How much do you know about religion?

[MoonRiver]

Well, take this short quiz and find out!

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

[Le Taz Hot]

1. I know that the three major religions

are homophobic and misogynist. That's all I need to know to say, "No thanks."

[XemaSab]

2. +1

n/t

[MoonRiver]

3. Knowledge is power,

and does not imply agreement.

[XemaSab]

6. 15/15

[burnodo]

5. jews and atheist/agnostics score best on the quiz

that says something about religion too

[RebelOne]

12. I am atheist and only 80%. I should have done better. n/t

[Yo_Mama]

24. I'm not in those groups and got all 15 questions

Since some of them were historical, I think it's due to when I went to school.

[stopbush]

127. Anti-theist here, scored 14/15. Missed the last question.

[nadinbrzezinski]

150. Nominally Jewish and truly lost religion

It makes sense, people of the book and all that shit.

Plus I have always been interested in it at an academic level

[aquart]

156. It says something about a tradition of asking questions.

[RKP5637]

11. Yep, that's pretty much the bottom line of it all IMO too. n/t

[arely staircase]

79. don't do nuance, huh?

no room in your world view for liberals of faith, i take it.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. 9/15, I guess pretty well...

[MoonRiver]

7. I got 14/15.

Was totally clueless about the last question.

[Recursion]

8. Gah. I mixed up the first and second great awakenings.

14/15

[PotatoChip]

96. Same here. (nt)

[aquart]

153. Never heard of either one.

[hobbit709]

9. 100%. Know thy enemy.

[RKP5637]

10. I scored in the top 16% and I'm not religious in the least, from what I've

read many fundies, for example, know few true facts about religion, but rather follow what's been drummed into their heads and often is not factual.

[surrealAmerican]

13. 14 out of 15

I missed the last question.

[GliderGuider]

180. Same here. Being raised an atheist probably has something to do with my score.

That and being raised outside the USA...

[Bonobo]

14. 15/15

I thought it was very easy.

[safeinOhio]

15. 93% due to my life long study of

religion, looking for loopholes.

[quaker bill]

16. 15/15

I thought they might ask a difficult question, but they didn't.

[grantcart]

130. +1

[catrose]

176. me too n/t

[demwing]

178. struggled with the great awakening question

But knew it wasn't Billy Graham. Flipped a coin, chose correctly. 15/15

[quaker bill]

181. early American Lit

in college back in the 1980s. I read some of his sermons. They make Jerry Falwell seem PC.

[bemildred]

17. Dang, missed one. nt

[TBF]

18. I'm agnostic - you'll occasionally find me in a church

if invited by others. I scored 11/15.

[Warren Stupidity]

19. 100%. Only the last question was remotely

difficult.

[Arkansas Granny]

20. 15/15.

[99Forever]

21. I know enough to stay away from it...

..and retain my sanity. I know those that practice it are prone to believing in bullshit.

[demwing]

177. I practice, and I believe you

Does that count?

[Brewinblue]

22. Atheist

14/15. So, Catholics actually teach that the cracker BECOMES the body of Christ?

[MoonRiver]

30. Yeah, I struggled some with that one.

Then I thought, yep, they probably ARE that crazy!

[blueamy66]

43. Nice, thank you for the insult

nt

[cleanhippie]

75. Do you actually believe that a cracker turns into flesh, suspending the laws of physics and reality?

If so, then what is the insult you perceive?

[blueamy66]

88. it's actually none of your business

I am not crazy.

Tell me what you believe that I can call you crazy too, clean hippie.

[cleanhippie]

93. What do I believe about what? That a cracker turns into flesh?

Uhm, no. To believe that the laws of physics, the natural laws of the universe, and reality as we know it are magically suspended when one eats a cracker can hardly be considered a sane idea.

And of its none of my business what you choose to believe, then why are you posting your beliefs and opinions on a discussion board?

[cleanhippie]

102. Juror #6 really summed it up nicely, rug.

Last edited Mon Aug 26, 2013, 09:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Maybe for once you should listen to what people actually say.

[blueamy66]

110. I believe that I posted...."thanks for the insult"

And religion isn't about the laws of physics or the natural laws of the universe or reality....it's about faith.

