Americans don't know much about the Bible - but is that a good thing, or a bad thing? On the one hand, one could argue that it is good because is shows that people are moving away from traditional religions. On the other hand, one could argue that it is bad because people attribute the most ridiculous things to the Bible and Christianity because they are too ignorant to know any better.

Albert Mohler writes for Crosswalk:

According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one's family. ... A Barna poll indicated that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.

I find that first statistic really interesting - and I was just thinking about it the other day, ironically. The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" expresses a very American conception of individualism and self-help. The fact that most people think that it really does appear in the Bible might help explain why so many people confuse American values with Christian values. This is an important aspect of the Christian Nationalism phenomenon, Christians who cannot distinguish between the basic ideals of America and those of Christianity, thus leading them to assume that all True Patriotic Americans are also necessarily True Christians.

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• Fundamentalism
• Religious Right
• Christian Nationalism