Smart Mormons?... Even smarter "Atheists"??


rubondfan2
 Share

Recommended Posts

i read this earlier and thought it was very interesting. loved the fact that atheists knew the most. i think it is interesting to see how that goes against the stigma that ppl are atheists because they haven't studied religion. in fact they may have the most well rounded knowledge and thought out basis for their beliefs. i always enjoy a bit of irony.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i read this earlier and thought it was very interesting. loved the fact that atheists knew the most. i think it is interesting to see how that goes against the stigma that ppl are atheists because they haven't studied religion. in fact they may have the most well rounded knowledge and thought out basis for their beliefs. i always enjoy a bit of irony.

It is quite ironic, isn't it? Thanks for your comment.

I do wonder however, after reading through a handful of the rapidly growing number of comments on MSN related to that article, just how many of the folks who claim to be "Atheist" are in fact, actually Agnostic. I've found in my experience that many folks like to put on the badge of Atheism, while still having an innate belief in or the existence of a Supreme Being... they're just not convinced in any particular organized faith. Just because one rejects organized religion or spiritual teachings does not an Atheist one make.

As for beating J_A_G to the thread forming punch by 4 minutes... well... as a newbie, I take a special sense of pride in that! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a great study. A few thoughts:

* It makes sense that athiests and agnostics know the most, because the vacuum left by not allowing God, gets filled with reverence for the human ability to think and reason. So they tend to value education more, and they probably spend more time thinking about religion.

* I learned about world religions via an institute class, and a University of Utah college class - both called "world religions". (The college class skipped Christianity, of course.)

The study also found that many Americans don't understand constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools. While a majority know that public school teachers cannot lead classes in prayer, less than a quarter know that the U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that teachers can read from the Bible as an example of literature.

"Many Americans think the constitutional restrictions on religion in public schools are tighter than they really are,"

I'm trying to find a way to blame this on liberals, but time is short and my brain is foggy right now. It'll probably come to me soon.

LM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While a majority know that public school teachers cannot lead classes in prayer, less than a quarter know that the U.S. Supreme Court has clearly stated that teachers can read from the Bible as an example of literature.

I took a Humanities class my senior year of high school. We spent several weeks on the Bible. We focused primarily on the Old Testament, not as much on the life of Christ or the apostles. My teacher felt strongly that the Bible cannot be excluded from a study of western literature, though, ironically, it's not actually western.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if the fact that Mormonism is a more "involved" and stricter religion helps the results.

In many Christian circles being Christian means, believing Christ died for sins.

I have known many who define themselves as Christian though they have not read the scripture , stepped foot in a church in 10 years, and spent/spend weekends getting drunk and chasing girls.

Being Mormon (in the LDS sense) means, going to church, belief in the book of Mormons, Joseph as a prophet, President Monson as a Prophet, no drinking smoking or premarital sex, and so on.

Most (at least in my experience) who are not living the LDS gospel, do not claim to be LDS,

So if you ask 100 people what their religion is of the 50 who say Christian, 25 may not have read the bible, and only 10 have been to church in the last year. The other 50 might be Mormon, as in official members, but only the 25 who live the gospel, who are active, will claim the Mormon moniker. If they are living the gospel they hear/ study these things more often so Mormons get a higher percentage of people who know there stuff.

Of course this doesn't explain Jews, where people typically claim Jewish, because of ancestry and it might have nothing to do with practice or study.

Just a thought

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if the fact that Mormonism is a more "involved" and stricter religion helps the results.

In many Christian circles being Christian means, believing Christ died for sins.

I have known many who define themselves as Christian though they have not read the scripture , stepped foot in a church in 10 years, and spent/spend weekends getting drunk and chasing girls.

Being Mormon (in the LDS sense) means, going to church, belief in the book of Mormons, Joseph as a prophet, President Monson as a Prophet, no drinking smoking or premarital sex, and so on.

Most (at least in my experience) who are not living the LDS gospel, do not claim to be LDS,

So if you ask 100 people what their religion is of the 50 who say Christian, 25 may not have read the bible, and only 10 have been to church in the last year. The other 50 might be Mormon, as in official members, but only the 25 who live the gospel, who are active, will claim the Mormon moniker. If they are living the gospel they hear/ study these things more often so Mormons get a higher percentage of people who know there stuff.

Of course this doesn't explain Jews, where people typically claim Jewish, because of ancestry and it might have nothing to do with practice or study.

Just a thought

I would largely agree with your assessment Hordak. Often, when I speak with those not of our faith who ask questions or express curiosities, the subject of "church attendance" comes up. So many of our Christian neigbors, in my experience, are very much "CINO's" (Christians In Name Only) and like you alluded to, either rarely attend worship services, or ONLY attend worship services and then the rest of the week are out living very much "of" the world. True study of even their own faith, much less that of other faiths is virtually non-existent.

Here's a recent example of a dialogue that I had with my "roomate" (I am traveling on business currently and rent a room with a single man with a house in my work area). I had returned from church and he was in his usual place on the couch taking in the games when he asked, "well, did you get your Mormon fix for today?"... to which I replied, "nope... Mormonism is a way of life, my friend; today was just a chance to attend services and partake of our Sacrament". We then talked a little more until it was obvious that he was bored and I headed up to my space to read scriptures and chat with my wife and family back home.

Yes, being a Latter-Day Saint (an active one, anyway) is a lifestyle choice. It is difficult to simply be a "Sunday Mormon" and many of us are engaged in constant study, prayer and activity. And as I write this at this moment, I am also thinking that our general level of "religious" knowledge could be related to the "lay ministry" nature of our faith. Instead of being led by a paid ministry who does all the thinking, planning, teaching and leading on our behalf, we ourselves do it and therefore are actively engaged in some kind of thought around our faith on a regular basis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I would be reluctant to say no one knows religion like atheists/agnostics, I want to congratulate my fellow Mormons who scored so well in this knowledge survey.

Yeah i too am happy Mormons scored, didnt u answer the questions right? or know most of the answers? hehe :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah i too am happy Mormons scored, didnt u answer the questions right? or know most of the answers? hehe :D

I took the abridged edition of this quiz and was able to get 15/15. The last question I knew only because I read the answer on another discussion board ahead of time. Something tells me that PrisonChaplain would have immediately have known about Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening, just like Canadian Mormons would know about the Great Hibernation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just spotted this on MSN.com... interesting... relatively unsurprising. Anyone's thoughts?

Survey: Americans don't know much about religion

not too terribly surprised.

Many athiests, agnostics, and mormons come from group(s) that get disillusioned about whatever theyr'e following and go through "searching for truth" periods.

Also Jewish and LDS cultures encourage learning history and preserving it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's what I think... you can leave the church, but you can't leave the church alone :D. Why do they study it, if they don't believe in it? Deep down, their conscience cannot let them get away from it.

THat's probably true for half of them... the other half probably research because of the crap that gets thrown at them.

(most of the stuff I know about the church is because of research that I did in response to the crap thrown at me for being a member)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here is a direct link to the quiz

u.s. Religious knowledge quiz

i scored 100, but i will admit i have no clue as to who jonathan edwards is :P

15/15

are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz - when does the jewish sabbath begin? - csmonitor.com

the above is the infamous religious survey. Take it and post how you did...

Me? 32 out of 32... 100%

29/32

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share