# People who attended Sunday school as children: Were you required to memorize the books of the Bible **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099 "2018-04-25T14:19:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/21 "2018-04-25T17:45:39Z")
I was raised Mormon, and have the faintest tickling in the back of my mind that there was at least an _effort_ to get us to memorize the books, if only to be able to look up specific verses in a hurry. (Yes, they challenged us to race each other looking things up.) Of course mormons have a few more books that the average christian. I’m not the memorizing type, or the racing type either for that matter, so I didn’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/22 "2018-04-25T17:49:49Z")
Catholic, and no. StG ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/23 "2018-04-25T18:15:26Z")
Raised Southern Baptist, and I don’t believe it was required although somehow I did wind up memorizing them. I remember it being my “party trick” to show what a smart, good little girl I was. Well, I was… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/24 "2018-04-25T18:23:32Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Raised Southern Baptist, and I don’t believe it was required although somehow I did wind up memorizing them. I remember it being my “party trick” to show what a smart, good little girl I was. I very nearly used “party trick” to describe the kids in my Catholic school who memorized the names of the books, in my earlier post. It struck me then (and still strikes me now) as being on a par with memorizing the names of the presidents, the text of the Gettysburg Address, or the value of pi to a certain number of digits – rote memorization, requiring a level of discipline and persistence to master, but of fairly limited actual usefulness. I suppose that, in the case of memorizing the names of the books in the Bible, it gives you a bit of a head start if you’re going to look up a verse (since you would know roughly where it is: “Is Isaiah before or after Jeremiah?”). But, as far as being a demonstration of one’s actual understanding of Christianity, it really doesn’t do that, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/25 "2018-04-25T18:28:54Z")
Memorize, no. We did spend time learning about why the books are in the order that they’re in and why the readings during church are in the order that they’re in. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/26 "2018-04-25T19:52:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I suppose that, in the case of memorizing the names of the books in the Bible, it gives you a bit of a head start if you’re going to look up a verse (since you would know roughly where it is: “Is Isaiah before or after Jeremiah?”). But, as far as being a demonstration of one’s actual understanding of Christianity, it really doesn’t do that, IMO. Well, when you get right down to it, what’s the use of memorizing the alphabet? The only reason you need to know what order the letters are in is when you need to look up stuff that’s been put in alphabetical order to make it easier to look up (and even that’s less useful nowadays when computers can do the looking up for you). Yet what’s one of the first things kids are taught to memorize? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/27 "2018-04-25T19:53:06Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I attended a Lutheran Sunday school, nothing like that was required, but the order of the 4 gospels was repeated in a way that most learned that order. Most knew the order as: > > Genesis, > rest of the OT, > Matt, > Mark, > Luke, > John, > middle of the NT, > Revelation > > In a Episcopal middle and high school no such thing was stressed or required and we normally focused on one book a semester or multiple shorter ones. > > Just to add that I noticed you used the word forced to attend, do you also consider you attending ‘regular’ school as being forced 😕 No one would have had to force me to attend regular school. I generally enjoy that. By contrast, by age 12, I actively disbelieves in most of the teachings of my church (except for the “no murdering!” Rule), but was not only required to attend but pressured to participate and to do things like say “I honestly believe that this magic book is the word of God, dictated by Him to it’s mortal transcribers”, which I resented mightily. Even discovering around the age of 16 that CO G I see girls were just as horny as the girls at my high school but didn’t insist on condoms (because insisting on condoms would have implied that they were having sex, which none were willing to admit) did little to enamor me to church of God in Christ Sunday school. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/28 "2018-04-25T19:57:09Z")
Also, the things I learned in regular school were useful and (at least in the classes I took), thoughtful discussion was encouraged and nobody was forced to parrot doctrine regardless of his/her genuine beliefs, nor threatened with a beating at least and hell at worst for the sin of independent thought. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/29 "2018-04-25T19:58:56Z")
I was raised in the “Church of Christ”. Yes, memorization of the books of the Bible was important, as was memorizing a lot of individual verses within the scriptures. Becoming knowledgeable about the Bible was very definitely emphasized – reading, studying, all that fun stuff! With the attitude of “This is God’s word, and it is to be taken literally!” ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/30 "2018-04-25T20:19:13Z")
