The New York Times reported Sept. 28 that Americans are “by all measures a deeply religious people, but they are also deeply ignorant about religion.”
This seemingly harsh judgment came after assessing the results of a poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The group conducted phone interviews with more than 3,400 participants, asking each of them 32 questions about “the Bible, Christianity and other world religions,” according to the New York Times article.
The questions included “Where was Jesus born?”, “What is Ramadan?”, “What religion is the Dalai Lama?” and “Which biblical figure led the exodus from Egypt?”
Those who scored the highest were — wait for it — atheists and agnostics. Just below this group of non-religious know-it-alls were Jews and Mormons.
Unsurprisingly, at the lowest end of the spectrum were hispanic catholics, black protestants, white protestants and White Catholics.
The results have been interpreted by various clergy members as appalling — and for good reason. Fifty-three percent of Protestants couldn’t recognize Martin Luther as the instigator of the Protestant Reformation. This goes right along with the 45 percent of Catholics who didn’t know that consecrated bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Jesus through transubstantiation during the Eucharist.
Admittedly, they have a right to be upset — most Christians are ignorant not only of other religions, but also of their own faith, as the study indicates.
Atheists topping the religious knowledge charts shouldn’t be terribly surprising, either. As Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists, points out, “Atheism is an effect of that knowledge, not a lack of knowledge. I gave a Bible to my daughter. That’s how you make atheists.”
Mr. Silverman is spot on here, I believe — but let me explain why.
It is nearly impossible to tell someone their beliefs are “wrong” once you know enough about them. You still may not agree with them, but once you can see things from their perspective, the notion of “right” and “wrong” become obsolete.
In matters of faith, the worst possible thing is ignorance.
Not understanding another group’s religion as well as your own leads to such atrocities as the Crusades and the Inquisition.
I know from personal experience. When someone only knows what they’ve been taught is “absolute” and “truth,” they can easily become convinced of their own closeness to carry on God’s will — which usually involves persecuting or harming those with which they disagree.
My solution: Implement an unbiased world religions class in all public high schools.
I had something similar in my senior year at a local private school — though the basis for the class was to expose why everyone else was wrong.
That class-bred bigotry is to be expected when critical thought is thrown out the window and replaced with the impossible task of trying to prove one’s own beliefs as fact.
After recently completing a degree in religious studies, here are a few things I learned sitting at the feet of the greatest minds this campus has to offer:
1. Greek and Hebrew classes will bring any grown man to his knees in humility over the complexities of the Bible.
2. Buddhism is down-right fascinating.
3. Christianity could learn a great deal from the reform movement of Judaism.
4. Religious tolerance is an inadequate goal compared to understanding and respect.
So what about the atheists in the study — those who knew more about faith than all other groups of practitioners?
As Silverman pointed out earlier, atheism primarily comes as a result of enlightenment. But while atheism is most likely not the answer to all the world’s problems, I can’t help but wonder how many atheists would blow up an airplane or kill another in the name of science, or more importantly, how many could “impose God’s judgment” on another religion or culture if they actually understood their opponents’ world view.
Ignorance of another culture, including their religion, elicits a survivalist response — and it’s one of fear. This fear fades as one learns what they fear the most is usually their own insecurities and shortcomings.
Let us not be scared to admit our darkest fears — and replace them with enlightenment.
Andrew Robertson is a 23-year-old English writing and culture senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Arobertson.
 
 
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Contact Andrew Robertson at [email protected]