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Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't

ISBN: 9780060846701

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I strongly recommend this by scottb :: NR7

Prothero is the religious studies chair at Boston U.

The book discusses the current state of religious literacy in the US and how it got that way. In 1817, historian David Paul Nord described 17th and 18th century New England as "perhaps the most literate place on earth. There is scarcely an adult individual in all New England who cannot read, and write, and keep accounts." And what they were reading was the Bible.

Early reading textbooks doubled as catechisms:

A: In Adam's Fall
We sinned all.

B: Heaven to find;
The Bible Mind.

C: Christ crucif'd
For sinners dy'd.

Last year, Prothero gave his incoming freshmen a short "Religious Literacy Quiz":

  1. Name the four Gospels. List as many as you can.
  2. Name a sacred text of Hinduism.
  3. What is the name of the holy book of Islam?
  4. Where according to the Bible was Jesus born?
  5. President George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking?
  6. What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament?
  7. What is the Golden Rule?
  8. "God helps those who help themselves": Is this in the Bible? If so, where?
  9. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God": Dos this appear in the Bible? If so, where?
  10. Name the Ten Commandments. List as many as you can.
  11. Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
  12. What are the seven sacraments of Catholicism? List as many as you can.
  13. The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own "clause." What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment?
  14. What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated?
  15. Match the Bible characters with the stories in which they appear. Draw a line from one to the other. Hint: Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vice versa.

Characters:

  • Adam and Eve
  • Paul
  • Moses
  • Noah
  • Jesus
  • Abraham
  • Serpent

Stories:

  • Exodus
  • Binding of Isaac
  • Olive Branch
  • Garden of Eden
  • Parting of the Red Sea
  • Road to Damascus
  • Garden of Gethsemane

The scoring (roughly) is one point per question - items that imply multiple questions get multiple points, so #1 is a point for each correct book, #8 is two points. Passing is 60 points. Prothero indicates that most students failed.

Prothero offers a concrete outline of proposed curriculum changes to change this. He correctly points out the distinction between religious indoctrination and teaching about religion - it's history, social impact, and so on. The first amendment prohibits the former, but the Supreme Court has always held that the latter is permissible.

I'm no fan of religion. I think we'd be much better off without it. But along with its evils, religion has had a tremendous affect on our culture and history. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous. Religious art - painting, sculpture, and music - is a big part of the history of art. The religious literacy of the early US means that Biblical references are littered through their writings. Even without believing the mythology is true, knowing about religion is indispensible to understanding culture and history.

I even agree with his proposals. I suspect the only reason three out of five Americans believe in the literal truth of Bible stories is because they have no idea what those stories actually say. A couple of religious literacy classes in high school will do wonders for atheism.

Posted 25 October 2007, Hide, Reply