[cleanhippie]

112. You're right. Faith could care less about reality.

And when it suits them, neither do the faithful.

[Quixote1818]

123. Bingo.

[blueamy66]

158. whatever....

adios

[cleanhippie]

172. Whatever?

Good luck with that. I'm sure faith will take you far.

[Ino]

189. not quite...

Reality is suspended when the priest mumbles over the wafers & wine -- that's when the "miracle" takes place, not when it's eaten. The priest has to eat any magically-enhanced wafers not used in the Communion. Can't have Jesus' body just lying around yannow!

I got 13/15 correct... atheist here!

[cleanhippie]

192. Ever wondered why there are gluten-free communion wafers? If it turns into flesh, there's no gluten

So how is it that believers who are gluten intolerant/sensitive would need a gluten-free cracker if it turns into th flesh of Jesus?

[msanthrope]

35. Yes. And wine is actually the blood. nt

[Neoma]

37. Yeah, they're a bit cannibalistic.

[Ruby the Liberal]

42. Yeah - its called Transubstantiation

I always thought that was bizarre.

[BlueStreak]

55. More than bizarre. It is sick. Like putting shrunken heads on poles.

It is amazing to me that millions of people can be so brainwashed that they don't even regard transubstantiation as the slightest bit twisted.

[rug]

69. Are you saying that millions of Catholics are brainwashed?

Do you even understand the doctrine?

[BlueStreak]

105. 1) Yes, absolutely. 2) Somewhat -- enough to know about 1)

What is your definition of brainwashing? Do you have a different use of that word I'm not familiar with?

Here's what Webster says: "a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas"

[Quixote1818]

135. Most Catholics don't even believe the doctrine

They just go to Church because their family has done it for years and ignore most of the BS. I know because I am friends with about three dozen Catholics.

[cleanhippie]

78. And then you have apologists who say things like "do you understand the doctrine?"

Indoctrination is the more apt descriptive term.

[rug]

85. I'll put you down as not understanding it.

But that's because I give you the benefit of the doubt.

Meanwhile, do you say Catholics are brainwashed or indoctrinated? Pick your poison.

[cleanhippie]

89. Put me down as not giving a shit what an apologist thinks.

Indoctrinated, brainwashed...

Pick whatever shoe fits.

Have a nice day, ruggie. Got a handle on that must-have-the-last-word compulsion yet?

[rug]

91. No, that's why you felt compelled to post.

[cleanhippie]

94. Keep trying, ruggie, you can beat that last-word compulsion.

Keep at it though. Have you tried praying for help?

[rug]

100. Which is, of course, why you made that post.

You need a hobby. I'll find some smiley cites for you.

[cleanhippie]

106. Which is why you are unable to not hav the last word.

You need a purpose. I hear your religion has a child-raping priest problem. Dealing with that would be more productive.
Then again, if you don't care about that, smiley sites are cool

[LanternWaste]

196. I imagine we may all agree that civility is not predicated on any religion... merely on the person.

I imagine we may all agree that civility is not predicated on any religion... merely on the person.

[demwing]

179. It's only sick if you both reject it

And believe it.

[BlueStreak]

182. Huh?

No. Eating bread and telling everybody that is actually a man's flesh is sick. Drinking wine and saying it is a man's blood is sick.

[demwing]

184. That's puerile

If you don't believe it, it's just a story. Go show the same disdain for Stephen King.

if you do believe it, and accept it...well, it may be sick to others, but it wouldn't be sick to you. It's not cannibalism, after all. People eat flesh all the time. People eat blood all the time. Those who do, don't think it's sick. If you're squeamish about human flesh, just remember that Jesus is supposed to be God. Not human at all... God-meat may be delicious. Better than chicken even...

It's only sick if you believe it to be actually human flesh and blood, and you reject the ceremonial consumption of real human flesh and blood. I highly doubt that the former applies to you.

So why get so worked up?

[BlueStreak]

194. The doctrine says it *IS* actually human flesh and blood. That is why it is sick.

If you are saying that most Catholics don't really take the doctrine seriously, and therefore aren't really sick, you are probably correct about that. Indeed, a great many people who go through the motions of appearing religious don't actually adhere to the official rules of their club.

