More than half of all adults wish they read the Bible more often (58%). But nearly one-third of adults say they never read, listen to or pray with the Bible (32%), a five-percentage point increase over 2016. This proportion has remained relatively consistent since 2011.
Half of Americans are “Bible users”-that is, they engage with the Bible by reading, listening to or praying with the Bible on their own at least three to four times a year (50%). Half of Americans Read, Listen to or Pray with the Bible In fact, more than three-quarters of Skeptics (78%) are hostile toward the Bible and believe it “was written to control or manipulate other people.” This year, Barna asked a follow-up question to see if Skeptics hold hostile views toward the Bible-and they did. They do not hold a very high view of scripture, believing it to be just another book of teachings written by men that contain stories and advice. Most Skeptics are Hostile Toward the BibleĪs we’ve seen, the Skeptic segment accounts for one in five American adults (19%). African-Americans (95%) are significantly more likely than Whites (87%) and Hispanics (88%) to own a Bible. Millennials (82%) and Gen-Xers (86%) continue to be the generations least likely to live in a home with a Bible compared to Boomers (90%) and Elders (93%). Ownership of a Bible is universal among Bible Engaged and nearly so among those who are Bible Friendly (93%) compared to Bible Neutrals, at 86%. The vast majority of households own at least one Bible (87%), a proportion that has stayed relatively consistent since 2011.Even the majority (62%) of Hostile and Skeptic (67%) households owns a Bible. Since 2011, the use of basically every other Bible format has increased. More than half of users now search for Bible content on the internet (55%) or smart phone (53%), and another 43 percent use a Bible app on their phones. Use of technology-related formats are all on the rise. Though most Bible users (91%) still prefer to use a print version of the Bible when engaging with scripture, an equal number (92%) report using another Bible format than print in the past year. The way Americans engage with the Bible is changing. The opposite is true for Neutrals (48% compared to 52%) and Skeptics (41% compared to 59%), which are both dominated by men.īible Users Prefer Print, but Increasingly Use Other Formats For example, they are more likely to be Friendly (60% compared to 40%) and Engaged (53% compared to 47%) relative to men. In general, women are more actively engaged with the Bible than men. Women Are More Likely to Be Bible Friendly and Engaged Similarly, Elders grow from only 5 percent among Skeptics to 12 percent among Engaged. Millennials drop from 32 percent among Skeptics to 17 percent among Engaged. The average age among Skeptics is 43, which increases to 45 for Neutral, 47 for Friendly and 53 for Engaged. That is, the average age increases with each Bible engagement segment, from Skeptic to Engaged.
The older you get the more likely you are to be engaged with the Bible. After a significant drop from 2011 to 2012, the Friendly segment has also remained steady in the high thirties, and still represents the largest segment of the American population.Īverage Age Increases as Engagement Increases Levels of the Neutral segment have remained somewhat steady since 2011 hovering around the low- to mid-twenties. Levels of Bible engagement appear to be stabilizing after the brief dip in the Engaged segment since 2013 and the steady increase in Skeptics in recent years. These and other snapshots are included in our list of top 10 findings from this year’s State of the Bible report. The results show that Americans overwhelmingly believe the Bible is a source of hope and a force for good even as they express growing concern for our nation’s morals. Barna conducted the annual State of the Bible survey, commissioned by American Bible Society, to examine behaviors and beliefs about the Bible among U.S. Many Americans are searching for beacons of hope and moral grounding amidst uncertainty and perceived moral decline.
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