Religious literacy statistics offer a useful snapshot of how much U.S. adults know about Christianity, the Bible, other major religions, religious geography, and religion’s place in public life. In Pew Research Center’s survey conducted February 4–19, 2019, U.S. adults answered an average of 14.2 out of 32 religious-knowledge questions correctly. The results show both areas of common knowledge and substantial gaps, including among questions directly related to Christian traditions.
Table of contents
- Overall religious knowledge
- Bible literacy and biblical knowledge
- Christian doctrine and traditions
- Knowledge of world religions
- Religious geography and demographics
- Constitutional and civic religious knowledge
- Education and learning correlates
Overall religious knowledge
The Pew Research Center’s U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey measured knowledge with 32 questions. The average U.S. adult answered 14.2 questions correctly during February 4–19, 2019. A minority reached the highest scores: 9% answered at least 25 questions correctly, while less than 1% earned a perfect score.
The lower end of the distribution was also significant. Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults, 24%, answered eight or fewer questions correctly. Overall, 62% answered 16 or fewer questions correctly, meaning that fewer than half of the questions were answered correctly by most adults in the survey. Another 2% answered none of the 32 questions correctly.
Scores varied by respondents’ religious identification. Jewish respondents averaged 18.7 correct answers, and atheist respondents averaged 17.9. Historically Black Protestant respondents averaged 9.7 correct answers. These figures describe survey performance, not the spiritual commitment, sincerity, or value of any religious community.
The survey’s results are best understood as measures of factual familiarity. A score can reflect exposure to religious education, schooling, personal reading, cultural contact, or other forms of learning. It does not measure whether a person agrees with a belief or practices a religion.
Bible literacy and biblical knowledge
Bible-related questions formed one important part of the survey. U.S. adults answered an average of 4.2 of seven Bible-knowledge questions correctly. Evangelical Protestants averaged 5.2 correct answers, while adults who described their religion as “nothing in particular” averaged 3.2.
Recognition of familiar biblical stories was uneven. The following results show how often U.S. adults identified the correct person or place:
| Bible question | Correct answer rate |
|---|---|
| Moses led the Exodus from Egypt | 79% |
| David killed an enemy with a slung stone | 78% |
| Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son in obedience to God | 69% |
| Nazareth was Jesus’ childhood and young-adult home | 56% |
| Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mount | 51% |
| Esther saved Jews from murder | 28% |
The contrast between these figures is notable. Moses and David were identified by roughly four in five adults, while fewer than three in ten correctly named Esther. Knowledge of central Christian texts and stories therefore cannot be represented by a single assumption that biblical familiarity is either widespread or absent; it differs considerably by story and question.
For Christian living, these results suggest that Bible literacy includes more than recognizing the best-known narratives. It also involves remembering less frequently referenced books, people, settings, and themes. The survey does not establish why a particular question was easier or harder, so explanations should not be inferred from these percentages alone.
Christian doctrine and traditions
U.S. adults answered an average of 3.5 of seven questions about elements of Christianity correctly. Evangelical Protestants averaged 4.1 correct answers, while atheists averaged 4.2. As with the broader results, these are knowledge scores and should not be treated as measures of faith or religious identity.
Some widely recognized teachings received high correct-answer rates. Eighty-one percent correctly said that Easter commemorates Jesus’ resurrection, and 79% correctly identified the Trinity as one God in three persons. Other concepts were less familiar:
- About 20% correctly identified Protestantism as the tradition teaching salvation through faith alone.
- 22% correctly identified the prosperity gospel’s teaching about faith, financial success, and good health.
- 54% correctly recognized the Catholic concept of purgatory.
- 23% incorrectly defined purgatory as eternal punishment for evildoers.
- 34% knew that Catholic teaching says Communion bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus.
These findings distinguish broad cultural recognition from knowledge of denominational theology. Easter and the Trinity were familiar to large majorities, while questions involving traditions, doctrinal distinctions, or Catholic teaching produced lower levels of correct identification. A person may know a central Christian observance without knowing how different Christian communities explain salvation, Communion, or purgatory.
That distinction matters when discussing Christian beliefs with neighbors, family members, or people from another church tradition. Religious literacy can support more accurate conversations when it separates a tradition’s teaching from assumptions about what all Christians believe.
Knowledge of world religions
The survey asked six questions about Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. U.S. adults answered an average of 2.5 correctly. Atheists averaged 3.6 correct answers on this group of questions.
