Most Americans still knowledgeable about basics of Christianity

Most Americans are still familiar with some of the basics of Christianity and the Bible, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that quizzed nearly 11,000 U.S. adults on a variety of religious topics.

The survey asked 32 fact-based, multiple-choice questions about topics related to religion. It is similar to a poll commissioned by The Iona Institute in 2007 which examined levels of basic knowledge among Irish people about Christianity and Catholicism.

Some of the questions were meant to be relatively easy, to establish a baseline indication of what nearly all Americans know about religion. Others were intended to be difficult, to differentiate those who are most knowledgeable about religious topics from everyone else.

Overall, eight-in-ten U.S. adults correctly answer that in the Christian tradition, Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus – rather than the Crucifixion, the Ascension to heaven or the Last Supper. A similar share know that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that there is one God in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Eight-in-ten Americans correctly identify Moses as the biblical figure who led the Exodus from Egypt, and David as the one who killed Goliath by slinging a stone, while seven-in-ten know that Abraham is the biblical figure who exhibited a willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God.