You know what would be an interesting experiment to do in the United States?

[xiphias]

I think it would be very interesting to have a polling firm do the following poll, throughout the United States. Two questions, but the second one would be a bit long:

1. With the caveat that you might be able to see exceptions in some cases, do you, on the whole, come closer to supporting or opposing the display of the Ten Commandments in public, not-overtly-religious buildings such as courthouses, town halls, or schools, and the like?

2. Please name as many of the Ten Commandments as you can.

Question 2 would be scored from 0 to, oh, about 14 or so, with half-points given for partial credit. The reason for going over 10 would be for people who could name multiple versions of commandments, including the "keep" and "remember" distinction in the commandment of the Sabbath, and between the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish versions. Actually, perhaps one would want to score from -1 to 14, to cover people who list things that aren't in the Ten Commandments, such as "Love thy neighbor".

I hypothesize that there would be no correlation between the "support" or "oppose" answer, and how many they could name. And that the average number would be somewhere around 2.

Comments

[ckd]

Well, the Cambridge Public Library building (currently closed for renovation, so I can't go check the exact details) has an inscription that lists "Love thy neighbor" as the 11th. Blame Fred Rindge.

(By "average" do you mean mean, or median?)

[redbird]

Quite. Two is in part a test of verbal memory. I could probably give you most if not all from memory, and I'm thoroughly opposed to displaying the Ten Commandments, the Eightfold Path, or any other religious text on government buildings.

Actually, I'd like to add another pair of questions, or maybe include them in a separate poll: "Do you attend religious services regularly? [If yes] Does the building the services are held in have the Ten Commandments on display?"

[dancing-kiralee.livejournal.com]

What about things like the quote on the front of Cambridge City Hall about (among other things) the connection between the commandments given to men by god, and the process of government...

... in some ways I find that even more of a problem, although it's not specifically a religious text.

Kiralee

[psu-jedi.livejournal.com]

I think your hypothesis would prove to be correct.

I say, if they wanna post the commandmants, they should post all 613! ;-) (Remember...God hates shrimp! ;-)

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

10? Let's see.... Doc, Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful and Dopey...what are the other 3?

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think most people could probably name three -- do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery.

[theletterelle.livejournal.com]

What's the distinction between keep and remember? I mean, besides the fact that they're two different words?

This is like #1 commandment in the Adventist church, so I have the KJ version memorized. :) I noticed at one Protestant church (can't remember which) they had a poster of the 10 commandments up, which had eliminated the fourth, and divided the tenth into two. I find that reprehensible.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

I used to know them all. (Had to memorize them as a child, under pain of pain. Ditto a number of OT verses, the which I have mostly managed to forget.) I could probably still name...9. (Wrote down what I could remember, then checked Google: 9 commandments, and nothing that wasn't a commandment.)

I missed taking the name of the lord in vain. Goddammit. :)

But I have often observed that I know quite a bit more about the Christian Bible than the sort of evangelical asswipe who usually wants to argue with me. It helps when you've actually read it.

[redbird]

I'd also note that I periodically want to grab certain sorts of "Christian" and point out to them that they are commanded not to bear false witness.

[zarq.livejournal.com]

I can see an argument being made that the ten commandments are so important to remember that they need to be displayed -- and that the average person's inability to remember 'em simply proves that point.

I'll never understand the impulse to force one's faith upon other people.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Oppose, and I can certainly do the ten in Catholic version, as well as riff on some of the other forms (though not do them entirely).

I have at least once in my copyediting career had to tell an author that there is more than one version.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Whether I support or oppose the display depends on whether equivalent statements from other faiths are also displayed. Not necessarily all other faiths, as few buildings are large enough, but a representative sample, at least. (Don't ask me what constitutes a representative sample. I haven't had my coffee yet.)

How many can I name? Well, in no order...

Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
Thou shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Thou shall have no other gods before Me.

I can't remember if adultery is seperate from "covet thy neighbor's wife" and if graven images and "name of the Lord in vain" are part of "no other gods", seperate commandments, or elsewhere in the Bible.

If one really wanted to list basic Christian laws, it would be "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind" and "Love thy neighbor as yourself".

[cellio]

It would be an interesting survey. It should definitely count off for wrong answers -- in fact, I would score #2 with two numbers, #correct and #wrong.