The McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum recently conducted a survey showing Americans are more likely to be able to name The Simpsons cartoon characters than identify our First Amendment freedoms ("Study says knowledge of Simpson family tops 1st Amendment," March 14). While the respondents' answers are upsetting, even more so is the fact that the survey instrument itself misstated the provisions of the First Amendment. The First Amendment is usually thought of as consisting of five clauses -- the Establishment Clause; the Free Exercise Clause; the Free Speech and Free Press Clauses; and the Petition Clause.

The survey only makes reference to one "Freedom of Religion" clause, thus either leaving out the Establishment Clause altogether or lumping it together with the Free Exercise Clause. The survey also parses out the "freedom of assembly" from the "freedom to petition for redress of grievances." While it is true that courts dealing with First Amendment issues often refer to freedom of assembly separately, it is generally thought of as part of the Petition Clause. The Freedom Museum conducted its survey to publicize its opening in Chicago. I hope the curators will more accurately describe their own subject matter than they did in this widely disseminated survey.