[demwing]

198. No, the doctrine says it is the substance of the Body and the Blood of Christ

Literally, not symbolically.

"Substance" means it's inner nature. In other words, the wafer and wine appear to be the same (tastes the same, smells the same, feels the same, looks the same), but becomes and possesses the same potency and substance as the body and blood of God.

From the Council of Trent : "conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood – the species only of the bread and wine remaining – which conversion indeed the Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation"

Note the Body and Blood capitalization, and the use of the word "species" which, in this context, means "the outward appearance"

I don't care if you believe it (I don't) or not, but your understanding of the doctrine is off, and your reaction seems exaggerated.

[shawn703]

92. I knew it because of a scene from HBO's Oz...

Groves: Wait, Father, maybe I'm a convert.
Mukada: You can't become a Catholic just to get out of the hole. Come on.
Groves: No, no, wait. I've been reading a lot since I got here about different faiths and yours is pretty nifty.
Mukada: Catholicism is nifty?
Groves: You have that whole mystical transabstentiation bit going.
Mukada: That's right. The Eucharist becomes the body of Christ.
Groves: So you're actually eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
Mukada: That's right.
Groves: Now how can I not get behind a religion like that?

Mukada was the resident Catholic priest, while Groves was a prisoner whose crimes consisted of cannibalism.

I wish I could find a video clip of the scene where Groves was given communion.

[Quixote1818]

121. The reason I got that one is because I photograph a lot of 1st Communions

I asked when should the photo be taken and the Nuns told me "When the wafer touches the tong". I was thinking WTF? But that makes for a horrible shot??? They explained to me that Jesus was literally going into their body. Anyway, I hated how it looked when their tong was sticking out so I purposely miss most of the shots and try and get the kid just standing in front of the Priest. No one ever complains because they know it's hard to have perfect timing catching the kids tong sticking completely out.

My question is, does Jesus get pooped out of all these 3rd graders the next day?

[Warpy]

126. They do. I broke out in silly giggles the day they brought that up

and that was my last year in Catholic school.

True believers certainly have to swallow a lot of nonsense, literally as well as figuratively. I could never do it, myself.

[cali]

23. I don't know that much and I got 14 out of 15

Interesting that atheists/agnostics did so well on this quiz. second only to Jews.

[GeorgeGist]

25. Enough to know its based on ignorance and lies.

87 percentile.

[xchrom]

26. You answered 15 out of 15 questions correctly for a score of 100%.

***disclosure: i'm christian.

[bearssoapbox]

27. Nimby

or Pony.

Did waaay better than I thought I would. 13/15

[etherealtruth]

28. 15/15

[Ms. Toad]

29. You answered 14 out of 15 questions correctly for a score of 93%.

The last question was a total guess - and I guessed incorrectly.

[MineralMan]

31. Atheist. 100%.

This test is far too easy, really. What is amazing is how few people know the answers.

[Bluenorthwest]

32. 15 out of 15 but the questions were super easy

Only one of them required a thought.

[knitter4democracy]

34. ^That.

Of course, I went to an evangelical Christian college and have spent time studying and/or teaching various religious texts since...

[Egalitarian Thug]

111. Apparently that whole cannibalism thing threw many people off. n/t

[2naSalit]

33. Got 10/15...

But I don't believe in organized religions and am not all that invested in whatever the historical details they espouse. I keep my own counsel with my own spirit and keep it to myself.

[Neoma]

39. It's good to sort of know in order to know about history in general though.

[2naSalit]

40. I grew up

being beat over the head with uber-religiosity and have purposefully forgotten a lot-which was rather easy since I didn't believe what I was being told. So I guess I'm glad I didn't get all the answers correctly. I also think that there were more questions regarding christianity than other religions which made me feel that the whole exercise was a bit slanted.

And I am certain that some of what religions tell is historical to some degree but most of it is myth.

People will believe what they want to believe whether coerced or not.

[Neoma]

44. No no, I meant down the line in history.

Like how Russians killed each other for signing the cross across their chest wrong. Two fingers instead of three? Throw him in a pit! That sort of history is always interesting.

