<p>Does the AP English test require good knowledge of the Bible? D claims it does - that there were questions on a sample test of having to provide a biblical example/allusion. She thinks she is in real trouble since we are not Christian and have only a rough understanding of the Bible. She had to write one essay recently for which she ended up with a poor grade along with a comment that her understanding of the religion was 'poor'.</p>
<p>I hope that was just a random example–never heard of that issue! Don’t know if you’re talking Eng Lang or Lit. Here are examples of the free response (essay) questions from both:</p>
<p>[AP:</a> English Literature](<a href=“AP English Literature and Composition Exam – AP Students”>AP English Literature and Composition Exam – AP Students)
[AP:</a> English Language](<a href=“AP English Language and Composition Exam – AP Students”>AP English Language and Composition Exam – AP Students)</p>
<p>My D took both AP English courses and never ran across a need for Biblical knowledge.</p>
<p>Your daughter’s experience is very odd, indeed. I wonder if you could speak with the teacher?</p>
<p>I agree with zoosermom that the teacher’s comment was odd, and it would be a good idea to speak with her and find out more about the teacher’s concerns. </p>
<p>You don’t need to read the bible for the AP test, but it’s going to help a lot with understanding literature and culture in general. I remember being in an Art History class where the professor talked about the annunciation as a theme in several paintings. I’m Jewish, had very little understanding of Christianity, and was utterly lost 
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<p>I think its possible to be reading it literature…
not in respect to faith…</p>
<p>Do they perhaps cross reference it with Gilgamesch, (who governed the kingdom “Uruk” in Mesopotamia between Euphrates and Tigris around 3000 BC is regarded as a dazzling figure of early history. )</p>
<p>Our student’s AP Lang did include some Old Testament literary references (which are Hebrew text), never an issue of faith…</p>
<p>It’s not uncommon in AP Lit to teach sections of the Bible (we did Genesis in my class), but the test shouldn’t require it, no. The Lit and Lang tests are designed so that you don’t need to have read any particular work to do well on them.</p>
<p>It might help to get a book like “Bible for Dummies” (no offense meant - there really is book like that!). It would give a good overview of the major stories, which will help all through college for literature and art history classes. Western literature and art throughout the last 2000 years have used the Bible as a primary source of inspiration and reference, so it helps to have a general knowledge of the stories. It’s not like you have to believe it to be able to discuss it.</p>
<p>Yes, it is helpful to have an understanding of the bible when you read literature. Many great works have biblical allusions. One that pops into my head is East of Eden. It is in essence the story of Cain and Abel. In the story Beloved we see the “four horsemen” from the Last Day, we know its time for judgement. Many characters are named after people in the bible and their names are supposed to mean something. Why are there so many biblical allusions? Writers prior to the middle of the twentieth century were all pretty heavily instructed in religion–and writers write about what they know. Think about all the modern stories based on Shakespeare, West Side Story for example is just Romeo and Juliet. </p>
<p>So those with a solid foundation in the bible will have a slight advantage in AP Lit. Your daughter can however look up the main stories and become familiar with them as she goes along. There are also many web sites that will explain the biblical allusions in particular novels that can help.</p>
<p>There is the possibility that it could come up on the essays, I seem to recall when I took the test back in the dark ages with an essay one of the questions (and I seem to recall once again there was a choice of questions) asked you to write an essay showing how biblical allusions are common in literature, or biblical themes…but I would be really surprised if you need a good knowledge of the bible for the AP English test, I would be very surprised if you did, for the simple reason that that could generate controversy and claims of bias if it was all that prevalent. </p>
<p>Can I suggest something? Go to the source, and send an inquiry e-mail to the college board? I suspect something like that they would be glad to answer, part of their job is clearing up all the misconceptions that are out there. Teachers are like everyone else, they don’t necessarily know all the answers and they may be under a false impression about what the test has or hasn’t.</p>
<p>It is pretty hard to understand Western literature, culture, philosophy, and history without some basic familiarity with the Old and New Testaments and with Christianity, at least in its Catholic and Lutheran incarnations. I am as secular-humanist as the next guy, and I can’t imagine trying to make sense out of, well, anything in European or American literature prior to maybe a century ago without that. In addition to which the King James translation of the Bible is a towering, overwhelmingly influential work of English literature, independent of its religious content, and Genesis, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Psalms, Song of Songs, Job, the four Gospels, First Corinthians, and Revelations are all enormously important works in the Western tradition whatever you think of their theology.</p>
<p>So . . . I’m sure you don’t have to know them well for any AP test, but read them anyway.</p>
<p>From my experience, it’s much better to know about US history (specifically women’s/African american’s rights) than it is to know about the bible. I can’t recall any essay or question on the AP exam last year that required knowledge of the bible. The only things one needs to know about the bibles are things that almost everybody knows, like who Jesus is.</p>
