Again:

- To have a survey of this type assumes that religious literacy has some importance. Is religious literacy important? (why or why not?)

- The Preface to the study report says:
In his 2007 book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – And Doesn't, Boston University professor Stephen Prothero wrote that "Americans are both deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion." To support his contention, Prothero offered many compelling anecdotes and some isolated findings from public opinion polls. He also cited a few studies about the extent of biblical literacy among young people. But, as he discovered, there was no comprehensive, national survey assessing the general state of religious knowledge among U.S. adults.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think of it?

- What details of the results of this study intrigue you?

- What are alternative interpretations of the data provided by this survey?

- What important or interesting questions about religious literacy are not answered by this survey? What would you like to see studied further?

- What are the the sources of variation in religious literacy?

- Should anything be done about improving religious literacy? Why or why not? If so what?

~ Becky in Long Beach