Religion? Ask an atheist!

[WriterDom]

Rosco posted this the other day. I got 14/15 and felt that the last question was the only hard one.

Results don't surprise me. If you want to see something really funny, walk into any high school senior class and give them a blank map of the world and ask them to fill in all the countries they can name. Most do well just to find the USA.

 

[chy_girl]

Rosco posted this the other day. I got 14/15 and felt that the last question was the only hard one.

Results don't surprise me. If you want to see something really funny, walk into any high school senior class and give them a blank map of the world and ask them to fill in all the countries they can name. Most do well just to find the USA.

Yeah. The lack of educational programing has definitely left its mark...

 

[midwestyankee]

15 for 15. I was raised Catholic and had never even seen a bible until I was in high school. Virtually all of the tougher questions (for some people anyway) could be answered by someone who had taken an entry-level course in the history of world religions. Jonathon Edwards' role in the Great Awakening might have been the toughest question here, but he's a known quantity to anyone who studied American literature from the colonial period.

 

[midwestyankee]

Rosco posted this the other day. I got 14/15 and felt that the last question was the only hard one.

Results don't surprise me. If you want to see something really funny, walk into any high school senior class and give them a blank map of the world and ask them to fill in all the countries they can name. Most do well just to find the USA.

Yes, but ask the boys to do a matching quiz to identify the cities whose professional sports teams are the Giants, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Dolphins, the Bulls, and the Lakers and you'll get a lot of excellent scores.

Ya just gotta recognize that society today has different priorities, man. If George Bush and Dick Cheney taught us anything in their nearly 10 years in office it's that nothing that happens outside American borders matters unless America does it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

15 for 15. I was raised Catholic and had never even seen a bible until I was in high school. Virtually all of the tougher questions (for some people anyway) could be answered by someone who had taken an entry-level course in the history of world religions. Jonathon Edwards' role in the Great Awakening might have been the toughest question here, but he's a known quantity to anyone who studied American literature from the colonial period.

I have never taken an entry-level course in the history of world religions -- I've mostly learned the Xtian stuff so that I could defend myself when I am challenged by Xtians. The things about other religions I've learned because, not being a member of an xtian church, I can pay attention to other people's religions and how the rest of the world works.

(I Love your av, Yankee!)

 

[BiBunny]

15 for 15. I was raised Catholic and had never even seen a bible until I was in high school. Virtually all of the tougher questions (for some people anyway) could be answered by someone who had taken an entry-level course in the history of world religions. Jonathon Edwards' role in the Great Awakening might have been the toughest question here, but he's a known quantity to anyone who studied American literature from the colonial period.

Trying to read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" made me suicidal in both high school and college. I can't imagine how bad sitting through the sermon must've been.

 

[midwestyankee]

Trying to read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" made me suicidal in both high school and college. I can't imagine how bad sitting through the sermon must've been.

When I was teaching American lit in high school, I used to start the first semester by walking into the class in a colonial period minister's garb, complete with wig, and then perform the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God sermon before I even took attendance for the first time.

Got. Their. Attention.

 

[DarkBee]

When I was teaching American lit in high school, I used to start the first semester by walking into the class in a colonial period minister's garb, complete with wig, and then perform the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God sermon before I even took attendance for the first time.

Got. Their. Attention.

You very bad man!

 

[midwestyankee]

You very bad man!

Thank you.

 

[chy_girl]

When I was teaching American lit in high school, I used to start the first semester by walking into the class in a colonial period minister's garb, complete with wig, and then perform the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God sermon before I even took attendance for the first time.

Got. Their. Attention.

You know, if there'd been more teachers like you at my high school I might not have gotten bored and wondered off to spend my day in the child care center.

Seriously, that's awesome.

 

[BiBunny]

When I was teaching American lit in high school, I used to start the first semester by walking into the class in a colonial period minister's garb, complete with wig, and then perform the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God sermon before I even took attendance for the first time.

Got. Their. Attention.

Now THAT would've made it interesting.

 

[midwestyankee]

You know, if there'd been more teachers like you at my high school I might not have gotten bored and wondered off to spend my day in the child care center.

Seriously, that's awesome.

Now THAT would've made it interesting.