<p>Without more context regarding the essay in question and your D’s “knowledge” of western civilization art/music/literature, and for that matter eastern civilization etc. it is difficult to draw any conclusions from your post. Perhaps you can provide more context.</p>
<p>My sense is that there are many novels, plays, poems and essays that contain deep references to the culture and faith of the locale and times – be it western, eastern, moslem. Belief in the “religion” of the period is not the issue. What is critical to the understanding of fiction/music/art is background knowledge of the time and the society in which the items were created.</p>
<p>Your D may indeed have a gap in her knowledge of western civilization that she may need to address. In some education systems (such as France, where there is a strict separation between state and church) sections of the bible are required reading in school. In the American system, because of concerns of offending people of different faiths, this is often not the case. That said, it is not that difficult to fill the gap, either as megpmon suggests, or better still to complement the overview with reading from the original source.</p>
<p>DD just had to write a paper on the moral questions raised in Job and Genesis for her freshman honors Humanities class (college). Not being religious, she was reading some “new” literature (for her) and her paper reflected a non-religious take on the implications in the stories. Her professor actually liked that she didn’t have religious preconceptions. </p>
<p>After reading this thread, I asked her about her own AP class/test experience - DD told me she had read Genesis in Brit Lit, which was recommended before taking AP English at her HS. She did not recall seeing any Q’s that required analysis of biblical literature on the AP test last spring. </p>
<p>Her case suggests that although it is not necessary to be intimately familiar with every book of the Bible, a basic literary background in the main stories may be helpful later on.</p>
<p>FWIW</p>
<p>When my student took the Eng AP this past May— the complaint from kiddo was ow kiddo cruising along the exam and hit a weirdo prompt–about contemporarey cult culture/pop culture, which needed references to things like South Park…</p>
<p>I was speaking with the Eng AP teacher and she said stuff like that shows up do to “public school issues”–She is clearly piqued because that stuff is NOT English/academia/literature…She has nothing against publics vs privates - but does take issue with not lit showing up in an academic exam…She takes issue with schools forcing kids who clearly dont beling taking APs to be in those exams to rasie the hs rank (an issue in our city)</p>
<p>Our student was like–“what the heck is this”…
we dont watch that stuff…so our student couldn’t reference SOuth Park/Family Guy - etc</p>
<p>At least the Gilgamesch and the OT lit are read in terms of poetry, prose, lit., cultural references, and such…</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>I asked about Bible knowledge and AP English courses back when son was in HS (more or less atheist household)- at least Jews have the Old Testament reference point compared to Hindu backgrounds. Was told no problem- anything needed would be covered. I would talk to school administration (principal and district superintendent) and complain about the lack of religion knowledge comment. There is no reason anyone should need any knowledge of any religion gained outside of the classroom. I note the MA state- not the Bible Belt so I am surprised the teacher presumed such knowledge (some areas of the country mix a bit of religion with public education)- this teacher needs to learn otherwise. PS- I was raised Catholic and learned Bible stories, but certainly not emphasized, H from India- Hindu background. Catholics don’t emphasize the Bible. The “Dummies” or “Idiots” series also has an excellent review of Hinduism- my mother-in-law learned from it!</p>
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<p>Not a parent but all those AP English practice tests are still fresh in my mind, so I hope I can provide some insight. </p>
<p>In short, the AP exam might require knowledge of the Bible - just depends on the prompt & the work on which your D is writing. When I took an AP practice test for my final grade last year, one of the stories contained multiple Bibical illusions. I didn’t recognize them, nor did I write about them, so I failed that essay. When I asked my teacher about it, she showed me the offiical CB scoring guide… sure enough, “recognizing and explaining” Biblical illusions was necessary to score well. Having said that, even a low score on one essay won’t prevent her from getting a 5, as long as everything else is good.</p>
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<p>Yep. I remember the first book the kids had to read for 9th grade honors English class during the summer–Old Man and the Sea. Christ figure, complete with stigmata…knowledge of religion helped. </p>
<p>If you are not religious, then treat it as Christian mythology and study it as you would Greek mythology.</p>
<p>Your daughter’s experience is very odd, ndeed. I wonder if you could speak with the teacher?</p>
<p>I don’t remember if this was the actual test, or a practice test in the class last year, but there were some very specific biblical references that went totally over my head in one of the essay readings. It was actually pretty frustrating for me, because some of my religious friends were able to draw conclusions that I didn’t have a base for.</p>
<p>That being said, I still did well on the essay because the bible was only one component. So if there is a religious reference there will still be other stuff to draw on.</p>
<p>I don’t know if biblical knowledge is required or not for the AP tests . . . I would hope not! What a disadvantage for not only kids from atheist households, but recent immigrants from countries without a large Christian population, etc.</p>
<p>And it’s not like you can just pick up the cultural allusions by reading through the bible–some parts of it hardly anyone knows/references, while others are more common knowledge. Lots of things/stories in it are symbolic. I wouldn’t know where to start if I wasn’t already familiar with it.</p>