Raised in a non-evangelical protestant church, which did not seem to go heavy into the scriptural inerrancy or memorization or such like that there. That said, somewhere along the way I did pick up: “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, went to bed with their stockings on!” ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/31 "2018-04-25T20:30:56Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Also, the things I learned in regular school were useful and (at least in the classes I took), thoughtful discussion was encouraged and nobody was forced to parrot doctrine regardless of his/her genuine beliefs, nor threatened with a beating at least and hell at worst for the sin of independent thought. (and the above post) yes I thought so, it shows some deep issues still associated with it. It was a peculiar choice to state that and this together: > [@](#): > > It is not my intent to debate whether this practice was wise, abusive, or anything else; if it were, Stating such a loaded term as saying your parents forced you, while stating it was not your intent to debate if this practice was …abusive, … But anyway back tot he topic. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/32 "2018-04-25T20:36:22Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > Catholic Sunday School was called Cathecism. We never had to memorize a single bible verse! We had to memorize prayers and the sacraments. I guess we mostly were told ABOUT the different bible verses in more of a story fashion. > [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > I was raised Catholic and the answer is no. > [@StGermain](#): > > Catholic, and no. Same here. The old Lutheran insult (and some Lutherans still hold a grudge after 500 years) is that Roman Catholics don’t want their members to read the Bible on their own. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/33 "2018-04-25T20:40:02Z")
A national survey on religion revealed that only half of Christians can even name the four gospels, so it would follow that a much smaller percentage could name all the books of the Bible. I learned them, but IIRC it was for the Boy Scouts’ God and Country merit badge, rather than for Sunday School. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/34 "2018-04-25T20:42:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > When I hung out with the Evangelicals for a few years in college, verse memorization was a big thing, in part so that you had a selection of verses memorized to use during evangelism. I had a set of such verse cards, and probably had 20 or 30 verses committed to memory at that point. > > I grew up Catholic, and attended Catholic grade schools and high school. Memorizing the names of the books of the Bible was something that I remember some kids doing, but I don’t remember it ever being required in our religion classes. +1 I went through 12 years of Catholic school and don’t ever recall having to memorize any books of the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/35 "2018-04-25T20:53:02Z")
I was raised Presbyterian, and it wasn’t required, but I remember earning a book called\* Turkey Red\* by Esther Loewen Vogt which I still have for memorizing the Old Testament book order and a plastic box which I also still have for memorizing the New Testament book order. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/36 "2018-04-25T20:55:52Z")
I went to Sunday school under protest. If the teacher ever tried to actually get me to do something, I would have laughed in their face. That said, I think all we ever did was sing and listen to Bible stories. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/37 "2018-04-25T21:53:16Z")
Grew up in an Evangelical church Highly encouraged, not required. (I’m not sure how one would require that) This would be for both the books of the Bible and verses (there were prizes & recognition. I was an externally motivated kid with a good memory.) And later when I taught children, the same - encouraged them, but didn’t require it. (again, not sure how to require it). It really does save time when you’re looking for a verse if you have a vague idea of where it is without going to table of contents. (It saves even more time if you just know the verse. It also alerts you as to when someone is misusing or misquoting it if you already know it) ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/38 "2018-04-25T21:56:47Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Grew up in an Evangelical church > Highly encouraged, not required. (I’m not sure how one would require that) This would be for both the books of the Bible and verses (there were prizes & recognition. I was an externally motivated kid with a good memory.) > > And later when I taught children, the same - encouraged them, but didn’t require it. (again, not sure how to require it). The same way you require anything - you tell them to do it and don’t present it as being optional. Discipline has gotten so lax since torture fell out of favor. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/39 "2018-04-25T23:21:08Z")
No. I did learn a song to do so, but it was no more a requirement than learning all the states in the US. It was convenient for being able to find a scripture wthat the preacher used. It seemed weird to find out some people still used an alphabetical table of contents. Though now everyone uses their phone, and the scripture is on the projector, so I doubt it’s even useful for that. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099/40 "2018-04-25T23:26:22Z")
Yes, the books of the Bible and bible verses. I also attended a Christian school where Bible memorization was a normal activity. In fact one year instead of memorizing individual verses of consequence they made us memorize the entire book of Philippians and recite it from memory in front of class. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-attended-sunday-school-as-children-were-you-required-to-memorize-the-books-of-the-bible/813099.md?page=3)