Church Executive SEPT / OCT 2019 DIGITAL ISSUE

• A round eight in ten (78 percent each) of atheist and agnostic respondents knew that Ramadan is an Islamic holy month, compared with half (51 percent) of U.S. adults in the “nothing in particular” category. • Nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) atheist respondents and 70 percent of agnostic respondents knew that yoga is most closely associated with Hinduism, compared with roughly half (48 percent) of those in the “nothing in particular” category. • Just over 43 each of atheist and agnostic respondents correctly stated that the Kabbalah is most closely associated with Judaism, while only roughly a quarter (23 percent) of the “nothing in particular” respondents knew this. • I nterestingly, the only group that outperformed atheist and agnostic respondents on the survey’s questions about world religions other than Christianity was Jews, who correctly answered an average of 7.7 of the survey’s 13 questions on these topics. 5. A theists are more likely than any other religious group to correctly answer the survey’s question about religion and the U.S. Constitution. • More than half of the atheist respondents (55 percent) correctly said that the Constitution specifies that “no religious test” is necessary to hold public office. This was by far the highest correct response rate, ahead of agnostic respondents at 41 percent, Jewish respondents at 38 percent, and those who identify with the “nothing in particular” category at 23 percent. • Just over a quarter (27 percent) of Americans overall got this question right, with many incorrectly stating that the Constitution requires federal officeholders to affirm that all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights (15 percent), that the Constitution requires federal officeholders to be sworn in on the Holy Bible (12 percent), or that the Constitution says nothing about religion as it relates to federal officeholders (13 percent). The survey for this research was conducted in February of 2019 among U.S. adults. To learn more about Americans’ knowledge on religion and how people identifying among the different categories perform in knowledge tests on this topic, visit https://www.pewforum. org/2019/07/23/what-americans-know-about-religion. God vs . Money Winning Strategies in the Combat Zone , : 800-344-0088 Finding it more and more difficult each year to fund a budget? Stewardship campaigns falling flat? Concerned about the overall financial health of your church or organization affecting its mission? J. Clif Christopher’s God vs. Money book, participant guide, and DVD have the winning strategies you need. AbingdonPress.com/GodVsMoney CHURCH EXECUTIVE.COM | 43

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