(no subject)

[skull_bearer]

So there's this test which has been goign around, which tests how much people know about religion. It's one of those 'oh god America is stupid' tests, which only seem to exist to provide ten inch high headlines about how the most powerful country in the world is inhabited by people who can't tell their arse from their elbows. Most Americans I know are much cleverer than that, but then I live in the UK.

So anyway, this test is online, and I thought 'what the hey, I'll give it a try'. Now I do feel I might have an unfair advantage here, because London is so multicultural that you run into people of every religion on a daily basis, particularly here, where we have a mormon temple and a hard-line muslim mosque within spitting distance of each other, and the existance of the only local cinema is under threat from a bunch of dickbags who want another fucking church. If religion exists at an inverse correlation with intelligence, then this is retard-central.

So I took the test, and got 93%, with only one question wrong. I really would like to know how anyone could get these questions wrong, because all bar one were really obvious, like 'What was Mother Theresa's religion?' and 'What is Ramadan?' I mean, I don't even need to go into my 'learn about religion so we can scrap it' research for this, I learnt this in primary school! I don't know, maybe it was a really good primary school? It's not the first time I've discovered I know more about religion than actual religious people, I had a discussion with a rather creepy Catholic aquaintance, and he didn't know there was a prophet in the old testament who called up two bears to kill 42 kids because the children were taunting him about being bald (I wish I was making it up, wtf christians/jews?!).

Well, you all know my opinion about religion: a bunch of rubbish used by dickbags and imbibed by people who don't quite get that believing in something really really hard still doesn't make it true. Fine if you keep it to yourself, but at best annoying and at worse really dangerous when they push it on other people.

Comments

[stella-polaris.livejournal.com]

I failed most of the ones that have to deal with religion in the States, simply because, well, duh.

But yeah, obvious questions.


And also ditto on your opinion on religion.

[tarangryph.livejournal.com]

I got 100% on the test, but only because I've followed the debate on another forum and learned the answer to the question on Jonathan Edwards there, otherwise I'd probably have failed that one. But apart from this specific American reference, the questions were surprisingly easy. I'm not sure which is worst; the average American knowing so little about other religions or about their own religion - as it's said, atheism is an effect of knowledge, not lack of knowledge. If more people knew exactly what they were worshipping, maybe they wouldn't be so determined to do away with logical thinking and the scientific method. >_>

[cat-irix.livejournal.com]

Got 87%! failed with 10 commandments question (which was really stupid of me) and the last question about the preachers. Although I admit that both "school teacher" answers were merely a lucky guess.

Now the Landover Baptist Bible quizzes (http://www.landoverbaptist.org/quizlist.html) might be more challenging... :P

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I remember when the landover baptist site got started, and everyone was tryign to decide if it was real or not. Eventually found that j/k lol bit, but it was quite frightening that something that daft could be even romotely considered plausible.

[cat-irix.livejournal.com]

Poe's Law in action! :D

[autumnatmidnite.livejournal.com]

"If religion exists at an inverse correlation with intelligence, then this is retard-central."

Ha! Lovely analogy :D Although, if that is inherently true (which, yes, it must be based on the evidence), then what does that make the US? I shudder to think. We seem to have a shocking overabundance of stoopid here.

I took that poll and scored an 80%. Not too bad for a devout atheist. I am curious to know what my bible thumping Catholic relatives would score. They know next to nothing about their own religion. It must be some prerequisite of the Catholic faith to never pick up a Bible. *eyeroll*

[casfic.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Like you I scored 93%. I got the last question wrong, partly because I had never heard of the First Great Awakening. But the rest of the questions were not hard by any means. All it shows is how ignorant the general population is, even those who profess to believe in something.

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

I think I guessed that one right. The one I think I got wrong was the one about nirvana, I wasn't sure if it applied to hindus or buddists.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I got them all except the couple of US law based ones, but then I'm not in the US.

Maybe it's something to do with being a Quaker 'cos we do take an interest in other folks's faiths or lack of them :o)

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

*snort* That quiz is a joke! I only got the last one wrong, because I never heard of that "great awakening" thing (and I don't think I want to), which is probably US specific, anyway, but the other questions are elementary school stuff!

It's pathetic that the nation of bible-thumpers does so badly at this, but on the other hand plausible, because there's no more potent combination than blind faith in something you don't understand, and even worse ignorance of the alternatives, to create instant fanaticism. ("You say I don't even know what I believe in? I'll kill you -- that'll prove you and everyone else my righteousness! Read a book? You think I can read? Pfft!")

And yeah, the more you know about religion, the less likely you are to participate in it yourself! Jesus may have been a wise man and more people should listen to his ideas of peace and equality, but that remains true without the mystic resurrection boohoo, miracle stories, and fancy, institutionalised rites. In fact, if people stopped to think of the message, instead of slapping his name on their own -- usually completely opposed -- goals, the improvement to the world would be amazing. Well, at the very least the hate mongers would have to be honest. I doubt most of them would actually stop only because they can't hide behind a misused name anymore.

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

To be hoenst, I'm less than entirely chuffed with Jesus. The whole 'leave your wife and kids and abide with me, god'll take care of them' and 'don't make plans for the future, the second coming is rigth around the corner' are humongous steaming piles of bullshit.

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

True, typical sect stuff. But compared to most of what was around at the time, he had decent ideas, and some people could still do with them today, because they can't think them up for themselves. *shrugs* Far be it from me to push him at anyone, *not a Christian*, but the people who hate-preach in his name could do with a little reading of what he did say.

[h-aun.livejournal.com]

You answered 15 out of 15 questions correctly
for a score of 100%.