The Quiz (A Follow-Up)

My 9/30/10 post to this blog highlighted a survey done by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life regarding basic knowledge of the facts and figures about religion.  New York Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote a follow-up piece to the quiz this month.  His broader intention is shared at the end of the quiz, but he does note that he included extreme and fundamental religions (which were missing from the responses to the original survey) to make the larger point.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/opinion/10kristof.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=nicholas%20kristof%20religion&st=cse

Mr. Kristof is one columnist I regularly follow not only for the quality of his writing but, more importantly, for the work he and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, have reported on pertaining to international human rights, US policy abroad, and environmental issues for years.  They are the first married couple to receive the Pulitzer Prize for International reporting (1990) and have worked consistently to keep a focused awareness on those suffering beyond our borders, especially women.  I often think about the question, "If you could have dinner with three people, who would they be?" and have come to see that I would need a banquet-sized table for the many names that come up.  But, if it had to be a table of journalists, Mr. Kristof would be one. (Maureen Dowd would be there as well.) 

After I bombed the first four questions of the quiz (the test taker in me squirms restlessly), I settled into my frustration and thought about what is it that religion provides for some and repels for others? When couched in a context of love, caring, and humility, I think religion has something for everyone.  But when our human hands touch it so heavily, religion can morph into a weighted, cumbersome thing that can and has separated us.  So is there one answer? Well, not for me.  Is there one love? Always.