technically that must make me even more woefully ignorant because now i dont know about the quiz and my results either...

Well, then why bother with joining the conversation?

 

[bribrius]

Well, then why bother with joining the conversation?

saw a couple things skimming through i questioned.

consider my posting the equivilent of testing a peace demonstration by saying you dont believe in peace and waiting for someone there to hit you over it.

One group quick to judge another for judging them.

i say i dont like something or someone. what is the first reaction? well i must be a idiot then. sounds like bigotry almost. someone thinks or believes a certain way another doesn't agree with. well they must be a bigot/uneducated or something must be wrong with them.

"well that isn't right. you have to think like this"

 

[elder999]

saw a couple things skimming through i questioned.

consider my posting the equivilent of testing a peace demonstration by saying you dont believe in peace and waiting for someone there to hit you over it.

One group quick to judge another for judging them.

i say i dont like something or someone. what is the first reaction? well i must be a idiot then. sounds like bigotry almost. someone thinks or believes a certain way another doesn't agree with. well they must be a bigot/uneducated or something must be wrong with them.

"well that isn't right. you have to think like this"

Oh, okay.

 

[Omar B]

This is the same guy who refereed to a gay man as a "homo Doug" in another thread Elder, I wouldn't put much stock in his pearls of wisdom from someone who uses the word "bigot" while using derogatory terms.

 

[David43515]

saw a couple things skimming through i questioned.

consider my posting the equivilent of testing a peace demonstration by saying you dont believe in peace and waiting for someone there to hit you over it.

One group quick to judge another for judging them.

i say i dont like something or someone. what is the first reaction? well i must be a idiot then. sounds like bigotry almost. someone thinks or believes a certain way another doesn't agree with. well they must be a bigot/uneducated or something must be wrong with them.

"well that isn't right. you have to think like this"

It`s entirely possible that you are, in fact, an idiot. However I think it has nothing to do with your religious beliefs or the lack thereof. It has to do with the fact that you would jump into a conversation you admit you know little or nothing about (since the subject is the quiz you didn`t take) and feel it nessesary to share your opinion. The fact that you seem to have taken offense to something that no one here has said doesn`t help your image either.

Incidently, the quiz wasn`t about what the people who took it believe or don`t believ. It was almost something out of a Jr High class with a tiny bit of literature thrown in. "Who was this person" "What`s the most common religion in that country?" "What book says this?"etc. Most of it was just common sense stuff that might be handy to know if you live in a large city and want to get along well with your neighbors and coworkers. ie: if you`re inviting hindu friends over for a party don`t plan on serving hamburgers. Muslim friends might not want to house sit your puppy while you`re out of town. Or just the fact that the phrase "Holy Cow" isn`t from the bible.

 

[Omar B]

I would not go that far David. Maybe he is 12?

 

[Tez3]

saw a couple things skimming through i questioned.

consider my posting the equivilent of testing a peace demonstration by saying you dont believe in peace and waiting for someone there to hit you over it.

One group quick to judge another for judging them.

i say i dont like something or someone. what is the first reaction? well i must be a idiot then. sounds like bigotry almost. someone thinks or believes a certain way another doesn't agree with. well they must be a bigot/uneducated or something must be wrong with them.

"well that isn't right. you have to think like this"

You don't like what exactly? You haven't said. You don't like quizs, education, discussions, what?

No one has said you had to like anything or think any thing in particular. Cerntainly no one has called you an idiot.... basically because we actually have no idea what you are talking about.

We all took a quiz asking about how much we knew about world religions, we discussed some questions we knew the answers to and some questions we didn't. Some of us knew bits others didn't, some knew all the answers. It wasn't about what your beliefs are or whether you like other religions, just whether you knew anything about them. We also discussed the findings of the originators of the quiz about the people they put the quiz to, again not asking for beliefs but measuring the knowledge people have of others religions. If any judgments were made it was that education is a good thing and living in ignorance isn't a good thing.

Now if you want to join in the conversation, take time to read the posts and comment without hysteria about the topic in hand. Don't accuse posters here of somethng they haven't done but you have done quite blatently, hopefully through ignorance and not malice or for the sake of trolling.

 

[Cirdan]

It`s entirely possible that you are, in fact, an idiot.

I think allowing for the possibility of being an idiot is important in seeking knowledge and wisdom.

 

[bribrius]

You don't like what exactly? You haven't said. You don't like quizs, education, discussions, what?

No one has said you had to like anything or think any thing in particular. Cerntainly no one has called you an idiot.... basically because we actually have no idea what you are talking about.

We all took a quiz asking about how much we knew about world religions, we discussed some questions we knew the answers to and some questions we didn't. Some of us knew bits others didn't, some knew all the answers. It wasn't about what your beliefs are or whether you like other religions, just whether you knew anything about them. We also discussed the findings of the originators of the quiz about the people they put the quiz to, again not asking for beliefs but measuring the knowledge people have of others religions. If any judgments were made it was that education is a good thing and living in ignorance isn't a good thing.

Now if you want to join in the conversation, take time to read the posts and comment without hysteria about the topic in hand. Don't accuse posters here of somethng they haven't done but you have done quite blatently, hopefully through ignorance and not malice or for the sake of trolling.

i am in agreement with post 27.


I do not like the portrayal of the quiz results or title of the article. In portrays a fault where none exist. The conversation deviated in this thread from the thread to ignorance and bigotry. Topic of this thread is not just the quiz, nor was the authors article or the quiz it self meant to just show results, but rather show a failure and insinuation that something needed to be corrected. Not too different from a couple of the posters in the thread when reacting to my comments stressing the need for education or commenting on certain peoples views in negative light. Normal course is that increased knowledge of religion should create religious tolerance. I question the very reason for concerning oneself with religious tolerance or learning anothers beliefs, or the need to get along.

Civilizations rise and fall with war from out or war from within. It is natural course as all things come through strife. Many of our arts, are results of strife.

one, half dozen on the same and it is all brainwashing. one judge of another it is the human condition.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

i say i dont like something or someone. what is the first reaction? well i must be a idiot then.

But you did not say that. You qualified your dislike - stated that you might dislike something based on no information, just because you felt like it, and what's wrong with that? I think that's the mark of an idiot. If that's a problem for you, I can live with it.

sounds like bigotry almost. someone thinks or believes a certain way another doesn't agree with. well they must be a bigot/uneducated or something must be wrong with them.

No, that sounds like the mark of a troll to me. So I think this will be our last communication with each other. Have a nice day.

 

[bribrius]

But you did not say that. You qualified your dislike - stated that you might dislike something based on no information, just because you felt like it, and what's wrong with that? I think that's the mark of an idiot. If that's a problem for you, I can live with it.



No, that sounds like the mark of a troll to me. So I think this will be our last communication with each other. Have a nice day.

no offense meant or taken. i would expect you to feel as such considering your post #29. You see a problem as well, you believe needs to be corrected where as the problem i see is people thinking as you are...

Your outlook is little differrent than the title.

 

[Tez3]

The OP says "Americans woefully ignorant about religion, study says". As they use to say in school..discuss... and we were. Are Americans woefully ignorant or happily ignorant or even ignorant at all, we were discussing that. Should people be educated on other people's religions, we were discussing that. Post 27 was an opinion put forward in such a way that it reflected what the poster thought without rancour or rudeness, it was his opinion politely stated. Agree or disagree but don't troll.