Don't kid yourselves, though. As much fun as this kind of thing was, I was a ballbuster over the quality of work I expected. I had kids who only earned Bs with me who made it into Harvard and Princeton. We did have a good time as much as I could manage it, though.

 

[chy_girl]

Don't kid yourselves, though. As much fun as this kind of thing was, I was a ballbuster over the quality of work I expected. I had kids who only earned Bs with me who made it into Harvard and Princeton. We did have a good time as much as I could manage it, though.

Honestly... That would have made me love your class all the more. It would have told me that you gave a shit about what you were doing and that would have made me want to try harder. There's no fun if there isn't a challenge, and it's really freaking hard to (for lack of a better term) Top yourself from an academic perspective.

Seriously, my favorite high school teacher was a 5ft Irish Catholic woman would could cut anyone down with a look. First warning was verbal. Second warning you left the classroom. Third warning you left the class and tried again the next year since she was the only one who taught the classes we had to take to graduate... Very specific on what she wanted we knew it. Really nice lady after hours though, and always encouraged us to do silly things like think for ourselves. I loved her class!

 

[VelvetSin]

I got 12 out of 15, and wanted to headdesk because I got most of the reasonably obscure ones, and missed one I lived and breathed for the first twenty years of my life.

#3 - really? I missed one of the Ten Commandments. My dad would have a coronary.

#13 and #15.

 

[Soumis]

13/15

I missed 10 and 14 and was raised Catholic.

 

[CurlyKat]

Ha. I don't take the results as commentary on level of religious training; I take them as proof that most Americans don't read a decent newspaper.

Seriously, where is the like button when you need it?

15/15 here.

 

[Homburg]

15/15, whee

I am an atheist with a degree in philosophy and religious studies.

 

[Netzach]

15/15

I am just generally an info sponge.

I agree with people who think it's more indicative of "point to california on this map" and the fact that 2/3 of americans will put it down into mexico.

 

[Keroin]

The only one I got wrong was the one about whether or not a teacher can read from the bible as an example of 'literature' - but then I'm not up on all the laws to the south.

And yes, I'm an atheist with no religious background whatsoever.

I knew the 'Job' answer from a musical number, in a production I was a part of. I know which faith most Indonesians are because I have a friend who lived and worked there. I know about Ramadan because I read a blog from a girl who celebrates it. Like JM said, it's more general knowledge than anything else.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

Partly... Mostly it's because I have a religious fetish, though.

Did I mention when I bottom for a demonstration that my Mistress is preforming at an upcoming kinky carnival I shall be doing so dressed as a nun?

I was reeeeally tired the other night and when I read this it didn't quite register.

Don't kid yourselves, though. As much fun as this kind of thing was, I was a ballbuster over the quality of work I expected. I had kids who only earned Bs with me who made it into Harvard and Princeton. We did have a good time as much as I could manage it, though.

Better a tough, engaged teacher than someone coasting through to retirement, which is what I had too many of.

 

[chy_girl]

I was reeeeally tired the other night and when I read this it didn't quite register.

Did it finally sink in?

And it was my Mistress' idea, none-the-less...

 

[ThorkelGriersen]

Ah, but if it were basic knowledge stuff, I think the people who were counted in the statistics would have done better.

Basic knowledge is mostly like common sense.

"Problem with Common Sense--'tain't so common."
--------------Mr. Dooley.

The fun part is farther down the list. In 2nd place: Jews, 3rd place: Mormons.
LAST PLACE: Southern White Evangelical Christians. When they tried to correct for education levels, there were real problems. Finding Atheist/ Agnostics with little education was as difficult as finding Southern White Evangelicals with post high school credentials.

Maybe Mark Twain's Huck Finn was onto something: "Faith is believing things you know ain't so."

 

[Soumis]

Seems rather apt that a coworker of mine gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon today. Should be some entertaining reading!

 

[Etoile]

Heh, I would be genuinely offended if someone did that to me...and I'd probably report it.

 

[rekane]

I scored 15 out of 15.
But being an agnostic, recovering mormon, odds were good I would score high.

Soumis: sorry you were put in that position. I say give it back and tell them no thanks and you absolve them of any responsibility for your salvation.
great name, btw. toi aussi, etoile.