In today's society, the lack of religious literacy is tremendous. This knowledge of different religions has been something that not many people realize they are ignorant on. There are disadvantages to people being ignorant on basic facts about these religions. These disadvantages can include bullying and stereotyping based on other's' religions. This issue has existed for quite a while now and has not really been improved upon. I personally consider myself lucky being raised in an environment where religions were taught, not only at home, but in school as well. At home my parents taught about their religion, Catholicism. In high school, I took a class on world religions, where quite a bit about the majority of the world's religions was taught. I do not remember everything that was taught in the class, but taking the class left me with basic facts and understandings about most religions, so I consider myself to be religiously literate to a good extent. Having personal experience makes me believe that religious literacy is important for everyone to have. Not only will having a basic understanding of the different religions make one more intelligent, but also more understanding and accepting. It can improve society for the better. In this paper, articles that support religious literacy will be agreed with, and that the knowledge of religions is important for people to have in today's society. This knowledge is important, because it leads people to have more acceptance and tolerance of others, and allows them to understand traditions and arts and literature better. Although some believe religious literacy to be dangerous, it can be beneficial in removing untrue stereotypes and unnecessary bullying. 

Religious illiteracy is a problem that today's society is facing. Although, many do not realize its importance, this knowledge of religions is important for people to have. Predominately, these sources will be speaking about the issues in America when it comes to religious illiteracy, although, this problem is not contained to the United States. 

Religious illiteracy is a problem that many other countries face as well. Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko shows that religious illiteracy spreads all the way to Asia (Abrahms-Kavunenko). Abrahms-Kavunenko discusses the religious illiteracy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This journal speaks about how the Mongolians are religiously illiterate on Buddhism, the main religion in Mongolia. It is a problem when people choose to remain ignorant, because it causes them to lose tradition and culture (Abrahms-Kavunenko 347). This is a fact that Abrahms-Kavunenko discovered when he visited Ulaanbaatar. 

"The Blossoming of Ignorance: Uncertainty, Power and Syncretism Amongst Mongolian Buddhists," not only serves as what is at stake for being illiterate, tradition and culture, but it also serves as an example when you choose to learn more. By being illiterate on Buddhism, Mongolians have branched out to learn more about other religions (347). This has caused them to ultimately become more religiously literate and has benefited their society by making the citizens more intelligent (Abrahms-Kavunenko 348). Another noteworthy finding that Abrahms-Kavunenko had while visiting Ulaanbaatar is that Mongolian were uncertain and not trusting of public figures while they were religiously ignorant (348). This actually caused them to want more knowledge so that they would no longer be ignorant (348). Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is an excellent example for what can happen if people are religiously illiterate or literate and provides reason as to why Americans should be literate on this subject. 

Religious literacy can also lead to acceptance and tolerance of others. While being illiterate on the topic, many people bully and stereotype others, children and adults, based on religion in America's society.  An example of this is saying that all Muslims are terrorists. Some people believe that statement to be true due to the fact that they are ignorant. This fact is not true and is stereotyping all Muslims. In an article written by Warren J. Blumenfeld it is argued that people need to become religiously literate for the sake of others (Blumenfeld). Tatum Hunter agrees with Blumenfeld on this point. Bullying and stereotyping are a direct outcome of illiteracy (Hunter). Bullying and stereotyping are not just something that happens in schools, it occurs everywhere in society. Even grown adults continue to bully each other.  Having a basic knowledge on religion can make our society a better place. It will do this by ending religious bullying and stereotyping, which will make society more accepting of others and tolerant of their religions. This will also increase equality. 

"Paying the Price for Religious Illiteracy," agrees with Blumenfeld in that religious literacy is important today. Haynes uses an excellent example to show why it is important. He states that one man attacked two other men, because he " ... thought [they] were Muslims," (Haynes). There was absolutely no proof that those men were Muslims, much less terrorists. By using this example of bullying, Haynes is attempting to get people to understand that not all Muslims are terrorists, which is something only a person with no knowledge on religions would believe. This is why it is so important for people to have a basic understandings on the different religions, because it " ... can indeed increase tolerance and understanding among people of different faiths and beliefs," (Haynes). One study shows that people support others and their decisions more when they have taken a world religions class, because they have that basic knowledge (Haynes). Once people have basic knowledge on religion, stereotyping and bullying due to ignorance will be nonexistent. People will accept others, even if they are a different religion, and in the very least, other religions will be tolerated, which will improve our society for the better. 