Knowledge was strongest on some basic associations. Sixty-two percent correctly identified Mecca as Islam’s holiest city and a pilgrimage destination, and 60% correctly identified Ramadan as an Islamic holy month. Half correctly associated yoga most closely with Hinduism.
More specialized questions produced lower results. Only 15% correctly identified the Vedas as a Hindu text. Eighteen percent correctly identified the “truth of suffering” as one of Buddhism’s four noble truths, while 53% were unsure which statement represented one of Buddhism’s noble truths.
Sikhism was also frequently confused with another tradition. Forty-two percent correctly identified Sikhism from a description involving men publicly wearing turbans and carrying a ceremonial sword or dagger. Eighteen percent incorrectly selected Islam for that description.
Together, these statistics show why religious literacy benefits from precise language. A familiar holiday, city, or practice may be easier to recognize than a tradition’s foundational texts or theological concepts. Cultural similarities and public visibility can also make it important to check assumptions rather than assign a practice or belief to the nearest familiar religion.
Religious geography and demographics
Religious literacy also includes knowing where religious majorities are found and understanding the approximate size of religious populations. On country-level questions, 45% of U.S. adults correctly knew that most people in Thailand are Buddhist. The corresponding figures were 26% for knowing that most people in Indonesia are Muslim and 19% for knowing that most people in Ethiopia are Christian.
Questions about the religious composition of the U.S. adult population also showed uncertainty. Twenty-six percent correctly said Muslims make up less than 5% of U.S. adults, while 16% incorrectly said Muslims make up more than 5%. Fifty-seven percent were unsure of, or did not answer, the question about Muslims’ share of the U.S. adult population.
The pattern was similar for Jewish Americans. Nineteen percent correctly said Jews make up less than 5% of U.S. adults, 25% incorrectly said Jews make up more than 5%, and 56% were unsure of, or did not answer, the question about Jews’ share of the U.S. adult population.
| Geography or demographic question | Correct | Incorrect or unsure detail |
|---|---|---|
| Most people in Thailand are Buddhist | 45% | — |
| Most people in Indonesia are Muslim | 26% | — |
| Most people in Ethiopia are Christian | 19% | — |
| Muslims make up less than 5% of U.S. adults | 26% | 16% said more than 5%; 57% unsure or no answer |
| Jews make up less than 5% of U.S. adults | 19% | 25% said more than 5%; 56% unsure or no answer |
These results are estimates of what respondents knew during the February 4–19, 2019, survey period. They should not be read as current population estimates or as forecasts. Their value here is educational: they show that religious geography and population context are often less familiar than highly visible religious holidays or stories.
Constitutional and civic religious knowledge
Religious literacy also touches civic life. In the same survey, 27% of U.S. adults correctly knew that the U.S. Constitution requires no religious test for federal officeholding.
This question concerns a constitutional rule rather than a doctrine belonging to a particular religion. Including it alongside questions about scripture and religious traditions illustrates the broad scope of religious knowledge: understanding religion in public life can involve legal principles, institutional history, demographic context, and theological vocabulary.
For readers of Christian living guides, the distinction is practical. A person can discuss Christian convictions while also recognizing that civic participation in the United States operates under a constitutional framework that does not require a religious test for federal officeholding. The survey percentage indicates the share who answered this factual question correctly in 2019; it does not measure support for or opposition to the constitutional principle.
Education and learning correlates
The survey found substantial differences associated with formal education and exposure to a class about world religions. Adults with a college degree averaged 18.2 correct answers out of 32, while adults with a postgraduate degree averaged 19.3. Adults with a high school diploma or less averaged 11.0.
Prior study of world religions was also associated with higher average scores. Adults who had taken a high-school or college class about world religions averaged 17.3 correct answers out of 32. Adults who had not taken such a class averaged 12.5.
The share answering more than half of the questions correctly differed as well:
| Learning background | Average correct answers | More than half correct |
|---|---|---|
| Took a high-school or college world-religions class | 17.3 of 32 | 57% |
| Did not take a world-religions class | 12.5 of 32 | 28% |
These are correlations in survey results, not proof that a particular class caused a particular score. Still, the gap is consistent with the value of structured learning. Religious literacy can be developed through careful Bible study, introductions to Christian traditions, responsible learning about other religions, and attention to constitutional and demographic context.
The results also suggest a useful goal for Christian education: combine internal knowledge of Christian scripture and doctrine with accurate knowledge about neighbors who belong to other traditions or to no religion. The survey’s 2019 measurements show where U.S. adults were more likely to recognize familiar facts and where additional learning could make religious conversations more informed.