Pop culture trivia crowds out Ten Commandments

Oct 5, 2007 / 08:09 am

A recent survey polled Americans on their knowledge of fast food ingredients, the Brady Bunch, and the Ten Commandments.  Knowledge of the first two was found to be more prevalent than familiarity with the Decalogue. 

The survey was sponsored by the Ten Commandments Commission in conjunction with the theatrical release of Promenade Pictures' animated feature The Ten Commandments.  Among the survey's findings:

-"Thou shalt not kill," was known to fewer than six in ten respondents.
-Less than half (45 %) can recall the commandment to "Honor thy father and mother."
-62 percent know that pickles are an ingredient of a McDonald's(R) Big Mac(R) hamburger.
-Seven of the Ten Commandments are familiar to less than half of the individuals polled, including the more commonly recited, "Honor thy father and thy mother," and "Remember the Sabbath."
-Bobby and Peter, the least-recalled names from the Brady Bunch (43%), were more familiar to respondents than the least-recalled commandments, "Remember the Sabbath" (34 %) and "Do not make any false idols" (29 %), the last being a separate commandment under most Protestant divisions of the Decalogue.

Dr. Ted Baehr, president of the Christian Film and Television Commission, commented on the results.  "We see the negative impact in culture today as people more and more consider these rules only 'Ten Suggestions,'" Dr. Baehr said. "Crime is more rampant than ever, teenage pregnancies are on the rise, dishonesty in business continues to make headlines. We are seeing the results when society disregards these words from God."

The Ten Commandments Commission, Promenade Pictures, and Motive Entertainment encourage participation in "The Ten Commandments Challenge."  Individuals and groups can visit http://www.10commandmentschallenge.org to take the challenge and compare their results with the national average.