Agnostics, atheists, Jews, Mormons score highest on religious questions

[Ralph Man]

Poster who goes by the handle LeSellers but wishes to be called Lehi -

Yet the original point was about, as you say, power and wealth.

What? I noted roughly comparable size and pointed out there was a difference in power and wealth that, while significant, probably shouldn't result in 3 unique questions vs. none for other splinter groups.

One out of one million a hundred thosand?

I mentioned him off the top of my head because I did not want to look it up and was incredulous that you'd think no examples exist given the population size.

There is no USmerican faith (if I may use such a potentially misleading term without confusion) that begins to match the size and influence of The Church of Jesus Christ.

Come again? I don't know how you are flexing the definitions of the words in this sentence so this comes out true, so I'll leave it at that. Why not make the entire quiz about the LDS faith then if we want to test American religious knowledge? How is it that Muslims got a question when they comprise a tiny portion of the country? My observation, one I don't think is hostile to Mormons, is that if Mormons were singled out then I think it would be appropriate for some other groups to receive some specific questions as well to have the survey reflect the diversity of relevant religious belief in the US. Jehova's Witnesses, for one, are not some irrelevant group in American religious life because they produce fewer congressmen. Keeping on tone with this survey a question about them would be like:

Members of The Watchtower Society are commonly known as

1) Jehova's Witnesses

2) Underpants Gnomes

3) Figments of LeSeller's overactive imagination.

[scooby]

NY Times article with just a tidbit of extra analysis:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/us/28religion.html

On questions about the Bible and Christianity, the groups that answered the most right were Mormons and white evangelical Protestants.

...

On questions about world religions, like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism, the groups that did the best were atheists, agnostics and Jews.

...

[LeSellers]

Poster who goes by the handle LeSellers but wishes to be called Lehi -

Because it's my name. I bear it proudly as a patrimony from my grandfather.

What? I noted roughly comparable size and pointed out there was a difference in power and wealth that, while significant, probably shouldn't result in 3 unique questions vs. none for other splinter groups.

What other "splinter groups"? This is the first time I've seen the phrase in this topic.

And, as I pointed out, there are only about 1,120,000 Adventists in USmerica. The most recent number I can find on the Witnesses is from 1999, so it's far from reliable. However, that count shows only about 1,400,000, so even were we to double it (which is far from parsimonious), they're still not anywhere near as numerous as we Saints are in USmerica.

I mentioned him off the top of my head because I did not want to look it up and was incredulous that you'd think no examples exist given the population size.

There are some 5,000,000 Saints in USmerica, there are only a quarter of that for the Adventists.

I suspect any run-of-the-mill USmerican would be able to identify at least one LDS CEO: Mitt Romney. A great many others would be able to name Harry Reid as a Saint (although many of them would be reluctant to use that term for him).

There is no USmerican faith (if I may use such a potentially misleading term without confusion) that begins to match the size and influence of The Church of Jesus Christ.

I don't know how you are flexing the definitions of the words in this sentence so this comes out true, so I'll leave it at that.

I really can't figure out where your issue lies. The Church of Jesus Christ is a world-wide church. I used "USmerican faith" to identify its USmerican origins, nothing more. Some people think of us as merely an USmerican church, but there are more non-USmerican members than USmericans. So, it is hardly an USmerican church any more. That's where my concern originated. Now, what's yours?

Why not make the entire quiz about the LDS faith then if we want to test American religious knowledge?

You'd have to take this up with the authors and publishers. I do not speak for them.

Keeping on tone with this survey a question about them would be like:

Members of The Watchtower Society are commonly known as

1) Jehova's Witnesses

2) Underpants Gnomes

3) Figments of LeSeller's overactive imagination.

Well, aside from the fact that "Jehovah" has two Hs, a nicety you seem to be unfamiliar with, the other alternatives are insulting to either the reader, the Witnesses, or both.

Even a grtf-welfare school graduate, assuming he could read at all, would recognize the errors in all three options and turn away scratching his head.

Lehi

[Ralph Man]

LDS have extremely liberal self-counting methods. There are "anti-Mormons" on this board that the Church is counting as Mormons. JW's and have extremely conservative counting methods (it's why JW's have very high activity rates). The LDS census is closer to half of what is overall reported. That puts the other mentioned groups in the ballpark of them as far as this survey is concerned. Perhaps one question as opposed to none would be appropriate for them. That's all.

You'd have to take this up with the authors and publishers. I do not speak for them.

I wasn't taking it up with you. If you recall, I was making a general comment on the survey's quality that you responded to.

Well, aside from the fact that "Jehovah" has two Hs, a nicety you seem to be unfamiliar with, the other alternatives are insulting to either the reader, the Witnesses, or both.

Even a grtf-welfare school graduate, assuming he could read at all, would recognize the errors in all three options and turn away scratching his head.

You'll notice lots of spelling errors in my posts. If my analytic reasoning skills were as bad as my copyediting skills, I'd be in trouble.

You mean my other two alternatives wouldn't make for good quiz options? That's quite a revelation. Looks like the reverse of my copyediting issue is true for you. Perhaps you could've benefited from the program you are insulting.

[OMWO2]

Haven't posted or lurked much the past few months. However, the survey caught my eye. How is it that most of the respondants here scored 13-15 out of 15 yet have previously claimed to represent the average LDS church population? Seems to me this group is the "cream of the crop"!

[thesometimesaint]

OMWO2:

That is always the problem of self reporting. But as someone who pays attention in Sunday School. I don't believe I'm that much different than your average LDS.