Faithbook!

We live in a country in which many are deeply religious, yet so few actually know about religion. According to a recent survey, not only do Americans know very little about people of other faiths and what they believe, they also know precious little about their own religions!

Fifty-three percent of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the man who started the Protestant Reformation.

Forty-five percent of Catholics did not know that their church teaches that the consecrated bread and wine in holy communion are not merely symbols, but actually become the body and blood of Christ.

Forty-three percent of Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the foremost rabbinical authorities and philosophers, was Jewish.


That's why I am glad for this new project, called Faithbook:
PBS (the Public Broadcast System, a TV station that is supported by donations (rather than advertising), for those readers outside the US) is hosting a new feature on their website, called Faithbook. Subtitled "God in America" it certainly is full of assumptions, but I will assume good intent.

The project is documenting how Americans actually feel about religion and spirituality in their own words, and you can browse what others believe, too. They ask a series of guided questions and people create their own profiles to answer them, so we get to see the diverse mosaic that is US culture. I have started my Faithbook page, and am answering the questions slowly.

I encourage all of you out there reading this to create a Faithbook page and answer the questions. If not for anyone else, certainly for yourself!