Connect to Religion
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Friday, June 27, 2008
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| Dear Reader,
Surveys show that out of every ten Americans, nine believe in God, eight say that God is important to them personally, and more than seven report praying daily. The United States is among the most religious nations on earth. But there is a disconnect here. Consider a few sobering facts gleaned from Stephen Prothero’s new book “Religious Literacy“: * Only half of Americans can name even one of the four gospels. * The majority cannot name the first book of the Bible. * Only one third know that it was Jesus who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. * Most Americans don’t know that Easter commemorates the resurrection. * A majority wrongly believes that Jesus was born in Jerusalem. * Most Americans do not know that the Trinity comprises the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. * The most widely quoted Bible verse in the United States - “The Lord helps those who helps themselves” - is not in the Bible. * Ten percent of Americans believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. Personally, I’m embarrassed for my fellow countrymen. Evangelical David E. Wells says the Good Book is fast becoming “The Greatest Story Never Read.” Historian R. Laurence Moore has a harsher assessment. He says Americans “are stupefyingly dumb about what they are supposed to believe.” Without some understanding of religion, for example, how can we possibly comprehend American history? The pilgrims risked their lives to come here and worship as they pleased. The American Revolution was launched with a declaration that men “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.” It was the doctrine of Manifest Destiny that propelled Americans westward. Even the Civil War was enveloped in religious controversy. Most southerners believed they were on the winning side of a theological argument. (”Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.” Ephesians 6:5) Without an understanding of religion, how can we grasp current events? Look at recent conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, or India and Pakistan. Each has religious underpinnings. When Osama bin Laden says his strategy is to engage “the crusader-Zionist alliance” in a clash of civilizations, most Americans don’t even understand the reference. How can we be ignorant of religion and consider ourselves informed voters? Faith looms large in controversies over government funding of stem-cell research, abortion rights, creationism, and gay marriage. At least minimal religious literacy is necessary to appreciate great music, literature, and art. What are we to make of the paintings of El Greco or Bach’s Mass in B Minor if we have no understanding of the religious beliefs of the era or the spiritual impulses of the artists? How can we understand international culture without knowing something about the world’s five major religions? Forget about understanding Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths or the Five Pillars of Islam. Polls show the majority of Americans can’t even name these two religions. Prothero, the chair of the religion department at Boston University, observes that, “Americans are both deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion… Here faith is almost entirely devoid of content. One of the most religious countries on earth is also a nation of religious illiterates.” What is the solution? Education. We can educate our children in our homes. We can teach them in our places of worship. But we should also teach something about religion in public schools. Some will argue this is unconstitutional. Not so. As Prothero notes, the Supreme Court “has repeatedly and explicitly given a constitutional seal of approval to teaching about religion… [provided the crucial distinction is made] between theology and religious studies - between what Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg called ‘the teaching of religion’ (which is unconstitutional) and ‘the teaching about religion’ (which is not).” Most of us are sensible about this. After all, it is unlikely your fourth-grade teacher told you, “The pilgrims came to America to escape persecution. I can’t tell you what kind.” Unfortunately, teaching much more than this about religion will not happen in most school districts. Teachers, principals, school boards and textbook publishers simply don’t want to wade into the firestorm. Ironically, militant atheists - who don’t want their children exposed to any religion - and fundamentalists - who don’t want their children exposed to the wrong religion - have joined hands on this one. However, nothing can stop us, or should stop us, from educating ourselves. A good place to start is Prothero’s book - which contains a dictionary of religious literacy - and, of course, the holy texts themselves. As Marie Curie said, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” Carpe Diem, Alex P.S. In Tuesday’s column, the link to Bert Sperling’s website did not work. If you would like to “Find Your Best Place,” click here. Have “Two Cents?” Just send your thoughts, ideas or comments to editor@spiritualwealth.com. Know someone who would benefit from reading Spiritual Wealth? Just send them the following link, and encourage them to sign up. It’s free: |
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This particular group was not my work buddies, my college buddies, my neighborhood buddies or my tennis buddies. No, these are the derelicts who have stuck with me my whole life. Some of them were in my kindergarten class.
If you’ve never been here, do yourself a favor and put it on your To-Do List. This is one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever visited.
Too bad more people weren’t around to enjoy it. We only passed about one hiker every half hour.
How can you put a value on a few hours in the woods with nothing pressing to do and nowhere in particular to be? The combination of exercise, fresh air and solitude is unbeatable. And it’s invigorating.