Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Religious Illiteracy

A friend sent me this article from the L.A. Times* (free registration required), but here is my favorite part:

The sociologist Peter Berger once remarked that if India is the most religious country in the world and Sweden the least, then the United States is a nation of Indians ruled by Swedes. Not anymore. With a Jesus lover in the Oval Office and a faith-based party in control of both houses of Congress, the United States is undeniably a nation of believers ruled by the same.

Things are different in Europe, and not just in Sweden. The Dutch are four times less likely than Americans to believe in miracles, hell and biblical inerrancy. The euro does not trust in God. But here is the paradox: Although Americans are far more religious than Europeans, they know far less about religion.

In Europe, religious education is the rule from the elementary grades on. So Austrians, Norwegians and the Irish can tell you about the Seven Deadly Sins or the Five Pillars of Islam. But, according to a 1997 poll, only one out of three U.S. citizens is able to name the most basic of Christian texts, the four Gospels, and 12% think Noah's wife was Joan of Arc.

That paints a picture of a nation that believes God speaks in Scripture but that can't be bothered to read what he has to say.


Substitute American religious fundamentalists with our own home-grown Kuwaiti versions, and you'll see the parallels are frighteningly similar! I admit I laughed out loud at the Joan of Arc reference..

Anyway, chew on this post while I'm away for the Eid... and عيدكم مبارك

This time I'll post some pictures when I get back!

*By Stephen Prothero, Boston University, author of "American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon"

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the link, Zaydoun
    Comparative religion studies is what we desperately need here.. along with some live music, art, and theater (and I don't mean the Super S6ar kind of theater)..
    That should help open up people's minds and hearts.

    Happy Eid to you
    May it be terror-free

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  2. First of all, Happy Eid to all of you.
    I always have uncertainties about general opinion surveys (assuming, I have not read the whole article yet); most of them are bias and lead toward certain outcome.

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  3. First of all, Happy Eid to all of you.
    I always have uncertainties about general opinion surveys (assuming, I have not read the whole article yet); most of them are bias and lead toward certain outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  4. First of all, Happy Eid to all of you.
    I always have uncertainties about general opinion surveys (assuming, I have not read the whole article yet); most of them are bias and lead toward certain outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  5. First of all, Happy Eid to all of you.
    I always have uncertainties about general opinion surveys (assuming, I have not read the whole article yet); most of them are bias and lead toward certain outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Excellent article Zaydoun...really the best analysis of the situation ive read all week!

    Have a nice trip o troo7 o tirja3 bilsalama inshalla :)

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  7. It is evident that the more people learn about religions, the less they believe in them. This is probably why we have extreme fundamentalists in the country: ignorance.

    Happy Eid to you all. Enjoy it.

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  8. I'm back... relaxed and ready, and just a bit jetlagged ;-)

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  9. DJ... trust me, we're just as frightened here!

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Keep it clean, people!