Religious Survey Archive

[joreth]

Back in 2010, the Pew Forum did a survey about how much Americans know about religion.  In a 32-question phone survey*, they asked people about Christianity & their bible, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, atheism/agnosticism, and American legal issues about religion.  They found that atheists/agnostics scored the highest average, even after controlling for education & other demographics like race & sex, and did particularly well on the legal questions, questions about non-Christian religions, and questions about the Bible specifically.  One of the results that I find particularly amusing is that US Southerners scored worse than those from all other geographic regions on the religious knowledge questions, even after controlling for the demographics

The Pew Survey is completed, however you can take a 15-question version of the survey at Pew's website.  Your results do not affect the survey's conclusions and are not counted as data.  But you can see how well you do compared to Americans in general and compared to several different demographics including religious groups.  The 15 questions are taken directly from the 32 questions used in the original survey.  http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/

You can also take another survey with all 32 questions, just to see how you'd do, but it's hosted by a Christian website and called Are You Smarter Than An Atheist? and provides no way for you to indicate what your religious affiliation is.  Judging purely by the way other Christian groups have doctored online polls before, I suspect that they will take the results of their totally unscientific survey (which has atheists as well as people of other religions answering it) to show that "their" respondents (the presumption being that the respondents are all Christian) are smarter than the national average and/or the atheists who took the Pew survey.  But I took the survey anyway, just to see how I'd do http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0105/Are-you-smarter-than-an-atheist-A-religious-quiz/

I scored 30 out of 32 on the full survey (the highest average being from atheists at 20.9 correct out of 32) and 15 out of 15 on the smaller Pew survey (better than 99% of all other respondents - no religious affiliations given).  I'm archiving the results behind the cut because I'm rather proud of my knowledge and understanding of religious issues.  Don't click the cut if you want to take the surveys yourself and see what you actually know, because the answers are given.  Also don't bother clicking the cut if you don't want to be inundated with survey data - it's a boring list of numbers and stats that I'm only archiving for my own records and most people are not going to care how well I did compared to other religions on each question.

Pew Survey

You answered 15 out of 15 questions correctly for a score of 100%

QUESTION	YOUR RESPONSE	CORRECT ANSWER	% OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS ANSWERING CORRECTLY
1. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt?	Moses	Moses	72%
2. What was Mother Teresa's religion?	Catholic	Catholic	82
3. Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments?	Do unto others as you would have them do unto you	Do unto others as you would have them do unto you	55
4. When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?	Friday	Friday	45
5. Is Ramadan…?	the Islamic holy month	The Islamic holy month	52
6. Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion?	The bread and wine actuallybecomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ.	The bread and wine actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ.	40
7. In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures?	Hinduism	Hinduism	38
8. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?	Job	Job	39
9. What was Joseph Smith's religion?	Mormon	Mormon	51
10. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not?	No, not permitted	No, not permitted	89
11. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to read from the Bible as an example of literature, or not?	Yes, permitted	Yes, permitted	23
12. What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves?	Muslim	Muslim	68
13. What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation?	Martin Luther	Martin Luther	46
14. Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering?	Buddhism	Buddhism	36
15. Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening?	Jonathan Edwards	Jonathan Edwards	11

This online quiz includes 15 of the 32 religious knowledge questions that made up the telephone survey. The order and context of the questions are not exactly the same in the online quiz and telephone survey. To ease the administration of the online quiz, the wording of some questions is slightly different from the wording used in the telephone survey. For the questions used in the telephone survey, see the survey questionnaire.

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Compare your score: Overall Population

Here's how you did on these 15 questions (excerpted from the larger U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey) compared with a nationally representative sample of 3,412 adults Read the Full Report

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Compare your score: Religious Affiliation

For an analysis of the link between religious affiliation and religious knowledge, see the full report.

The graph above shows how you did on these 15 questions (excerpted from the larger U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey) compared with a nationally representative sample of 3,412 adults.

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Compare your score: Worship Service Attendance

For an analysis of the link between religious commitment (a measure that includes worship service attendance) and religious knowledge, see the full report.

The graph above shows how you did on these 15 questions (excerpted from the larger U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey) compared with a nationally representative sample of 3,412 adults.

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Compare your score: Gender

For an analysis of the link between gender and religious knowledge, see the full report.

The graph above shows how you did on these 15 questions (excerpted from the larger U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey) compared with a nationally representative sample of 3,412 adults.

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Compare your score: Education

For an analysis of the link between education and religious knowledge, see the full report.

The graph above shows how you did on these 15 questions (excerpted from the larger U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey) compared with a nationally representative sample of 3,412 adults.

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Compare your score, question-by-question: Religious Group

Here's how you did, question by question, compared to the % of people of different religious groups who answered each question correctly.

