If you said yes, you may want to check this out.
And another survey finds atheists know more about religion than theists. Not surprising. Many atheists grew up in religious households and turned away from religion after studying the Bible.
In answer to your question, no most Americans don’t know much about religion in general and Xtianity in particular because most Americans have had little exposure to the study of World religious beliefs. Recall that the latest Pew poll has the number of Xtians at 70.6% of the total population even though h number is declining. That is still a sizable majority who have even a tertiary knowledge of one (1) religion and I strongly suspect that many of them are only able to cherry-pick the sacred book in order to fit a situation as needed, e.g. Revelation Chapters 7 and 14 (144,000 to be saved) bolstering a claim by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Ask the man on the street who Siddhartha Gautama was and you’ll be met with blank stares. He has over 350 million followers but most Americans would give you a shoulder shrug.
Cap’t Jack
That people keep going to services proves they don’t understand what it is. When you tell someone a verse they don’t know about or something their church supports they aren’t aware of, they lose the ability to have a rational discussion. They start saying things about the value of community or something unrelated. I asked two women if they would give one dollar to any other organization with the kind of history and current policies toward women, other than a church. They didn’t even answer, just bobbled their heads around and eventually brought up some other point.
That people keep going to services proves they don't understand what it is. When you tell someone a verse they don't know about or something their church supports they aren't aware of, they lose the ability to have a rational discussion. They start saying things about the value of community or something unrelated. I asked two women if they would give one dollar to any other organization with the kind of history and current policies toward women, other than a church. They didn't even answer, just bobbled their heads around and eventually brought up some other point.This is very true. I know the Bible extremely well and I can always pull out verses and stories that believers don't like to consider (and presumably avoided) and they just about refuse to even go and look it up if it might cause cognitive dissonance.
I am willing to bet that 99% of religious people don’t know this:
Pope John Paul II Declares Evolution to be Fact!http://www.biblelight.net/darwin.htm
If they did, perhaps we could do away with this ridiculous argument of irreducible complexity that has been going on since Darwin.
I am willing to bet that 99% of religious people don't know this:Hopefully people don't decide evolution is a viable theory based on what the Pope says. Most people, even devout Catholics, don't check with the Pope on things like that. I don't even want them to. I want them to understand how to decide when an expert is qualified to speak on the topic they are considering. Now Pope Francis actually does know the science of evolution, so if they're basing their conclusion on that, okay.Pope John Paul II Declares Evolution to be Fact!http://www.biblelight.net/darwin.htm If they did, perhaps we could do away with this ridiculous argument of *irreducible complexity* that has been going on since Darwin.
I am willing to bet that 99% of religious people don't know this:Hopefully people don't decide evolution is a viable theory based on what the Pope says. Most people, even devout Catholics, don't check with the Pope on things like that. I don't even want them to. I want them to understand how to decide when an expert is qualified to speak on the topic they are considering. Now Pope Francis actually does know the science of evolution, so if they're basing their conclusion on that, okay. Well, the Pope was just the spokesman and even tried to fit "evolution* in with Scripture. But the Vatican has a sophisticated science department, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Apparently they do have some honest scientists there.Pope John Paul II Declares Evolution to be Fact!http://www.biblelight.net/darwin.htm If they did, perhaps we could do away with this ridiculous argument of *irreducible complexity* that has been going on since Darwin.
The academy holds a membership roster of the most respected names in 20th century science, including such Nobel laureates as Ernest Rutherford, Max Planck, Otto Hahn, Niels Bohr and Charles Hard Townes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences
Religion.
Look at the SIZE of the problem. It is worldwide.
Look at the TIME the problem has been around. About six thousand years.
Look at the STUPIDITY of the subject of the problem. Unresponsive to logic and reason. I should note that the people of the past were just as smart with logical thinking as we are today.
I learned that religion is not really about God or a Deity. It is more about wanting to live forever in the afterlife. The more I understand about religion, I find that does not answer the questions of SIZE, TIME and STUPIDITY.