[2naSalit]

45. Oh, true. eom

[msanthrope]

36. 15/15. Easy test. nt

[PADemD]

38. 15/15

[FrodosPet]

41. Easy quiz

"You answered 15 out of 15 questions correctly for a score of 100%"

What is disturbing is some of the responses from people who feel that it is unimportant to understand one of, if not the, most powerful motivators of human actions and attitudes.

People are anti-intellectual to the point of destructive ignorance.

C'mon folks: widespread curiosity and understanding are the only chance for survival we have.

[2naSalit]

47. Interestingly...

the incorrect answers I had were relative to christian stuff not the "other" religions of the world. It would have been a more interesting quiz if there were fewer questions related to that belief system... bet there would have been fewer perfect scores.

I do agree that people need to have a better knowledge base rather than the myopic perspective that most of this culture clings to.

[Orrex]

57. It's a trivia quiz

What is disturbing is some of the responses from people who feel that it is unimportant to understand one of, if not the, most powerful motivators of human actions and attitudes.

I agree with you, but this quiz is a poor measure of anything but a fairly shallow base knowledge of religious tidbits. Aside from the question about transubstantiation, there is little to engage the quiz-taker beyond this handful of factoids. A deeper discussion of comparative religion would be more useful in understanding "one of, if not the, most powerful motivators of human actions and attitudes." Of course, such a discussion won't fit neatly in an online quiz, so we're left with a trivia contest.

14/15, by the way.

[99Forever]

84. Religion is anti-intellectual.

To the point of making otherwise thinking human being believe in "magic."

No thanks, I have NO interest in listening to the PROPAGANDA put out by those responsible for a VERY large part of the atrocities and suffering on this planet. Did you notice that this "test" ignored that?

[The River]

120. Not Anti but Pre or Prior To

Religion is pre-rational. As humans evolved we passed through
an archaic epoch (6 mill BC to 200K BC) a "magical" epoch (200K to 10K BC)
the "mythical" epoch (10K BC to 1.5K BC) and are currently in the "mental" or "scientific" epoch.

Belief in god(s) (primarily embedded in nature) was "magical", much like young children believe in Santa, Easter Bunny, etc. The "Mythic" age simply codified those beliefs. Now, science is beginning to expose the magical thinking for what it is and there is a huge backlash against science and intellectualism. We see that in today's GOP.

The evolution of human consciousness has barely begun.


BTW, 15/15

[Zorra]

46. 13 of 15. And I got the Catholic bread and wine thing wrong.

So much for 8 years of brutal forced education with priests and nuns shoving Catholic dogma down my throat.

Did I forget, or is it logical disconnect?

And why didn't they have a Pagan/Other category?

[Humanist_Activist]

48. Got 13 out of 15 correct...

I was thrown off by the Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday and extends into Saturday(answered Saturday), read that question too quickly.

The only one I didn't know was the last, totally guessed, and guessed wrong.

Atheist(ex-Catholic) by the way, and to be fair, I think over half of Catholics would get the transubstantiation question wrong too.

[Ms. Toad]

81. Really?

I'm not a Catholic, but my spouse was. Early in our marriage we alternated between Mass and Friends Meeting. The Mass is very clear - even to someone who has not had any specific training in Catholicism. I also remember bits and pieces from conversations years ago about that being why none of the remnants were permitted to be thrown away, and why one was not allowed to bite the communion wafer.

[Humanist_Activist]

134. I heard about a survey in Ireland that said about 62% of them thought...

the wine and bread thing was symbolic. It was a while ago, and confined to one country, but consider that you are lucky if half of self proclaimed Catholics go to Mass on anything approaching a regular basis in most western, hell, in most countries, I doubt numbers vary that widely from what is displayed in Ireland.

[Quixote1818]

113. I photograph a lot of 1st Communions so I got that one right

They always want me to take the photo right when the wafer touches the tong which I think looks ridiculous! I asked why it was so important and they said it was a sacred moment when Jesus was literally going into their body.

Still think it makes for a horrible photo and Jesus ends up getting pooped out of one hell of a lot of 3rd graders!

[CJCRANE]

49. 14/15. The last one stumped me.

Billy Graham was the only one I'd heard of. I never noticed the First Great Awakening, whatever that was.