As mentioned previously, religious literacy will bring about the acceptance and tolerance of others. It can also play an important role in public, private, and personal lives of many Americans, Luis Lugo stated in an interview for the Pew Research Center, which is why people should be taught about religions (The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Overview). In "The Problem of Religious Illiteracy" and "Paying the Price for Religious Illiteracy," the authors given reason as to why this is important knowledge to have. Hunter states that America stresses " ... knowledge and critical thinking" (Hunter). If this is true, then religious knowledge should be among the things that Americans should know. In "Harvard Scholar: Religious Ignorance a Big Problem," Becker states that people should be educated due to the fact that it is a " ... public and private power," (Becker). Religion is everywhere in society, so it is important to understand it. Religions can help you understand others, and again this will lead to the acceptance and tolerance of others. And, according to Charles C. Haynes, America has somewhat improved on teaching about religions compared to the past (Haynes). Religion used to never be mentioned in schools, but today there are some high schools that offer classes or units on world religions (Haynes). This is an improvement moving towards Americans having a basic understanding of the world's religion. 

In "Overcoming Religious Illiteracy: A Cultural Studies Approach to the Study of Religion in Secondary Education  --  By Diane L. Moore Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know  --  And Doesn't  --  By Stephen Prothero," by Randle H. Lewis speaks about two authors, Stephen Prothero and Diane L. Moore, who both want religion to be taught in schools. Prothero states, " ... there is a body of 'core religious knowledge' one needs to understand in order to be an 'informed' citizen," (Lewis 552). So, not only does this knowledge bring an end to intolerance, stereotyping, and bullying, but it can make you a more informed citizen, because different religions are part of the American culture (Lewis 552). Although, Moore agrees with Prothero that religion should be taught in schools, her reasoning is that America's religious illiteracy rates are drastic in modern society. Moore wants people to be educated on different religions, because it " ... enhance[s] understandings in literature and history when 'students are exposed to the foundational literature of the world's religious tradition for a nonsectarian perspective,'" (Lewis 554). Both Moore and Prothero are simply stating that religious illiteracy is dangerous, because of the consequences it can have.

Many statistics have been gathered by other authors as evidence to truly show how uneducated Americans are on religions. These statistics show how little Americans know on just basic facts of religions, which can be very alarming. These statistics come from surveys conducted on American's knowledge on this subject. It is shocking how little Americans know, especially considering this country was founded because of religion. One organization, The Pew Research Center, conducted a landscape survey on religions. Luis Lugo was interviewed by the organization and he stated this survey interviewed a vast amount of Americans, so it provides an accurate estimate of the sizes of the religious groups in the United States (The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Overview). Lugo speaks about the main purpose of the survey, one of which was to determine the amount of knowledge Americans have on different world religions. Another main purpose was to inform the public on how illiterate Americans are when it comes to religions (The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Overview). Many authors have spoken about this survey in their articles, and they supply many statistics on America's illiteracy rates. 