At this time I am trying to learn more about how the genes work. I think the answer is quite simple. It is in the genes as a form of protection. Most likely a response to the many plagues and stress related hardships of the past. I suspect that the human gene tries to back step or erase the direction evolution has taken when stress is placed upon a population. In other words, the human has a hard time trying to deal with the past because the influence of the genes. With any animal group, death is the most stressful event. This backup process is handled by switches that control the genes. And I think that stress causes the switch to turn on, then it is passed to the next generation. I think religion is driven by the gene and the human want to live forever. I am in a brand new area of learning for me. You probably know much more about the genes than I do. But my project to learn about religion has now taken me to this door.
Timeline information. Mankind understood domestication happened mostly in India about eight thousand years ago with animals. The dog domestication in India goes back to forty thousand years. So they had a lot of experience with domestication. Then Darwin expanded the knowledge base theories to include non-domestication. Then domestication pretty much became one page subject of understanding. In other words, the real understanding of domestication was lost from the public’s general understanding of life. Of course the breeding of animals is quite a science. But it is not near the levels of accomplishment out of India of the past. There has only been one real scientific study done in domestication. It is with the chicken. And is now fifty years into the study. We know from the earlier writings out of Europe that domestication causes the features like ears and head to become smaller. Also the skin color is known to become lighter in domestication. This new study with the chicken has indications that our understanding of the mutation system is not the same as with the domesticated animals.
I am not going to be around to see it, but in twenty years, we will most likely find the religious gene that is causing all this religious stupidity.
Kitten face palm
Religion. Look at the SIZE of the problem. It is worldwide. Look at the TIME the problem has been around. About six thousand years. Look at the STUPIDITY of the subject of the problem. Unresponsive to logic and reason. I should note that the people of the past were just as smart with logical thinking as we are today. I learned that religion is not really about God or a Deity. It is more about wanting to live forever in the afterlife. The more I understand about religion, I find that does not answer the questions of SIZE, TIME and STUPIDITY. At this time I am trying to learn more about how the genes work. I think the answer is quite simple. It is in the genes as a form of protection. Most likely a response to the many plagues and stress related hardships of the past. I suspect that the human gene tries to back step or erase the direction evolution has taken when stress is placed upon a population. In other words, the human has a hard time trying to deal with the past because the influence of the genes. With any animal group, death is the most stressful event. This backup process is handled by switches that control the genes. And I think that stress causes the switch to turn on, then it is passed to the next generation. I think religion is driven by the gene and the human want to live forever. I am in a brand new area of learning for me. You probably know much more about the genes than I do. But my project to learn about religion has now taken me to this door. Timeline information. Mankind understood domestication happened mostly in India about eight thousand years ago with animals. The dog domestication in India goes back to forty thousand years. So they had a lot of experience with domestication. Then Darwin expanded the knowledge base theories to include non-domestication. Then domestication pretty much became one page subject of understanding. In other words, the real understanding of domestication was lost from the public’s general understanding of life. Of course the breeding of animals is quite a science. But it is not near the levels of accomplishment out of India of the past. There has only been one real scientific study done in domestication. It is with the chicken. And is now fifty years into the study. We know from the earlier writings out of Europe that domestication causes the features like ears and head to become smaller. Also the skin color is known to become lighter in domestication. This new study with the chicken has indications that our understanding of the mutation system is not the same as with the domesticated animals. I am not going to be around to see it, but in twenty years, we will most likely find the religious gene that is causing all this religious stupidity.I doubt there's a gene, but I do agree, religion has very little to do with a god, jesus, the bible, facts, reason, etc. It's strictly a psychological crutch people need to get through the day, even extremely smart people. To me it's a matter of technology. The more technology can take the fear out of our lives, the more religion will fall by the wayside. And ultimately, even death will become something we consider as natural and not to be feared. And more and more religion will just become a fringe thing. Might take 100 years or so though.
I doubt there's a gene, but I do agree, religion has very little to do with a god, jesus, the bible, facts, reason, etc. It's strictly a psychological crutch people need to get through the day, even extremely smart people. To me it's a matter of technology. The more technology can take the fear out of our lives, the more religion will fall by the wayside. And ultimately, even death will become something we consider as natural and not to be feared. And more and more religion will just become a fringe thing. Might take 100 years or so though.I heard an interview with Jennifer Michael Hecht yesterday. Fascinating woman with a deep understanding of history. She pointed out that the current version of atheism, especially the Western kind, is a defined by the previous prevalent version of theism. Not too deep, but it gets better. She described Greek and Roman atheists who were reacting to the Greco-Roman mythology. They were more focused on finding meaning since those gods were very much in control thoughts and action of people. Death was always considered final, so they didn't deal with issues of not getting to heaven. Also they didn't have much technology so there was no "god of the gaps" theme. We have been sold this lie about how gods were first nature gods then polytheism and we "progressed" to monotheism. That's just not true.
At what point do you stop believing in Santa Clause? Or the tooth fairy? Can’t you realize that there is something drastically wrong at a worldwide level for this this type of behavior to call it a belief system, it has been going on for to long now? Logic or science doesn’t make a dent, it has reached a level of total stupidity. Do a computer search on Behavior patterns and genes. The shoe fits.
At what point do you stop believing in Santa Clause? Or the tooth fairy? Can’t you realize that there is something drastically wrong at a worldwide level for this this type of behavior to call it a belief system, it has been going on for to long now? Logic or science doesn’t make a dent, it has reached a level of total stupidity. Do a computer search on Behavior patterns and genes. The shoe fits.IMO, a result of the *mirror neural network*. Once it is programmed with information (even if it is false) it will evoke an empathic response. It seems, once programmed, it is very difficult to reprogram and may be the cause for the resistance to other viewpoints. They just don't resonate and produce the same biochemical experience as the familiar comfort found in *like minds*.
At what point do you stop believing in Santa Clause? Or the tooth fairy? Can’t you realize that there is something drastically wrong at a worldwide level for this this type of behavior to call it a belief system, it has been going on for to long now? Logic or science doesn’t make a dent, it has reached a level of total stupidity. Do a computer search on Behavior patterns and genes. The shoe fits.I don't buy the "it's all in the genes" bit. The first argument that comes to mind is, if genes control things to that extent, how is it possible for identical twins to have different behaviors or beliefs?
At what point do you stop believing in Santa Clause? Or the tooth fairy? Can’t you realize that there is something drastically wrong at a worldwide level for this this type of behavior to call it a belief system, it has been going on for to long now? Logic or science doesn’t make a dent, it has reached a level of total stupidity. Do a computer search on Behavior patterns and genes. The shoe fits.I don't buy the "it's all in the genes" bit. The first argument that comes to mind is, if genes control things to that extent, how is it possible for identical twins to have different behaviors or beliefs? My link above discusses studies on twins, as well as other data. Not that MikeYohe cares about anyone else's opinion other than his own, but I try.
At what point do you stop believing in Santa Clause? Or the tooth fairy? Can’t you realize that there is something drastically wrong at a worldwide level for this this type of behavior to call it a belief system, it has been going on for to long now? Logic or science doesn’t make a dent, it has reached a level of total stupidity. Do a computer search on Behavior patterns and genes. The shoe fits.I don't buy the "it's all in the genes" bit. The first argument that comes to mind is, if genes control things to that extent, how is it possible for identical twins to have different behaviors or beliefs? Got me. I don’t know. Good question. But it is just not just the genes. It is also a combination of wanting to live forever and having an answer for everything (or a god that does). I suspect the gene has influence and not any controls. For example, my thinking on religion has changed a lot. Mainly due to the study of history and education. This gene research is amazing. It should not be overlooked.
From “can’t you realize” and “the shoe fits” to “I don’t know” and “It is also a combination…” in just two posts. Quite the turn around there Mike.
At what point do you stop believing in Santa Clause? Or the tooth fairy? Can’t you realize that there is something drastically wrong at a worldwide level for this this type of behavior to call it a belief system, it has been going on for to long now? Logic or science doesn’t make a dent, it has reached a level of total stupidity. Do a computer search on Behavior patterns and genes. The shoe fits.I don't buy the "it's all in the genes" bit. The first argument that comes to mind is, if genes control things to that extent, how is it possible for identical twins to have different behaviors or beliefs? Because environment plays a part, too, and even identical twins don't have exactly the same environment and experiences, even if their parents swear they have or had. Either could also have mutated genes. They could also have brain anomalies that would affect their thinking. One could have been deprived of oxygen ever so slightly, which would cause different behavior. I know identical twins who chose completely different career paths. One is a Medical doctor and the other is a dancer and actress. Neither would want the other's career. They are as different as two sisters can be on many levels.