The PewResearch Center conducted a study looking Americans knowledge of Religion. The study consisted of questions pertaining to numerous denominations beliefs and practices as well as some general knowledge questions. Based on the results from the study the researchers concluded that Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups in regards to religious knowledge, outperforming evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics on questions about the core teachings, history and leading figures of major world religions. Researchers were able to conclude that schooling and level of education was the single best predictor of religious knowledge. While people with a high level of religious commitment do better than average on the religion questions, people with low levels of religious commitment do better than average on the general knowledge questions.
When I first saw this article, I was not sure how to react. On a basic level, taking the results for what they mean means that Atheists, Agnostics, Jews and Mormons know the most about religious knowledge even out performing other religions on core teachings. A simplistic answer could be that perhaps one or more of those religious groups constantly defend their beliefs and thus in turn they know more because they are prepared for a battle. Moreover, Protestants/Christians scoring the least in certain areas made me ask myself, does this make us less spiritual? And, honestly I don’t know.
My perspective is that God is not going to give us a “quiz” on how much we know. That is not important to Him, God says that we are made new because of the cross. We did not earn it nor do we even deserve it. In fact, I believe it says it is not because people do not know about God and his Glory they just choose not to believe. On the other hand, I do think that as a Christians and especially as believers, we should know what we believe and why we believe it.
Because for me this is more article is more than just a report on knowledge, it is about what we have been trying to understand all semester long: Can a _____________ (example, Buddhist) be more spiritual than a Christian? And I think yes, they can be. Buddhist believe what they believe but more than believing they embody what they believe. If as a Christian, we believe what we are told to then we never represent our beliefs they represent us. Once we acknowledge we are fallen and saved, we begin to personify spiritual formation. This is a continuous process where we learn and question what we believe so we can in turn live what we believe and if it ends, we essentially have ended.
I believe the Pharises are a good example of this in the Bible. They were known as Biblical scholars committed to spiritual rituals. But their heart was not right, they served themselves instead of God. From a Christian perspective, we may not know all the answers but God looks at our heart and that is the most important. Our commitment to God, surrendering to him, and acknowledging our growing need to understand Him and His Word.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nicky's comment above me. Knowledge only will do nothing to save us. At the same time, we as Christians ought to know what we believe and be able to back with up with knowledge. I am tired listening to a bunch of Christians who argue blindly and in certain situations just because of what they believe in. I believe in Jesus with all my heart, but I will not blindly argue about my beliefs if I know I cannot support it well enough with knowledge with the help of the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteWell, the centrality of the article is "religion" which is a form of tradition. Knowing that christianity is not religion should help us understand the superiority of our knowledge even though it might be little. Additionally, the aethist and the rest of them have no clue, and that is why the bible says that they are ever learning but never come to the knowledge of truth, 2Timothy3:7. These guys are knowledge empty!
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