A new study out by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that atheist and agnostics did best on a general quiz of religious knowledge. Jews and Mormons were next. Catholics were last.
Many folks did not know the tenets of their own religion.
My working, unscientific, lacking in research hypothesis on this is that many agnostics and atheists have studied and thought about religion. Many atheist and agnostics did not arrive at their religious point of view randomly. Their beliefs were not an accident of birth. They did not accept dogma and sermons blindly because that is what you are “supposed” to do. I once asked a very religious person if he had read the Bible. His response was he did not need to, the preacher had and would tell him what he needed to know. Okay…
The original survey was 32 questions given to 3,412 randomly selected Americans over 18. This test is an abbreviated version of 15 questions.
Take the test
I took and garnered 13/15 which meant that I beat 93% of the folks taking the test. It really should have been 14/15. I just knee jerked one answer without consideration. Interesting results as I consider myselt an agnostic more on the atheist side of the equation.
I took the quiz also. Scored 13/15. Seems to me that if one does not show interest in knowing about the world around them, they might not know the answers to some of these questions. Questions seemed pretty generic to me.
Same here. I got 14/15 and second guessed myself on the one I missed. I thought the first few were throw aways.
God told me not to take the test.
13 of 15 — oh well I flubbed the last 2.
I GOT 9 OF 15 NOT BAD.