# Atheists know more about religion (Pew) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364 "2010-09-28T16:31:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/101 "2010-09-30T17:00:14Z")
White Catholic - 14/15 I outscored my demographic in every measurable way. Even “Post-graduate training,” which surprised me. I only didn’t know the one about the first Great Awakening. But being neither American nor Protestant, I cut myself slack on that. These weren’t especially hard questions. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/102 "2010-10-01T02:02:54Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > 14/15. I missed the First Great Awakening question. I knew it took place much too long ago for Billy Graham to be involved, but got the wrong side of the 50/50 left over. Oh well. I’ve never heard of the First Great Awakening before this test. I assumed that if Billy Graham was involved I would’ve heard of it. The same for Jonathan Edwards (there is a contemporary religious Jon Edwards, right?). Too common a name. 🙂 Also missed the Sabbath one. Couldn’t remember if it was Fri-Sat or Sat-Sunday. > [@bibliophage](#): > > I’ve probably said it before, but I’ll say it again. The validity of a test breaks down when the people taking the test are smarter than the people who wrote it. They aren’t. Did you see the results? ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/103 "2010-10-01T05:55:54Z")
White Catholic, 15/15, although the First Great Awakening was a 50/50 guess. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/104 "2010-10-01T06:27:20Z")
15/15 Having been brought up in a home where religion was not even on the table, I took it upon myself to learn the ropes cause I liked poking fun about it. It took me a good while to become confident and back up my shit stirring. complete and stringent non-theist. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/105 "2010-10-01T13:36:20Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I’m greatly entertained that Jews scored slightly better on the whole than even atheists/agnostics. Judaism is about the only religion I would want to join, and that’s a good illustration why. > > I only got 13 out of 15. Missed the question about the Sabbath (the Jews would reject me anyway :D) and the First Great Awakening. In my defense, I don’t actually care. > > It does concern me that verrrry few people get the “Bible as literature” question wrong, though. Even Jews and a-types only got 40% on it. Those were the two I missed too. I suspected that the Jewish Sabbath starts Friday evening but went with Saturday because the other questions were testing basic knowldge and were straightforward while this one was a little bit of a trick question. I’m not familiar with the First Great Awakening, but I’m guessing the Jonathan Edwards associated wth it is not the guy who pretends to be psychic. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/106 "2010-10-01T16:19:49Z")
Thanks for the link, **Colibri**. I got 31 out of 32 - I screwed up “Which group traditionally teaches that salvation is through faith alone?” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/107 "2010-10-02T01:10:00Z")
15/15. Atheist/agnostic. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/108 "2010-10-04T14:28:03Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > 14/15. I missed the First Great Awakening question. I knew it took place much too long ago for Billy Graham to be involved, but got the wrong side of the 50/50 left over. Oh well. > > I’m an atheist. Me too. 14/15, atheist, guessed about FGA. Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/109 "2010-10-04T15:20:56Z")
14/15. I’d never heard of the first great awakening. I nearly got the Sabbath wrong too. It said when does the sabbath _start_ which strongly hinted to me that they were looking for “Friday” rather than “Saturday”. (Although honestly I agree with palindromemordnilap that most people who have no Jewish friends have no particular reason to know that.) But then, it occurred to me, according to the tradition which makes the Jewish sabbath start at sundown, shouldn’t it also make the Jewish _saturday_ start at sundown? But I decided that would be too subtle for the quiz (and certainly no Jews I know DO refer to Friday night as Saturday). ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/110 "2010-10-04T16:05:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Bah. Keeps timing out. In one case, the link took me to a page that made me wonder if the site is currently being hacked. Maybe you have to answer quickly without thinking. I was pretty quick, and it didn’t time out on me. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/111 "2010-10-04T20:08:51Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I only know the Great Awakening question because Dopers keep mixing up John Edwards, Jon Edward, and Jon Edwards. I also confuse them all with Mr. Edwards from _Little House on the Prairie_. 15/15, agnostic public-school-educated northeastern liberal not-particularly-elite. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/112 "2010-10-04T20:55:50Z")
Christian, 15/15 and 32/32, but their answer to “what does the Constitution say about religion” is wrong. If they were testing what people know about what Thomas Jefferson said about religion in the US, they should have said so. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/113 "2010-10-04T20:58:10Z")
It’s not wrong. The Constitution does say that, it just doesn’t say it in those exact words, but the principle is irrefutably in there. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/114 "2010-10-04T21:26:06Z")
Jewish. Agnostic. I got 15/15 on it. I guessed on “Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?” Because that would describe about 79% of the figures from the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/115 "2010-10-04T21:52:00Z")
Raised non-denominational Christian, converted to Catholicism as and adult. I got 29/32. Before taking the quiz, I… …had never heard of the First Great Awakening …thought most of the people in Indonesia were Hindu …didn’t know who Maimonides was ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/116 "2010-10-04T21:55:54Z")
15/15 Where is there a longer 32 question quiz? I wanna try that one too. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/117 "2010-10-05T04:28:46Z")
I thought Jonathan Edwards was the world’s biggest douche. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/118 "2010-10-06T08:36:28Z")
13/15. Got both the questions about US law wrong… ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/119 "2010-10-08T00:18:08Z")
As an agnostic, I was OK with 31/32. I missed the great awakening question, but had no problem with the rest of the test. Of my two sons, the atheist got 32/32, and the Protestant got 32/32…well, he is really a born again Catholic, as he is Episcopalian… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364/120 "2010-10-10T20:56:50Z")
First, before I make my main point, can we all agree that the questions asked were, for the most part, absurdly easy? Yes? Good, I thought so. Now, moving right along… There were 32 questions on this absurdly easy test. Know how many the average atheist got right on this test? Guesses, anybody? 30? 28? 25? Try 20.9 measly answers. Now, is that better than Christians averaged? Sure- Christians averaged just 16. In my humble opinion, given the easiness of the questions, 20.9 and 16 are BOTH pitiful scores!!! Believers probably OUGHT to be ashamed of their ignorance, but atheists have absolutely no grounds for pride. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-know-more-about-religion-pew/555364.md?page=7)