When I read how Christians did worse than atheists or agnostics on a Pew Research Center “U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey,” my curiosity was piqued.
Atheists and agnostics knew the most about other faiths, according to dispensers of the information, followed by Mormons and Jews.
As a professing Christian, and not wanting to let my faith down, I decided to take it. A colleague who does not practice any faith had already taken the quiz and answered 14 out of 15 correctly.
Now, if it asked what Uz said in the Bible, I was clearly going to be out of my league.
(Spoiler alert: If you want to take the quiz, stop reading and go directly to pewresearch.org.)
Leading off was a question about the guy who led the biblical exodus from Egypt. Even if you’d never read the Good Book but were a movie fan, you knew it was Charlton Heston, er, Moses.
Mother Teresa’s faith? Come on, anybody who followed the news just a little knew she was Catholic. Indeed, 82 percent of survey takers answered that one right, second highest in the quiz.
The third question was a little tough because it asked which of four choices was not one of the 10 Commandments. The non-Commandment, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is a concept found in both the Old and New Testaments but is not one of the Big Ten (Commandments, not the college football league).
I aced the next one because I knew as far back as elementary school when the Jewish Sabbath began, but I only learned the next answer – what Ramadan is – because of the higher profile of Muslims in the past 10 years.
Friendships with Catholics provided me with knowledge of that faith’s teaching about the bread and wine used for Holy Communion, and a college Eastern literature course made me aware in which religion Vishnu and Shiva are central figures.
Though I knew it from the Bible, the figure associated with remaining obedient to God in spite of suffering is frequently mentioned in popular culture. And I’m fairly sure I learned the religion of Joseph Smith in a high school American history course.
Past the halfway mark, I was sure I’d gotten them all right.
Then I missed the question answered correctly by more people (89 percent) than any other one.
I thought the quiz was tricking me because it asked whether, according to Supreme Court rulings, a public schoolteacher is allowed to lead a class in prayer. My immediate response was that it is not permitted, but I was afraid there was a loophole I could not name. So I checked that it was permitted. It’s not, no ifs, ands or buts.
Chattanooga’s Bible in the Schools program has set an example for the rest of the state in correctly answering the next question, which is whether or not the Supreme Court allows a public schoolteacher to read from the Bible as an example of literature. The answer, of course, is yes, though it proved to be the second most difficult question for all respondents.
I outfoxed myself again on the next question about what religion most people in Pakistan consider themselves. My immediate response was to answer Muslim because the country has those in droves, but I guessed it was a trick because most people would guess that. Since the country borders India, I went with Hindu. I should have trusted my first response. It’s Muslim.
The man who was the inspiration for the Protestant Reformation was easy, but I stumbled on which religion’s adherents aimed for Nirvana (not Kurt Cobain’s former rock band). I had learned it in the aforementioned Eastern literature class but selected Hindu instead of the correct Buddhism.
I had no trouble with the final question – which of three preachers was associated with the First Great Awakening – but it was by far the hardest question for all respondents. Only 11 percent got it.
Although I had learned, at one point or other, the answers to all 15 questions, I guessed wrong on one and thought I’d been tricked on two. That’s 80 percent.
Any way you slice it, there’s room to learn more.
Contact Clint Cooper at ccooper@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6497.