ITEMS OF INTEREST November 12, 2007 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Dennis Sasso, Melissa Nann Burke

WHILE TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICANS believe that the Bible is God's word, only half of American adults can name even one of the Four Gospels. Ten percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife....

The continued decline in religious literacy is a result of changes in both religion and society. The blessings of American democracy and pluralism require tolerance of faiths for the purpose of getting along, with an emphasis on religious similarities. The very American notion of a Judeo-Christian tradition submerges the significant differences between Judaism and Christianity under the happy hyphen of equality and cooperation. Today, of course, we need to talk about a Judeo-Christian-Muslim nation, and the list keeps growing.

In the name of universalism, we are happy to reduce religion to a minimum common denominator and buy into the notion that religion is all about "faith" and "spirituality." But, in truth, religions differ significantly.

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