And yet, for a word that seems to weigh so much, it’s surprising how often it’s thrown around in conversation. In a world filled with questions, many of us turn to organized religion for the answers, with the hope that they will resolve our existential qualms about where we came from, what we’re doing here and what our purpose is.

But what does it say about us when we ascribe to one religion without understanding the rest? And what does it mean when we claim to have religious conviction in something that we really don’t know much about?

It’s these questions that I know religion cannot answer. According to a Pew Research study conducted this past month, “America is among the most religious of the world’s developed nations, but a survey of religious knowledge shows that most are uninformed about faith traditions—including their own. Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups.”

What does this mean? It means that people are talking the talk, but by no means are they walking the walk. So many Americans identify themselves with a religious institution, and yet the reality of it is that the majority does not know the first thing about their faith.

To truly practice what you preach is a challenge for anyone, but results from this recent study reveal that Americans may struggle to preach at all. On average, those tested correctly answer only 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. That is a solid, shameful 50 percent. Atheists and agnostics, curiously enough, average 20.9 correct answers. Jews and Mormons do about just as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively.

Dave Silverman is the president of American Atheists, an advocacy group for those who do not believe in God, and he told the New York Times that he has “heard many times that atheists know more about religion than religious people.” His theory is that “atheism is an effect of that knowledge, not a lack of knowledge.”

In other words—the more you know, the more difficult it is to believe. This is why ignorance brings on such a state of bliss for so many people, who take comfort in following a religion blindly.

According to Greg Smith, a senior researcher and a main contributor to the survey, “the number one predictor [of how well an individual performs on it] without question is simply educational attainment.” The number of years of schooling someone has under their belt is directly correlated to how much they know about religion, based on findings from the study. The survey also asked a handful of general knowledge questions to gauge this and sure enough, very few people who did well on them did poorly when it came to religion-related questions.

The Pew study confirms my worst suspicions about Americans in modern day society. I have always been acquainted with people of all different denominations who label themselves “religious” even though there is reason to believe their commitment leaves something to be desired.

You know those people. They are your neighbors, your classmates, your family friends. For me, it’s the kids who have gone to Sunday school with their parents and siblings for as long as they can remember. We all know those people, and a lot of us may even be those people. Ask yourself. Are you one of them? Has your religious experience been something that you naturally and blindly fell into at birth? If so, I urge you to take this opportunity to question your faith and your knowledge of world religion. Take the Pew quiz and compare yourself to the average American. Discover how knowledgeable you really are and evaluate what this means about your spiritual commitment.

I consider myself agnostic, largely because I am a firm believer in doing things wholeheartedly. I am honest with myself and recognize that I simply do not know enough about any one religion to feel comfortable with being called a devout follower. And yet, this study baffles me because it indicates that many people are.

Because religion is intensely personal and often dictates how people choose to live their lives, I don’t feel it is something that should be inherited. Rather, faith by nature should be a conscious decision that allows us to explore our options and actively participate. The complacency and lack of knowledge that Americans have today about religion make me wonder what purpose it really serves us. If so many of the people who purportedly see themselves as pious know so little, why is it there in the first place? I would argue that too many of us use it as a safety net. We ride in the vehicle that is religion, but we sit in the back seat, passive and essentially submissive to the whole experience.

The way I see it, if you’re not going to put the effort into knowing your religion and genuinely believing it, then why bother with it at all? Ignorance may be bliss for some, but for me I’m not so sure. Lying to myself about what I know and believe is like a personal living hell, even if it does somehow guarantee me heaven after death.

Reach Reporter Jenna Kovalsky here.