Ignorance is...

[andrewducker]

Apparently only 22% of people know that Easter is about Jesus.

At least, that's what the article says. If you look at the actual questions that got that result, it's clear that only 22% of the population _care_ about Jesus and his relationship with The Easter Bunny.

[Poll #1371630]

Comments

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit hazy on the whole good/bad thing in this instance.

I think the level of ignorance of the pre-Christian origins of Easter as a festival is probably a bad thing though.

[kashandara.livejournal.com]

What percentage of the rest recognise it as a spring festival appropriated by Christianity?

Ooh you and your absolutes!

[lizzie-and-ari.livejournal.com]

Of course lack of caring about Christianity cannot possibly be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. But I know you know that

If by ‘lack of caring’ in this sense you mean that people don’t care that the Easter Bank Holiday weekend is due to a religious festival, my concern is that if it’s shown that people don’t care then they might abolish the holiday.

If you’re going to abolish religious bank holidays of course then they should be replaced – my mother, for example, objected to working on Maunday Thursday (the day before Good Friday) as she is a Catholic and it is a religious holiday. I’m not a Catholic, I don’t care about me having the day off. I do care that she was denied it. So perhaps a system where a people can nominate their own religious bank holidays – I’d love a day off at the Spring Equinox (which I in fact get at Easter, it originally way back when being basically the same thign and all) and at Beltane and Samhuinn (which I have to book off as holiday). The difference would be that you nominate these holidays and you have a right to take them regardless of work pressures (as opposed to holiday which needs to be approved). This could work at individual level or corporate – a bank could nominate itself as Zoroastrian for example, and be legally closed every 7th Wednesday (or whatever their holidays happen to be)

Theoretically? Yes. Practically? Head spinnage.

If people stop caring at all we are in danger of losign all bank holidays – which means no time off at Christmas. Personally I think the winter solstice celebration is fundamentally important to society, and this would be a bad thing.

If by ‘lack of caring about Christianity’ you mean a loss of respect for people’s religion, then ‘bad’

If by ‘lack of caring about Christianity’ you mean at managerial and governmental levels whereby we become in a wholly secular society, then ‘good’ (although see above where this has to be done carefully with respect to people’s genuine faith and to the religious underpinnings (allbethey only nominally religious) of western society.

I abstained from that question but overall I’d say any lack of caring is a bad thing. People don’t care enough. People shouldn’t stop caring. There should just be equality of care.

Lxxx

[ladysisyphus.livejournal.com]

Wait, what do you mean by 'it' in, if 'it' were true?

Gasp, shock, the hyper-commercialized version of a religious holiday has overwritten the religious connotations of that holiday in the public mind, amazement and terror, never before in human history has such a thing happened. Next everyone will be crying about how those kids today don't even remember who St. Valentine was.

If they'd walked into an actual church of praying Christians and gotten that response, I might be concerned, like I'd be concerned if they'd walked into a mosque and gotten a bunch of blank stares if they'd asked, so, what's Ramadan? But asking people outside a religious community about the specific meaning of a holiday inside the tradition, especially when there's a secular analogue to the holiday you quite nearly can't escape, and then clutching pearls and groping for the nearest fainting couch when people prefer chocolate to zombie_Jesus? Please. Save your fake outrage, you terribly persecuted majority.

I mean, at least around Christmas, you put up manger scenes and 'Jesus is the reason for the season' tags. You don't really see happy plastic crucifixion tableaus on every street corner come Easter. (But maybe you should!)

[pigeonhed.livejournal.com]

There's a difference between not 'believing' in the Easter miracle and not 'caring' about it. Regardless of the former I would say that a lack of 'care' is a bad sign. Many people do believe, and whether you agree or not, not caring about other people's views is surely always a bad thing?

[supergee.livejournal.com]

Here is the answer.

[cybik.livejournal.com]

My views boil down to this:

Knowing history is good. Knowing religious (and therefore large parts of cultural) history is good. Being religious is bad. Respecting people based on what they do and who they are is good. Respecting religion is bad. Respecting someone who believes in fairy stories and nonsense more because they believe in said nonsense is bad.

[zz]

irrelevant.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

Ignorance is bad, not caring about a religion that has a lot of power in several key developing areas in the world is, I feel, misguided and insular.

Bunnies!!! Yay!!!

[luckylove.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't care. I care enough to comment but not enough to answer the poll.