[NuclearDem]

52. Probably because it occurred a couple hundred years before you were born.

That question probably would've stumped me too if I hadn't previously done such substantial research on colonial religion.

[Quixote1818]

114. I guessed on that one and got it right

Had I missed it I would have only gotten 13 out of 15. But now we both no the answer don't we! Just think of John Edwards as a religious leader.

[1-Old-Man]

166. That was the only one I missed too, same reason, same wrong answer.

I thought I'd be lucky to get any of them right be cause I see all religions as very nasty jokes and consider myself careless about them. Imagine my surprise to do far better than those who worship regularly.

[socialist_n_TN]

50. Missed two. Numbers 10 and 15....

I just guessed at number 15 and as for number 10, I thought that it had been ruled a teacher could lead a prayer if it was non-denominational.

[Coyotl]

51. You answered 13 out of 15 questions correctly

Not bad for an atheist

[NuclearDem]

53. 15/15

Atheist.

[ReasonableToo]

162. Ditto

Guessed on last one.

[BlueStreak]

54. I got 12. This is like "how much do you know about Dungeons and Dragons

So a bunch of guys sat around in their basements and made shit up, and the rest of the world is supposed to give that some special reverence?

How come there weren't any questions about the numbers of lives ruined by putting garbage into peoples' heads, or by the wars fought by these different tribes? How come there weren't any questions about how religions have stalled progress over the centuries, or how they have persecuted so many people who dared to speak the truth?

[PowerToThePeople]

59. I would probably do better with the D&D test

If it was based on 2nd ed.

[BlueStreak]

65. D&D has ruined / ended a lot less lives than religion

My objection is to the presumption that it is a good thing for people to know the 15 "facts" that the Pew survey asked about. No. It is just a who's who of stupid brain-dead dogma over the centuries. Why is it a virtue to know the 15 stupidest things that some people believe?

My life would probably be more wholesome if I could have scored a zero on that test.

[PowerToThePeople]

67. Maybe 2/15. there were two constitutional questions.

I knew some stuff (9/15) because I started reading a lot of eastern religious works after 9/11 and all of the anti-eastern religion propaganda was being shoved at us.

[BlueStreak]

68. Agreed.

[rug]

71. The constitutional questions had the lowest scores.

That's a more disturbing result.

[Douglas Carpenter]

95. indeed, there are many Americans especially among fundamentalist Protestants who believe a bunch of

nonsense that if a child is caught saying a prayer or reading the Bible at school - they could be expelled or possibly even arrested. That is the kind of crazy demagoguery that many right-wing Protestants have been promoting for decades

[hootinholler]

72. To be fair, The Pew Trust

Isn't a bunch of guys sitting around in a basement sharing a case of brews.

[BlueStreak]

83. Maybe you missed my point

My reference to people sitting around in basements making shit up pertained to the creators of these religions, not to the Pew company.

Religion is nothing more than a philosophy that cannot stand up to the scrutiny of debate, so debates are not allowed. "God gave me this religion and that's all there is to day about it."

[hootinholler]

101. Yes Apparently I did, but

Philosophers are the Jonnies Come Lately to religion. Religion is simply the codification of tribal law. For superstitious men will not follow the laws of men, but will follow the laws enforced by divine retribution.

[BlueStreak]

122. That might have been the case 2000 years ago.

Today we have a well-developed secular judicial system that is more than adequate at enforcing those standards that the community feels necessary in order to be "civilized". We can argue about the occasional blip, such as the Zimmerman case, but our legal system really works well most of the time. It certainly works better than an arbitrary system where random people become appointed as holy and they randomly enforce a bunch of ambiguous standards of their own arbitrary making.

[Ichingcarpenter]

56. 100 percent......

6th grade level test.

[Orrex]

58. Are there any "now much do you know about atheism" quizes online?

[rug]

74. Here's one, 25 questions. Not interactive though.

http://allthingswildlyconsidered.blogspot.com/2010/09/atheist-quiz.html

[Orrex]

80. Nice--thanks!

I suppose I could have consulted The Google, but it's always more fun to pick the brains of my fellow DUers.

[Orrex]

109. Whoops--blogs are blocked while I'm at work

I'll check when I get home.

