Dear Pew Research Forum,
Your US Religious Knowledge Survey has made a big splash in the news media – especially with the conclusion that atheists/agnostics know more about religion than theists and folks who just don’t care. Thank you for pushing many people I know to the level of completely unbearable from their previous position of mildly bearable when I’m drunk.
As a survey of religious knowledge, one would assume that the questions and answers represent clear, straightforward, and accurate explorations of religion with which the most learned scholars on that topic would agree without hesitation. Therefore, I was perplexed by the inclusion and “right” answer to question 41:
Q: Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born?
A: Bethlehem
Certainly, “Bethlehem” is the answer that best reflects a popular understanding of the Nativity story (an understanding that also includes a non-Biblical three magi appearing at the manger). Those who are actually knowledgeable about the Biblical Nativity stories would know that Bethlehem is identified as the location of Jesus’s birth in the Gospel of Luke:
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. – Luke 2:4-7
Yet, the other Nativity story in the Gospel of Matthew does not mention the location of Jesus’s birth, although it does make the Virgin Birth claim, which is absent from Luke.
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d]—which means, “God with us.” 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. – Matthew 1:18-25
Clearly, one cannot make the simple claim that the Bible clearly states that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. In light of the fact that some groups are distinguished by less than a single right answer (on average), issues in Biblical interpretation based on the text alone should be acknowledged and addressed. In this case, the question and responses should probably be removed from the analysis.
I would also love it if you provided open access to the raw data behind the US Religious Knowledge Survey, in order that your conclusions can be evaluated independently, in the best tradition of the scientific method.
Cheers,
Josh
*All Bible passages are from the New International Version obtained via BibleGateway.com
The Finch and Pea 