Bible Literacy Project News
Gallup Poll finds many U.S. teens are lacking in
basic Bible knowledge
WASHINGTON (AP)- There's considerable ignorance about the Bible
among U.S. teens, judging from a Gallup Poll released Tuesday.
Fewer than half the 1,002 youths polled knew that Jesus turned water
into wine at the Cana wedding, and nearly two-thirds couldn't
identify a quote from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount or the relation of
the road to Damascus to the Apostle Paul's conversion. About
one-in-10 thought Moses was one of Jesus' 12 apostles.
The poll, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points, accompanied a report issued by the Bible Literacy Project of
Fairfax, Va.
The literary project interviewed 41 high school English teachers who
are regarded as outstanding by their colleagues: Forty of those
teachers said knowledge of the Bible gives students a distinct
educational advantage.
In the Fall of 2005 the nonpartisan BLP, which promotes academic study of
the Bible, plans to release a textbook designed for public school
use.
Speaking for the project, Charles Haynes of the First Amendment
Center said Americans are misinformed about the fact that
nonsectarian academic study of the Bible in public schools is legal.
He said major secular educational organizations and a range of
religious denominations have issued a consensus statement on how to
properly conduct such Bible classes.
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