Washington ? There’s considerable ignorance about the Bible among U.S. teens, judging from a Gallup Poll.

Fewer than half the 1,002 youths polled knew that Jesus turned water into wine at the Cana wedding, and nearly two-thirds couldn’t identify a quote from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount or the relation of the road to Damascus to the Apostle Paul’s conversion. About one-in-10 thought Moses was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles.

The poll, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, accompanied a report issued by the Bible Literacy Project of Fairfax, Va., which interviewed 41 high school English teachers who are regarded as outstanding by their colleagues.

Forty of those teachers said knowledge of the Bible gives students a distinct educational advantage.

In September the nonpartisan Bible Literacy Project plans to release a textbook designed for public school use.