QUESTION
1. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt? Job Elijah Moses Abraham		72	80	68	73	71	48	92	90	87	67
2. What was Mother Teresa's religion? Catholic Jewish Buddhist Mormon Hindu		82	86	83	66	88	83	89	84	89	77
3. Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments? Do not commit adultery Do unto others as you would have them do unto you Do not steal Keep the Sabbath holy		55	67	49	49	63	45	81	62	62	46
4. When does the Jewish Sabbath begin? Friday Saturday Sunday		45	47	41	43	48	33	55	94	56	45
5. Is Ramadan…? The Hindu festival of lights A Jewish day of atonement The Islamic holy month		52	51	53	39	55	36	51	90	75	52
6. Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion? The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.		40	40	36	25	59	47	40	33	41	30
7. In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures? Islam Hinduism Taoism		38	31	40	23	34	23	48	62	72	48
8. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering? Job Elijah Moses Abraham		39	58	34	51	26	19	70	47	42	27
9. What was Joseph Smith's religion? Catholic Jewish Buddhist Mormon Hindu		51	64	55	25	53	25	93	68	71	45
10. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not? Yes, permitted No, not permitted		89	93	90	83	91	83	89	91	95	87
11. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to read from the Bible as an example of literature, or not? Yes, permitted No, not permitted		23	26	21	16	18	16	25	42	40	25
12. What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves? Buddhist Hindu Muslim Christian		68	69	63	61	68	55	75	84	89	72
13. What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation? Martin Luther Thomas Aquinas John Wesley		46	52	46	40	47	34	61	70	68	37
14. Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering? Islam Buddhism Hinduism		36	29	36	21	39	27	37	49	62	46
15. Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening? Jonathan Edwards Charles Finney Billy Graham		11	15	10	10	7	10	10	12	8	10

This online quiz includes 15 of the 32 religious knowledge questions that made up the telephone survey. The order and context of the questions are not exactly the same in the online quiz and telephone survey. To ease the administration of the online quiz, the wording of some questions is slightly different from the wording used in the telephone survey. For the questions used in the telephone survey, see the survey questionnaire.

Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey's results.

Are you smarter than an atheist? A religious quiz

Quiz results
How did you do? Would you like t try again?
30 Correct
2 Wrong
You answered 30 of 32 questions correctly for a total score of 94%.

Your results
1. When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?
Your response:Friday
Correct answer:Friday

2. What is Ramadan?
Your response:The Islamic holy month
Correct answer:The Islamic holy month

3. Do you happen to know which of these is the king of gods in ancient Greek mythology?
Your response:Zeus
Correct answer:Zeus

4. Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering?
Your response:Buddhism
Correct answer:Buddhism

5. In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures?
Your response:Hinduism
Correct answer:Hinduism

6. What is an atheist?
Your response:Someone who does NOT believe in God
Correct answer:Someone who does NOT believe in God

7. What is an agnostic?
Your response:Someone who is unsure whether God exists
Correct answer:Someone who is unsure whether God exists

8. Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born?
Your response:Bethlehem
Correct answer:Bethlehem

9. When was the Mormon religion founded?
Your response:Sometime after 1800
Correct answer:Sometime after 1800

10. The Book of Mormon tells the story of Jesus Christ appearing to people in what area of the world?
Your response:The Americas
Correct answer:The Americas

11. Which of the following best describes Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion?
Your response:The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ
Correct answer:The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ

12. Which of these religious groups traditionally teaches that salvation comes through faith alone?
Your response:Only Protestants
Correct answer:Only Protestants

13. Please tell me which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments?
Your response:Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Correct answer:Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

14. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?
Your response:Job
Correct answer:Job

15. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt
Your response:Moses
Correct answer:Moses

16. Which Bible figure is most closely associated with willingness to sacrifice his son for God?
Your response:Abraham
Correct answer:Abraham

17. Would you tell me if Mother Teresa was ...
Your response:Catholic
Correct answer:Catholic

18. Would you tell me if the Dalai Lama is ...?
Your response:Buddhist
Correct answer:Buddhist

19. Would you tell me if Joseph Smith was ...?
Your response:Mormon
Correct answer:Mormon

20. Would you tell me if Maimonides was ... ?
Your response:Jewish
Correct answer:Jewish

21. Which of the following statements best describes what the U.S. Constitution (including amendments) says about religion?
Your response:The government shall neither establish a religion nor interfere with the practice of religion
Correct answer:The government shall neither establish a religion nor interfere with the practice of religion

22. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer?
Your response:No
Correct answer:No

23. Do you happen to know what religion most people in India consider themselves?
Your response:Hindu
Correct answer:Hindu

24. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to read from the Bible as an example of literature?
Your response:Yes
Correct answer:Yes

25. According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to offer a class comparing the world's religions?
Your response:Yes
Correct answer:Yes

26. Do you happen to know what religion most people in Indonesia consider themselves?
Your response:Buddhist
Correct answer:Muslim

27. Do you happen to know what religion most people in Pakistan consider themselves?
Your response:Muslim
Correct answer:Muslim

28. What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation?
Your response:Martin Luther
Correct answer:Martin Luther

29. Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening?
Your response:Charles Finney
Correct answer:Jonathan Edwards

30. Do you happen to know the name of the holy book of Islam?
Your response:Qur'an
Correct answer:Qur'an

31. What is the first book of the Bible?
Your response:Book of Genesis
Correct answer:Book of Genesis

32. Will you tell me the names of the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible, that is the Four Gospels?
Your response:Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Correct answer:Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

*Technically, the phone survey was way more than 32 questions, but that's because it included demographic questions (i.e. age, race, religious affiliation, political party, how often they attend church, etc.) and a handful of "control" questions about non-religious stuff like what is the vice president's name and which party holds the House majority and whether lasers work via sound waves and whether antibiotics kill bacteria and what movement is Susan B. Anthony associated with and who wrote Moby Dick.  But there were 32 questions on religious knowledge and the survey's goal was to determine who knew what about religion.