Poll: Americans love the Bible but don’t read it much

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(RNS) More than half of Americans think the Bible has too little influence on a culture they see in moral decline, yet only one in five Americans read the Bible on a regular basis, according to a new survey.

More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) think the nation’s morality is headed downhill, according to a new survey from American Bible Society.

The survey showed the Bible is still firmly rooted in American soil: 88 percent of respondents said they own a Bible, 80 percent think the Bible is sacred, 61 percent wish they read the Bible more, and the average household has 4.4 Bibles.

The Bible rests on a stand at the back of St. Therese Little Flower parish in Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday, May 20, 2012. RNS photo by Sally Morrow

The Bible rests on a stand at the back of St. Therese Little Flower parish in Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday, May 20, 2012. RNS photo by Sally Morrow

This image available for Web and print publication. For questions, contact Sally Morrow.

If the Bible is so commonplace in America, wouldn’t its moral teachings counteract the downward trend? Almost a third of respondents said moral decline was a result of people not reading the Bible, while 29 percent cited the “negative influence of America” and one in four cited corporate corruption.

Doug Birdsall, president of American Bible Society, said he sees a reason for why the Bible isn’t connecting with people.

“I see the problem as analogous to obesity in America. We have an awful lot of people who realize they’re overweight, but they don’t follow a diet,” Birdsall said. “People realize the Bible has values that would help us in our spiritual health, but they just don’t read it.”

If they do read it, the majority (57 percent) only read their Bibles four times a year or less. Only 26 percent of Americans said they read their Bible on a regular basis (four or more times a week).

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,” said the Bible can come across as intimidating to the uninitiated. “There’s a tendency to think that if you read the Bible, you have to read it from start to finish. But when people do read the Bible, they don’t know where to begin,” Martin said.

Younger people also seem to be moving away from the Bible. A majority (57 percent) of those ages 18-28 read their Bibles less than three times a year, if at all.

The Barna Group conducted “The State of the Bible 2013” study for American Bible Society, using 1,005 telephone interviews and 1,078 online surveys with a margin of error for the combined data of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

18 Comments

  1. Gene

    Math is off Caleb…

    “only one in five Americans read the Bible on a regular basis”

    “26 percent of Americans said they read their Bible on a regular basis (four or more times a week)”

    1 in 5 does not equal 26%

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    • JustMe

      It’s not a math error on their part, but a misunderstanding of what the math means on your part.

      The “one in five” is out of all the people surveyed, while the “26 percent” is out of those who “do read it.” In other words, the “26%” actually means 26% of the roughly 20%, which would actually amount to around 5% of those surveyed.

      Similarly, the same paragraph refers to another group that is “57% percent” out of those who “do read it,” which means that the “57%” referred to there is actually only about 11% of those surveyed.

      The math is rather simple and straightforward.

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  5. Rockgod28

    1 in 5 should be 20%, not 26% which is 1 in 4.

    Math!

    It is as important as reading the Bible.

    The Bible is a complex and thousands of years of condensed information. Most do not understand what it is:

    Is it a history book? Is it spiritual? Is it literal? Is it symbolism? Is it a guide? Is it “the Law”? Is it Faith? What is it? Most tell you it is all the above. Embarking on a weekly or daily study of the Bible is a serious commitment. There are study groups all over the country, seminaries and churches based on the Bible.

    400 years ago great sacrifices were made to translate the bible into English and native languages, even to death. Today this important book is just another book to be on the shelf like a dictionary or encyclopedia, but those get used more. The Bible is now electronic media which can be read, studied and followed today. It isn’t.

    Why?

    The Bible informs the world of a reality most would rather ignore. The words of warning are there in its pages that the moral decline was predicted thousands of years ago. It is willful ignorance with a majority of Americans owning a Bible in print or can easily access it on the internet or electronic media.

    The Bible gives us a mirror to reflect back who we really are. Who is going to look in a mirror if they are not going to clean themselves up? The Bible describes our day, now, as dirty, wicked, full of evil, wars, greed, and impure. It offers instructions how to correct the moral decline from the inside out.

    It is easier to just put the mirror on the shelf out of sight.

    It is pretty to look at, it makes you appear spiritual and as functional as wearing a cross necklace.

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  6. Doug

    “Americans love the Bible but don’t read it much”
    Maybe we have here a failure to define terms. I love ice cream- and eat it every chance I get!
    :-)

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  13. Ray Suryadinata

    Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ. (St. Jerome)

    To learn how the Lord Jesus can guide you into good morality, you need to learn to open the Holy Bible. One of the best places to start is the Gospel of Matthew chapter 22 verses 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37* And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39* And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

    And then go to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 verses 3* “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4* “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5* “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6* “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8* “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10* “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

    May the Lord be with you all.

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