[cleanhippie]

82. Why would there be? Atheism is nothing more than a lack of belief in a god.

[Orrex]

86. Really? I've had decades of theists telling me what atheism "really" is.

I don't need the quiz for myself, but I'd be interested to see how theists would perform on such an exam.


[font color="red"]Edited to add: I don't mean to suggest that you are telling me what atheism "really" is; I'm referring instead to those people who routinely do so. Sorry for the imprecise wording.[/font]

[cleanhippie]

98. That is still happening right here. Theists tell non-believers here everyday what atheism really is.

One of the pushiest has responded to you already.

[Capt. Obvious]

187. Heh

[rug]

87. Because they do.

[Douglas Carpenter]

60. if you scored 14 out of 15 - you scored better than 97% of the American public - that's scary

for such an easy test

[Ichingcarpenter]

62. click on by religious affiliation

that's even more revealing.

[MisterP]

128. interestingly, it seems tied to how actively bounded and defined each group is

at the top you have self-selected groups who are QUITE clear about their religion, at the bottom those for whom religion is unremarkable--a par-for-the-course, everyday thing
hmm

[drm604]

61. Like many others here, I got 14 out of 15.

I knew that one of the answers was certainly wrong but I couldn't decide between the other two.

[pipi_k]

63. Huh...well I'm surprised...

As an Agnostic/Atheist, I scored:

You answered 13 out of 15 questions correctly
for a score of 87%.

[DreamGypsy]

64. Non religious, 14 out of 15. I was unfamiliar with the First Great Awakening...

...so I guessed. Wrong.

This is the Jonathon Edwards that I know:

[CBHagman]

66. Discussion of religion was par for the course in geography and history classes back in the day.

Now that I think about it, you can't get through an American, British, or German literature class, or an art history class, without touching on religion, including ancient beliefs. It's impossible to deal with legal history, symbolism in art, or Shakespeare without doing so.

[Grey]

70. 87% ~ 13 of 15

Better than I thought. Still, I should have gotten all of them. Just not awake this morning.

[BOG PERSON]

73. i know that i know nothing n/t

[SoCalDem]

76. I "know" that it was probably "created" by clever men, who claimed to know

what happened after death, and why ecological/meteorological events happened.

Probably involved some mind-altering substances along the way.

No matter how primitive a society is, parents always grieve the loss of a child, children grieve for dead parents.. Having a spirit-god to look over them in the afterlife can lessen the load, and help them move on..

Stories get embellished over time, and since the religious elders often were the only ones who could read/write (later on), it's not hard to see why religions gained so much power & wealth..

[valerief]

77. It's the scurge of mankind. nt

[arely staircase]

90. 93 percent

missed the last one on the 1st great awakening. I'm an Episcopalian FWIW

[KittyWampus]

99. Religious Affiliation- doesn't list Pagan. Nor Pantheist. The questions were so general

many were close to meaningless. I got 15 out of 15.

Edit- I agree with a poster above who called it a "trivia quiz".

Would be more interested in seeing a quiz that asked more involved philosophical questions. Although such questions don't easily translate to multiple choice.

[frogmarch]

103. 15/15

Atheist here.

[Egalitarian Thug]

104. Perfect. and an atheist, how common. I've found that the more one learn about

religion, the less likely one is to be suckered by the insanity it represents as truth.

[handmade34]

107. no trick questions??

but then again life has offered me wide, diverse experiences... I've been to Seminary, attended Satsang and meditated with Mahatmas, a nearby town has 2 Buddhist Monasteries, Joseph Smith was born in Vermont and everyone needs to understand Islam because of recent history... etc, etc...

[temporary311]

108. 14/15.

Got the sabbath one wrong. Im wondering if that question is why Jews are ranked above atheists, since if I were Jewish I probably would've known that one .

[kath]

115. Here is the full 32-question quiz, as originally administered in the Pew survey, for those who are

Interested:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0105/Are-you-smarter-than-an-atheist-A-religious-quiz/When-does-the-Jewish-Sabbath-begin

Atheist (raised Catholic), got all 32 right.

[treestar]

132. got them all too

but I had learned from the partial quiz.

