European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                8 2007 stars and stripes Page 23 religion americans religiously illiterate Survey shows by Susan Campbell the Hartford courant Quick name the four gospels How about the ten command ments the four Noble truths of buddhism seven Catholic Sacra ments hello anybody America purports to be a religious nation yet what we know about religion is Well sinful in his new Book religious literacy what every american needs to Doest Stephen Prothero head of Boston University religion department says if s time to teach religion in America not Devo Tion but religion Prothero and others have found a shocking Lack of knowledge about the religions to which americans purport to belong bested Only by their ignorance of Reli Gions to which they dont belong surveys say Only half of Ameri Cas adults can name any of the four gospels most americans cant name the first Book of the Bible Only on third know that Jesus not Billy Graham delivered the Sermon on the mount and most americans think Jesus was born in Jerusalem it was Bethlehem yet writes Prothero world events have been shaped by confucian ritual jewish Law Christian love and Buddhist com passion take the quiz this test of your religious acumen is from author Stephen pro Theros religious literacy what every american needs to know and Doe inf 1 name As Many of the four gospels As you can z name a sacred text of hinduism 3 what is tiie name of the holy Book of islam 4 where according to the Bible was Jesus born 5 president Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jeri Cho Road what Bible Story was he invoking 6 what Are the first five books of the hebrew Bible or the Chris Tia Aoud 7 what is the Golden Rule helps those who help themselves i that inthe Bible if so where 9 blessed Are the poor in spirit for theirs in the kingdom of god does this appear in the Bible if so where  11 name the four Noble truths of buddhism 12 ustas Many of the seven sacraments of catholicism As you can 13 the first amendment says two things about religion what Arethey 14 what is Ramadan in what religion is it celebrated 15 match the Bible characters with the stories in which they appear some characters May be matched with More than one Story Orvic Eversa r characters Adam and eve Moses Jesus Noah Paul Serpent stories binding of Isaac Garden of Eden exodus parting of the red sea Olive Branch Garden of Gethsemane Road to Damascus answers 1 Matthew Mark Luke and John 2  upanishads Purana mahabharata Bhagavat gotta Ramayana yoga Sutra Laws of Manu and the Kamasutra quran 48ethlehenv 5 the Good Samaritan 6 genesis exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy 7 do unto others As you would have them do until or a  rabbi Hillel or confucius 3 this is contradicted in proverbs he who trusts in him self is a fool the original quote is Benjamin Franklins 3 yes in the beatitudes of Jesus Sermon on the mount mat thew 10 the protestant Catholic and jewish versions of the ten commandments differ give yourself credit for any of the following 12 each of which appears in at least one of the three versions the lord am your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt the Hou Srof bondage you shall Nave no other gods besides me you shall yourself a Graven image you shall not take the name of the lord in vain remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Toly Honor your father and Mother you shall not you shall not commit adultery you shall riot steal you shall not Bear false witness against your neighbor you shall not covet your neighbors wife Vou shall not covet your neighbors goods 11 life is suffering suffering has an origin suffering can be Over come the path to overcoming suffering is the Noble eightfold path baptism Ance confirmation marriage holy orders anointing of the sick last rites 13 Congress shall make no Law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof is a Muslim Holiday characterized by a month of fasting 15 Adam and Eye Garden of Eden Paul Road to Damascus parting of the re sea Moses exodus Noah Olive Branch Jesus Garden of Gethsemane Abraham binding of Isaac Serpent Garden of Eden in this country christianity in particular has migrated from doctrinal and narrative components to a focus on religious experience that Doest appear to require a knowledge of the scriptures says Prothero being a Christian has become synonymous with having a bom again experience or opposing abortion and Stem cell re search he said american christians focus on Loving Jesus rather than learning what he taught in his research Prothero said he was surprised to learn that the us government pays Little Atten Tion to religion when forming for eign policy that observation got a big laugh March 19 when pro Thero appeared on the daily show with Jon Stewart for example Prothero said us ambassadors to Muslim a Jority countries Are typically Polit ical cronies who Haye no training in islam and there is no policy of having our ambassador to India say know something about hinduism this is a scandal the problem is not hypocrisy says Prothero so much As Igno Rance when i give my students the religious literacy quiz that s in my Book i find catholics who dont know the seven Sacra ments protestants who cant name any of the four gospels and jews who cant name the first Book of their Bible that Doest make them pseudo religious it just makes them believers who dont really know what they Are believing in he said Prothero was raised Episcopa Lian in Osterville mass during College he flirted with Evangeli Cal christianity but he said i had a lot of friends who were atheists agnostics and jews and i finally found the imperative to try to convert them too much to Bear he said today in Happy to be in a position where i have More questions than answers when it comes to my personal Faith in religious literacy Prothero confesses to rather haphazard attendance of lutheran Church in fact in one anecdote from the Book he asked Bis 8yearold daughter to name someone in the Bible besides Jesus she thought a moment and said Tom he decided to give her that one per haps she enjoys a closer relation ship than most with Thomas one of the apostles known for his doubting photos by Mike above rabbi Yaakov Horowitz talks about matzo right Horowitz who oversees matzo production at the Manischewitz factory in Jersey City no watches As uncooked matzo Are moved into an oven matzo is the unleavened bread product eaten by jews around the world during the eight Day passover Holiday passover is serious business for matzo maven by Janet Frankston Lorin the associated press Jersey City n for a poster of grains from around the world the of fice of Yaakov Horowitz at Manischewitz looks like a typical rabbis study heavy books with hebrew script Are stacked on the shelves portraits of other rabbis adorn the Walls and Horowitz Dis shofar or rams Horn that he blows on his company production floor before the jewish High holy Days As chief rabbi at the Kosher food company Manischewitz the world Leader in matzo production Horowitz is the matzo maven Grain used to produce matzo is a big part of his life if s not just the most important Kosher food says the 51yearold Horowitz it is also the most important jewish food and the last link to jewish Heri Tage i feel the responsibility very profoundly he oversees the company annual production of 756 million sheets of matzo the unleavened bread eaten by jews around the world during the eight Day passover Holiday and the Centrepiece of the seder the first seder or passover dinner began monday night As jews commemorate the biblical account of their ancestors libera Tion from slavery in ancient Egypt they eat matzo on passover to remember the Hasty departure which didst leave enough time for bread to Rise the fourth generation hasidic rabbi has travelled around the world to consult about matzo production at factories in Mexico Moscow Kiev England and Israel and is now embarking on a new task designing the first new matzo ovens for Manischewitz in nearly 70 years the company is moving operations to Newark leaving behind its historic ovens in Jersey City where Mas produced matzo was revolutionized Manischewitz Parent company Rab food group of Secaucus no recently acquired other Kosher food companies and is consolidating production of both wet food such As soup and be file fish and dry goods such As cake mixes crackers and matzo the new million oven will improve the company matzo production because daily cleaning during the passover season can be done in less than a Quarter of the time Horowitz said matzo were historically made by hand and sold by synagogues As a source of in come from the 1700s until the latter part of the 19th Century