Atheism For Dummies (For Dummies (Religion & Spirituality)) (87 page)

So who was the top group, the most religiously literate of all? Why, it’s atheists and agnostics at 20.9, about two-thirds correct.

On questions about Christianity — including several about the Bible — Mormons and white evangelical Protestants do best, with 7.9 and 7.3 out of 12 (respectively). Jews and atheists/agnostics know the most about other world religions like Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. (Christians tend to do badly on that one.) Fewer than half of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist, and less than 40 percent know that Vishnu and Shiva are associated with Hinduism.

Forty-five percent of US Catholics don’t know that their church teaches that the Communion bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ, whereas more than half of US Protestants don’t know that Martin Luther founded their branch of Christianity.

When it comes to religion, Europe and the United States are mirror images. Americans tend to be deeply religious but know very little
about
religion; Europeans are overwhelmingly secular but tend to know a huge amount
about
religion.

This actually makes sense:

Atheists most often become atheists after examining and challenging the religion into which they were born and then continuing with others.

Atheists are often challenged to defend their position, so they tend to know the arguments for and against belief, and they learn a lot about religion in the process (see
Chapter 3
).

Atheists often find religion fascinating, which is why we cared enough to look into it.

The following sections further explore how and why atheists know so much about religion.

Understanding why religious literacy matters (for everyone)

Why is religious knowledge important, including the religions of other cultures, even if you aren’t religious? There are three very good reasons:

To understand the world:
It starts with understanding. If most of the people on Earth identify as religious, see the world through religious eyes, and express themselves to some degree in religious terms, you will spend a really unhelpful amount of time being baffled by the world if you don’t have some basic understanding of religion. And the more understanding, the better. Knowing about not just the majority religion, but also other religions around the world is crucial.

To be part of the conversation:
Being part of the cultural conversation is no small thing. Most political and social issues end up with religious opinions mixed into the debate. The more you know about where those opinions come from, what they’re based on, and what they mean, the better you can respond. It keeps you in the game. And if someone makes a reference to the road to Damascus or the prodigal son, you can avoid being discounted by knowing what they mean.

To make an informed decision:
When you have all the information, it’s amazing how much better your decisions are. That’s why I dress with the light on — so I don’t discover at lunchtime that I’m wearing two different shoes. The same applies when dressing your mind in opinions, including your choice of religion or worldview. People who make a conscious choice about their worldview are more likely to end up in a positive one, while those who simply take what they’re born into without examining it get the luck of the draw. A strong religious literacy helps a person choose well, which is better for everyone.

Doing religious literacy the wrong way

Many of the most obvious ways to get more information about religion aren’t the best. So how does an atheist — or anyone, for that matter — discover more about religion?

Going to church seems like an obvious answer. But whatever its other benefits may be, churchgoing has little to do with religious literacy. Sitting in a pew of a single denomination week after week will teach me about a single sliver of a single piece of the religious pie —
if that.
As shown by some of the answers to the Pew survey I mentioned earlier, a person can sit in church 52 times a year and still know very little about even their own religion.

Worse still, with very few exceptions, attending church (or Sunday school or Bible study) in one denomination or religion will teach you almost zilch about other religions. And that’s an essential part of real literacy. Experiencing just one denomination is like reading a few limericks and thinking you know poetry.

It also doesn’t require attending long lectures or reading volumes of religious history or scripture. Good thing, too, because most people won’t do that. Gaining religious literacy is easier and more interesting and fun than any of these.

Doing religious literacy the right way

Want to be as religiously literate as your average atheist? Try this:

1. Notice religion in your everyday life.

Religion is everywhere, and noticing this saturation is a first step in doing religious literacy right. It’s in the news, from the stem cell debate to climate change to terrorism to nonviolent action. It’s in movies, in books, and on television. Politicians lace their speeches with it. In some parts of the United States — never mind which parts — the second question asked of any newcomer is, “What church do y’all go to?” Norse gods are represented in the days of the week, Roman gods in the months and planets, and the seven-day week itself is rooted in Jewish and Babylonian creation stories. Holidays were originally holy days. Countless figures of speech — a drop in the bucket, a fly in the ointment, a wolf in sheep’s clothing — have biblical origins. Nike shoes, Midas Mufflers, a road atlas, the Olympics, and the first US space programs all borrow names from Greek mythology. All of this is religious influence.

2. Cultivate your curiosity about it.

Doing so is easier when no one is making any demands on you, like insisting that you must accept it to be a good person. It’s just knowledge, and it helps our understanding of who and what we are.

Be sure to include the whole picture — good, bad, and ugly. You can’t talk about Martin Luther King, Jr. without noting that he was a Baptist minister and that his religion was an important part of his inspiration. You can’t grasp the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, without understanding Islamic afterlife beliefs. And the founding of the United States is reframed by noting that many of the US Founders were religious skeptics of one stripe or another.

3. Follow that curiosity into knowledge.

Keep moving outward as far from your own culture as you can. Read myths and stories from many traditions. Watch movies with religious themes. No, not some crashing biblical epic. I’m talking about
Little Buddha, Kirikou and the Sorceress, Fiddler on the Roof, Jason and the Argonauts, Gandhi, Seven Years in Tibet, Schindler’s List,
and
The Ledge.
This list alone touches six different belief systems, including atheism. That’s five more than you’ll get in a typical Sunday school. And don’t forget comedies, like
Bruce Almighty, Dogma,
and the
Invention of Lying.
No reason to not have fun while you explore beliefs.

Read the works of Karen Armstrong, Alan Dundes, and Joseph Campbell. And be sure to see religion firsthand by attending services in a few different religions. Not every week — I know you’re a busy person, and most churchgoers don’t even do that. Just once in a while. And chat with believers. Ask what they believe and why, then share your own thoughts.