I was a little iffy on the faith alone question - antinomianism, or something, I thought might have been a pre-Protestant doctrine of faith alone being enough - but decided not to overthink it and got that right.

[Ms. Toad]

160. I got 0% on that one...

Odd how blocking cookies does that

[MineralMan]

133. I got 100% right on that one too. It's too easy.

A proper test would have led to at least one wrong answer. I'm an atheist.

[truebluegreen]

141. Atheist, 32 of 32 correct.

And noticed the Christian Science Monitor shows an AVERAGE reader score at 85% correct--which doesn't really surprise me much.

[ReasonableToo]

165. 31/32

Missed the "Maimonides" one.

[Capt. Obvious]

188. 30/32 - missed that one and the faith alone one

[Quixote1818]

116. Look who did the best on this

[Submariner]

117. That it and it's gods are as phony as a $3 bill

and people are suckers for believing in any of it. A dozen years of fucking nuns and drunk priests taught me all I need to know about religion and their imaginary sky people.

[Orrex]

119. You shouldn't have done that to those nuns.

[RainDog]

164. not to mention the drunk priests

thanks for making me laugh.

[Blue_In_AK]

118. 14 out of 15

[Tikki]

124. That fact that I knew a bit means nothing about knowing about religion..

The questions asked were those represented in popular culture.

If answering those questions correctly made me as a religious person...then that would just be sad.


Tikki

[Demo_Chris]

125. 14 of fifteen -- thought Jewish Sabbath started on Saturday./ nt

[GoCubsGo]

161. That's the only one I missed, too.

It starts at sundown on Friday.

[treestar]

129. 87%

Mixed up about when Jewish Sabbath starts and about Abraham and Job.

[RainDog]

131. 15/15 n/t

[oldhippie]

136. 15/15 ......

Non-believer here.

[nyquil_man]

137. 93%.

I'm embarrassed that I even missed one. These are basic questions from any World Religions course.

[krawhitham]

138. That must be an easy quiz

I assumed I would score around 60%

[LeftishBrit]

139. I got them all, though the last one was a guess

I am an atheist, but know lots of people from a variety of religions, and am interested in history which is relevant to some of the questions.

[BlueJazz]

140. 14/15 and I'm an Atheist.

I was shocked how little the American people know about religion

[Donald Ian Rankin]

142. Asking when the Jewish Sabbath begins is a nasty trick question.

I got 15, but I nearly fell for that one.

[Jim Lane]

143. 15/15 with an unfair advantage

I went to high school in Massachusetts. Maybe that's why I remember learning in high school about Jonathan Edwards the theologian. Then, not long after, I learned about DreamGypsy's Jonathan Edwards, who was gigging around New England.

What surprised me was that more people didn't mistakenly think that the Golden Rule was included in the Ten Commandments. I thought that would be the toughest question on the test.

[malaise]

144. 13 out of 15 n/t

[TransitJohn]

145. 14/15. I've not heard of the First Great Awakening previously, guessed, and missed.

n/t

[Recursion]

167. To make it harder, one of the names was from the *second* great awakening 100 years later

(To make it yet more confusing, the First Great Awakening was, at the time, called "the second awakening".)

They were really interesting periods in American history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Great_Awakening

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Great_Awakening

[eShirl]

146. too easy. 100%

[LadyHawkAZ]

147. 15/15

[tabasco]

148. Not a lot

I try to concentrate on reality

[nadinbrzezinski]

149. I got one wrong... not bad

[wickerwoman]

151. 15/15 Another Atheist.

Could have answered all of these questions correctly in 10th grade. Somewhat depressing to be in the top 99%. It's bad enough that most Americans are shockingly ignorant of history and geography but aren't all those homeschooling bible thumpers at least drilling their own crap into those kids' heads instead of science?

[aquart]

152. 15/15 but Jonathan Edwards was a guess.

[Paulie]

154. 15/15 - Atheist

Should have asked when the Seventh Day Adventists have sabbath.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

155. 15/15

[LuvNewcastle]

157. All questions answered correctly. They were super-easy.

[LiberalElite]

159. 14 out of 15

[distantearlywarning]

163. 15/15 Correct

I'm the 1% !

