Most Americans Believe in God but Don't Know Religious Tenets
The headline of a story on USAToday.com that summarizes the latest U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey of over 3400 random adults in the population. The one fact brought out in the article that stood out for me was:
Doctrines don't grab us. Only 55% of Catholic respondents knew the core teaching that the bread and wine in the Mass become the body and blood of Christ, and are not merely symbols. Just 19% of Protestants knew the basic tenet that salvation is through faith alone, not actions as well.
Want to know why it is so important for us to have our children engage in the Sunday School, youth group, and confirmation processes? Want to know why it is important for all of us to take advantage of opportunities to learn more about what we believe through events like our This We Believe study starting this Sunday night?
Quite simply this: We don't know as much as we think we do about what we believe.
"People say, 'I have a personal connection with God and that's really all I need to know.' Who am I to argue?" says Pew's Alan Cooperman, a co-author of the report. But religion, as a force in history and a motivator in present times, "has consequences in the world," he adds, so an intellectual baseline, whatever your faith or lack of faith, can "shape your role as a citizen in the public square."
Mr. Cooperman has hit the nail on the head. Our engagement with religious and spiritual matters has implications for us far beyond a 'personal relationship' with Christ.
By the way, books are still available for our This We Believe study, and it's not too late to have your middle-school-or- higher aged child enrolled in our confirmation class (we start Sunday morning @ 9:00AM in my office).
See You Soon!
Lamar
USAToday article:
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