An article in the Indianapolis Star reports that the United States, one of the most religious countries in the world, is also a nation of appalling religious illiteracy. The article discusses Stephen Prothero's "revealing" book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn't. According to Prothero, in the U.S., "faith without understanding is the standard" and "religious ignorance is bliss." He also regards religious illiteracy as dangerous "because religion is one of the most volatile components of culture and has been, in addition to one of the greatest forces for good in the world, (also) one of the greatest forces for evil." Some examples the article cites of our country's religious illiteracy include: "nearly two-thirds of Americans endorse the teaching of creationism in our public schools, [but] fewer than half can identify the Book of Genesis... [Just under half] of Americans attribute the words "Let there be light" to Thomas Edison...Two-thirds believe that the Bible is God's word, only half of American adults can name even one of the Four Gospels... Ten percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife."

Labels: David C. Price