In "Basic Religion Test Stumps Many Americans," Laurie Goodstein says that the survey took place over the phone and contained simple and basic multiple choice questions on different religions (Goodstein). There were a total of thirty two questions that were, again, on basic facts (Swanson). Goodstein said, "On average, people who took the survey answered half the questions incorrectly, and many flubbed even questions about their own faith," (Goodstein). If many participants answered questions on their own faith wrong, this must be a sign of how uneducated Americans are. Statistics from the survey even show that atheists and agnostics knew the most on world religions, answering on average 20.9 questions correct out of the thirty two (Goodstein, Swanson). Jews and Mormons were close and answered 20.5 correct (Swanson). The rest of Americans who participated, Evangelical Protestants, Catholics, and other religions, answered much less correct than atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons (Swanson).  Eric Swanson, in "U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey," informs us that "Mormons and evangelicals know most about Christianity; atheists/agnostics and Jews do best on world  religions," (Swanson). Catholics and Christians are shown to have scored the absolute lowest on the survey, even in their own faith (Swanson). Swanson shows that about two-thirds know basic facts about the New Testament, but less than a third know basic facts about other religions (Swanson). The survey also showed that those with the most education on religions, atheists and agnostics, scored the highest on the survey (Swanson). These statistics should show Americans that religious ignorance is truly an issue in America. 

Having knowledge on different religions helps Americans understand culture, traditions, and literature. In a video titled "Stephen Prothero: America's Religious Illiteracy is a Pressing Civic Problem," Prothero is giving a speech on religious illiteracy, which can have an effect not only on one's own culture and tradition, but other's as well. Since religious illiteracy rate have become increasingly high, it is hard for parents to raise their children in the same culture or tradition that they were raised in ("Stephen Prothero"). Many people have had some sort of religious aspect in their life growing up, which contributes to many traditions a family has and also their culture. If a child is religiously ignorant, they cannot understand their culture or their traditions. This causes the culture and traditions to lose any meaning it previously had ("Stephen Prothero"). In addition to a family's personal culture and traditions, having ignorance on other aspects of different religions, such as the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran, can lead to a person not understanding other people's culture and traditions. When you do not understand other's culture and tradition, this can lead to harmful things, such as stereotyping and bullying as previously mentioned. 

In addition to traditions and culture, Prothero states that, " ... religious illiteracy is also a liberal arts problem," because it can be hard for one to be taught about the history of western art if they know nothing about the Bible ("Stephen Prothero"). This includes art from artists such as El Greco, Raphael, Andy Warhol, or Michelangelo, and music from Bach. This liberal arts problem also pertains to authors such as T.S. Elliot, Tony Morison, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, which all used religion either in their writings or to inspire their writings ("Stephen Prothero"). It would be really hard for someone to understand these paintings if they knew nothing of religions, because many of them depict scenes from the Bible. There are also plenty of other paintings that depict scenes from different religions, which someone would not understand as well. The same applies to Bach's music and all of the authors that were inspired by or used religion in their writings. 

Although, it can be seen why people should not be religiously illiterate, there are always going to be those who think it will be more dangerous for people to be literate on the subject. In "The One Reason Religion is Harmful," by Greta Christina, it is argued the people should not know about religion, and that is can only cause more harm than good (Christina). The main argument in this article is that there is no proof that the purposes of religions exist (Christina). Although, I am an atheist, I understand that there is also absolutely no proof that something out there does not exist, which makes Christina's point invalid. Christina then mentions that religions can influence political leaders, which gives them reason to justify for wars (Christina). Yes, there are wars that were caused by religious disputes, but every single war in the history of the world was not caused by religions. There are plenty of wars not caused by religions, especially wars in the last century. Even without religions being a factor, World War I, World War II, the American Civil War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and many others would have still occurred. War exists with or without religions, which, again, makes Christina's point invalid. There is no value at stake, but Christina believes knowledge on religions to be a value Americans should not have, because it only proves to be harmful (Christina). Her only argument for that statement is that there is no proof or religions and that it can cause wars. Both arguments are very weak and have been easily counter-argued. 

It is evident that knowledge on the different world religions is clearly lacking in today's society. It has disadvantages, which include stereotyping, bullying and intolerance, which are all things that can be fixed. Throughout this paper, religious literacy was argued for with many supporting sources. These sources served as evidence, reasoning, and statistics as well. Religious literacy can lead to acceptance, tolerance, and understanding. It can also be applied to things such as literature and art, and culture and tradition, which are all very important in America's society. Although, some believe religious literacy to be dangerous, most arguments are weak and can be proven invalid. In conclusion, religious literacy is important for people to have, not just for their sake, but for the sake of others as well. 

