Religious Literacy

Shabbat Lekh Lekha 5771

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently released the results of a new survey on religious knowledge in America. If you’re interested, you can take an abridged version of the quiz on line. (http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/index.php) I’m delighted to report that I answered all of the questions correctly, performing better than 99% of all Americans according to my score sheet.

A much more interesting result is that from a sampling of all religious groups who participated in the survey, Jews scored the second highest religious knowledge score. On average answering 20 out of 36 questions correctly, Jews placed just behind Atheists and Agnostics, but ahead of evangelical and mainline Protestants, and Catholics.

I find this surprising. On the whole, we Jews are a very well educated community. It makes sense that we score well on a knowledge test. But we’re among the least religious of religious communities in America, at least when compared with our Christian and Muslim neighbors. That we, and those who disavow religion, score highest on a survey of religious knowledge, demonstrates that our relationship to religion is more rational than spiritual, more intellectual than faithful.

I’m comfortable with the intellectual piece. Judaism demands study, consideration, and interpretation. Ours is a nuanced and compelling tradition of ideas and ethics. We strive to enact these concepts and bring them into our lives through religious celebration and spiritual expression. More of us know something about it than do something with it, and for too many Jews that’s on a foundation of limited knowledge.

Another note: According to the Pew study, Jews know more about world religions than any other religious group, and score above the national average on questions about the Bible and Christianity. But, 43% of Jews did not realize that Maimonides, one of the most significant rabbis and scholars in history, was Jewish.

Here are three sample questions.

1.  Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt?  a. Job  b. Elijah  c. Moses  d. Aaron

2.  What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves?  a. Buddhist  b. Hindu  c. Muslim  d. Christian 

3.  Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering?  a. Islam  b. Buddhism  c. Hindusim

There are four reasons why this ought to be of interest to us.

First, religion actually matters to society much more than most of us realize, and more than some of us may desire. Nine out of every ten Americans believe in God, and, with the notable exception of Western Europe, much of the rest of the world is passionately religious.

Second, misconceptions about religion lead to prejudice, violence, and poor judgment.

Think about how religion brought down the Twin Towers in New York City, claiming innocent lives and impacting all of our lives. Throughout the Middle East, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and of course in Israel, religion lies at the heart of conflict.

Third, if religion is a cause of conflict, it can only become a source of peace and compassion through mutual understanding and respect.

Here at Chizuk Amuno we believe that we cannot allow religion to be equated in the public mind with extremism or permit God’s name to be profaned by its exclusive association with intolerance, persecution, violence, and terror.  We seek to articulate a resolute and authentic religious voice that says loud and clear that religious belief goes hand in hand with respect, common sense, and goodness.

And finally, a community such as ours, the Jewish community, cannot sustain itself on ignorance. We must know who we are, what we stand for and believe, and how those values influence both our personal lives and our communal endeavors.

Toward that end, I devised my own brief survey. Three questions that seek to establish basic literacy about Judaism and the Jewish people.

1.  What is Judaism’s central belief?  a. Ethical Monotheism  b.“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. c. Tikkun Olam – Repairing the World

2.  What is Judaism’s most important celebration?  a. Yom Kippur b. Shabbat c. Passover

3.  What is the common bond Jews share?  a. Jews are a cultural or ethnic group  b. Jews are a race  c. Jews are a people

Though there is a correct answer to each question, these questions are designed to stimulate thought and discussion. (The answers are: 1 – a; 2 – b; 3 – c. I invite you to comment with your answers, and your opinion as to why on my blog on this website. I’d also love to know what you would ask. What information or ideas establish basic religious literacy about Judaism?)

Boston University Professor of Religion Stephen Porthero is the author of two important books on this subject,Religious Literacy, which also contains a useful quiz of basic religious knowledge and God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World – and Why their Differences Matter, in which he writes this about Judaism.

“Judaism begins and ends with a story. To be a Jew is to tell and retell a story and to wrestle with its key symbols: the character of God, the people of Israel, and the vexed relationship between the two.”

He’s correct. I’ve always taught that to be a Jew is to be able to tell the story of the Jewish people as your own. It doesn’t matter where you begin, or from where you come. What matters is that you grow to understand something of yourself within the Jewish narrative.

Professor Porthero continues. “Judaism is both the least and the greatest of the great religions. Strictly by the numbers, it is by far the smallest. But this tiny religion has wielded influence far out of proportion to its numbers. It gave us a monotheistic revolution that remade the Western world. It gave us the prophetic voice, which continues to demand justice for the poor and oppressed. It gave us stories that continue to animate political and literary conversations worldwide.” His words echo what we know, or ought to understand, about Judaism.

Which all begins with Abraham’s journey “to the land that I will show you,” as God’s call describes it in the first verse of Genesis 12.  God’s words don’t specify a location. Rashi’s poignant comment suggests this is because mystery will entice Abraham each step of the way, and result in a greater sense reward. There is a human truth to that. We are engaged by mystery and curious to discover for ourselves.

But we also know that this journey never ends. For me, this explains why God’s words don’t specify a location. Though we know that Abraham is headed toward the land of Israel, we also know that a journey of faith and discovery cannot be limited by location or time.

It is in the on-going quest for purpose and place that we discover our lives’ meanings. And this is the most important reason to acquire religious knowledge. It may lead to wisdom.

© 2010 Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman