That's not the impression I've managed to get from friends outside of the US.
You know, it had never occurred to me that it would be otherwise, just because it seems to make so much sense. This is an aggregate impression from places I've lived, but other than Canada, they were officially Christian. It just seems ... incomplete preparation to ignore something like that. There are things about the electorate that
aren't
religion (like class, culture, etc) that one will want to be up on too.
If it wasn't an unwritten prerequisite, people wouldn't be pretending to have the knowledge.
Isn't that trusting the judgment of the people pretending the knowledge? They could be wrong in that assumption.
How much Bible knowledge have recent presidential hopefuls a) displayed b) been asked to display?
Yeah, I don't think W's ever displayed a lot of Biblical knowledge. Has he pretended to? I may just have missed it on account of the purposefully not paying attention to anything political until a date to be determined.
How much Bible knowledge have recent presidential hopefuls a) displayed b) been asked to display?
I don't think all that much as long as they don't start quoting scripture or saying that the Bible says this or that.
I'd say they generally have to avow faith more than knowledge. Which is less defensible, IMO.
Is it expected in other countries with a large nominally Christian population?
Not in most countries. But 1 in 3 Americans attend church every Sunday; less than 1 in 10 do in the UK, and I think it's something like 1 in 20 in Germany. Christmas-and-Easter, I believe it's a majority of Americans. One could surmise that a majority of Americans have some very basic knowledge of the Bible. One could surmise that a majority of Brtis and Germans don't.
Isn't a nominal knowledge of the Koran expected in countries with large nominally Muslim populations? Do you think a candidate for political office in Lebanon could get away with saying anything dumb about the Koran?
Isn't a nominal knowledge of Seattle history and culture expected in this town if you're running for mayor? I mean, shouldn't the mayor be expected to pick out J. P. Patches from a police lineup?
If it wasn't an unwritten prerequisite, people wouldn't be pretending to have the knowledge.
The motto of my resume.
I don't think W's ever displayed a lot of Biblical knowledge. Has he pretended to?
He's pretended to be on Jesus' speed-dial, but that's not quite the same thing.
I think the prereq for political office isn't Bible-knowledge persay, but god-fearing-ness. My impression is that the fact that we're not an officially Christian nation scares the shit out of a large portion of the voting population.
One could surmise that a majority of Brtis and Germans don't.
One could, but it doesn't match with my experience. I've found WAY more random Americans not know things *I*, a heathen non-believer, thought was common knowledge. In Jamaica, they'll happily chant text at you, and in the UK -- well, they can teach the Bible in the UK without fear of repercussion. Religious Studies wasn't a rare class among the people I knew.
t meep
I just started the application process for my Masters.