[City Lights]

168. 13/15. nt

[truth2power]

169. 14/15

Missed #15. I just thought it must be Edwards, but I guess I was over-thinking. Chose Finney. Geez!

Episcopalian, UU, Pagan, depending on what day it is, I guess.

[Chiennoir54]

170. I missed two

And one I knew but just hit the wrong button. I do know that as Mr. Hitchens said, religion poisons everything. No matter which one you choose.

[HarveyDarkey]

171. 14 of 15, missed question 8

Not bad for an atheist I think.

[HeiressofBickworth]

173. 15/15 -- 100% correct

better than 99% of the general public. And I'm an atheist. I like reading about various myths through the ages.

[Douglas Carpenter]

174. 14/15 - I missed the Nirvana question - but looking it up - I see that I wasn't completely off base

I was of course aware that eventual freedom from suffering was a Buddhist concept - but I was under the impression that Nirvana was primarily a Hindu concept - So I answered, Hindu

This is the definition of Nirvana as I found it on wiki:

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान nibbāna ; Prakrit: णिव्वाण is an ancient Sanskrit term used in Indian religions to describe the profound peace of mind that is acquired with moksha (liberation). In shramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is union with the Brahman (Supreme Being).

The word literally means "blown out" (as in a candle) and refers, in the Buddhist context, to the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished.[1]

Nirvāṇa is the soteriological goal within the Indian religions, Hinduism,[7][8] Jainism,[9] Buddhism,[8][10] and Sikhism.[11] It is synonymous with the concept of liberation (moksha) which refers to release from a state of suffering after an often lengthy period of committed spiritual practice. The concept of nirvāṇa comes from the Yogic traditions of the Sramanas whose origins go back to at least the earliest centuries of the first millennium BCE.[12] The Pali Canon contains the earliest written detailed discussion of nirvāṇa and the concept has thus become most associated with the teaching of the historical Buddha. It was later adopted in the Bhagavad Gita of the Mahabharata. In general terms nirvāṇa is a state of transcendence (Pali: lokuttara) involving the subjective experience of release from a prior state of bondage. This is the result of a natural re-ordering of the mind and body via means of yogic discipline or sadhana. According to the particular tradition, with the experience of nirvāṇa the mind (Buddhism) or soul (Jainism) or spirit (Hinduism) has ended its identity with material phenomena and experiences a sense of great peace and a unique form of awareness or intelligence that is called bodhi in Buddhism, Kevala Jnana in Jainism, kaivalya (Asamprajnata Samadhi) in Yoga.

It has several other names as well. Hinduism uses the terms Aikantya, Apamarga, Brahma-upalabdhi, Sahaj, Sakshatkara, Sayujya, Videhalcivalyam and Yogakshemma, while Buddhism also uses the term Bodhi. Because nirvana represents an advanced form of samadhi or jhana Hinduism acknowledges it as Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Buddhism, as Ceto-vimutti Samadhi and Jainism as Asamprajyat Samadhi. Mukti is sometimes elaborated on as Atyantiki Mukti, Samipya Mukti (or Salokja Mukti), and Sadrisya Mukti.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana

[deutsey]

190. Yeah, I waivered on that one, too

but figured they were going for the most "black-and-white" answer, rather than the more correct ambiguous one.

"Nirvana" is mostly associated with Buddhism these days, at least in the West. There's "moksha" in Hinduism, which means the liberation of one's divine self (Atman) to merge with the larger divine reality (Brahman).

[eridani]

175. Jews, atheists and Mormons are particularly well informed

15/15 for me. I guessed on the Great Awakening, though.

[Phentex]

183. atheist here. Got 14 out of 15 but I guessed on many of them...

and I missed a stupid one but I think I just clicked wrong, lol!

I was raised Catholic and also studied religion in school but my memory is shot. I kinda went with what sounded right.

[snooper2]

185. Enough that it the term "religion" should be stricken as it is all "mythology"

[Capt. Obvious]

186. 15 out of 15 correct

Not bad for an atheist

[RedCloud]

191. The true religion "Nudism" was not represented there!

[ChazII]

193. Not bad.

You answered 14 out of 15 questions correctly
for a score of 93%

[hrmjustin]

195. 15/15.

[Xyzse]

197. 15 of 15

Hells yeah!