Recently a quiz was conducted to gauge the religious knowledge of the country. It wasn't complicated; over the phone 3,400 people were asked the same 32 questions. Some examples;
'Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born?'
'When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?'
'What was Joseph Smith's religion?'
'What is Ramadan?'
'What does an Agnostic believe?'
The questions covered all religions (and some basic knowledge questions) and the results were apparently surprising for some, but not at all surprising to me. Agnostics and Atheists scored the highest, Jews and Mormons were next and Protestants and Catholics did pretty well (although only half of Catholics knew what taking communion meant, ie. body and blood of Christ, which was a little surprising since they tell you what it is when you take it). Eight people got all of the questions right and six people got them all wrong. Folks in the Bible-belt scored the lowest. The result of the quiz was basically this: Americans are not all that educated about any religion other than their own - and sometimes they're not even fully educated on that. The more education you have, the more you tend to know about other religions. I don't get why that's surprising but I guess it was brand new information for some people.
I'm not an Atheist or Agnostic but I went on a religious self-discovery journey of my own awhile back so I read up on all kinds of religions. I read the Bible during Catholic school and again during my recovery (which worked out cuz I'd lost quite a bit of that info in the accident). I'm planning on reading the Koran when I get enough time to sit down with it, not because I'm still on some sort of spiritual quest but because I want to know more about Islam. I enjoy learning about religions and the similarities and differences between them. Unfortunately, not everyone does and so a lot of people believe what they believe and see no reason to seek out information about anything else.
I'm not exactly against religion, everyone needs to believe in something, but I think religion has grown out of control. Everyone's so convinced that their way is the 'one true path' and they feel the need to try and convert anyone who doesn't follow their religion (the Evangelicals are particularly scary for me). I don't understand the mega churches at all or the blinged out crucifixes some people wear (cuz you know that's what Jesus died for, so we could build gigantic churches and wear thousands of dollars in diamonds around our necks). Of course, keep in mind that this is all coming from someone who was raised in the Catholic church and still holds on to a few of those roots. I give something up for Lent every year (mostly out of the fear that my Grandma will somehow show up and go postal on me if I don't, but it still counts) and, I'm not sure where this comes from, but I can't eat those solid chocolate crosses they put out around Easter. (I don't know, it just seems wrong to eat the cross that someone allegedly died on for my sins). My real problem is how easily people seem to cast their beliefs aside whenever it suits them. A large part of the nation identify as Christians but we have a 50% divorce rate, many of those marriages ending because of infidelity. There are pastors, priests and reverends with sizeable flocks who come out against hot button issues like infidelity or homosexuality and later get caught in some sort of scandal involving one of those very issues. It seems like people re-write the 'laws' (for lack of a better word) of their religions whenever they need an out and I just don't understand the thinking behind that.
I think there's a difference between the religion and faith. Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. Faith is defined as the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. So yes, they can obviously co-exist but they can also exist independent of one another. I've been told I have a tremendous amount of faith; faith that things will work themselves out, faith in the people I love, etc., and I think faith is extremely important in my everyday life. I don't tend to believe in things blindly and I ask a lot of questions. I also think faith and religion should be a very personal thing, which is probably why I don't understand people who try to convert others.
At the end of the day, it's all about what gives you some sense of inner peace. If the religion you were brought up with makes total sense to you and gives you answers, then good for you. I used to think I only went on my religion exploration binge because I needed answers in the aftermath of my loss and accident but I realize now that that's not entirely true. Nothing really gives you any solace in that situation. I think I would've questioned things even if none of that had ever happened because I'm just a curious soul in general. I still believe in some form of God but I'm not Catholic. In fact, I don't think I'm really anything religion-wise but the beliefs I do hold are working for me and helping me better myself. (And I've learned there is nothing that will drive you back to meditation than having a toddler cuz they be trying some days). My daughter is being raised within this belief system but she'll definitely be encouraged to find what works for her when she's old enough. And if she finds a religion that better suits her and converts to it, I'll support her all the way. My family tree is full of different religions anyway.
Anyway, the point is that reading about this quiz made me wonder what the world would be like if people were more accepting of things they didn't understand. What it would be like if people actually took the time to become informed about something instead of automatically going on the offensive and trying to change others point of view. Every time there's an upcoming election there are posters and websites telling you to be informed about who and what you're voting for, yet a lot of people never seek to be informed about the religion they've been raised with. Somehow it's assumed that if you ask any questions about what your religion teaches, you must be a non-believer. Why is it wrong to want to know about other people's beliefs? Why is it wrong to ask questions about what your religious guide says you're supposed to believe? I feel like if more people sought out this knowledge, there wouldn't be such an uproar about the Mosque in N.Y.C. But you can't make people learn about something they don't want to know about. You can't open the minds of people who have already long since closed them. And that's sad but that's the world we live in.
