If we are going to be effective in reaching our culture for Christ, it is important to know what the culture thinks about God and about the Bible. For several years the Barna Group has been tracking the way that Americans view the Bible. In a recently published article [link to article], they identified six trends for 2014.
First, the number of people who read the bible regularly (4 times or more per week) and believe that it is the inspired Word of God is the same as the number who believe that it is just another human book full of human ideas. Just three years ago, only 10% of the American population fell in the latter camp. Today 19% place themselves there. Meanwhile the percentage of Bible-reading and Bible-believing people has dropped to 19%. This decreasing confidence in the Bible is seen especially in the younger generations – two-thirds of Bible skeptics are under the age of forty-eight.
The second trend that Barna identified is that most Americans continue to be pro-Bible. Although the percentage has dropped from 86% to 79%, the majority of American adults still believe that the Bible is sacred. Over half of the population still believes that the Bible contains no errors, and most believe that it teaches the virtues (e.g. forgiveness, generosity, and patience) and discourages the vices (e.g. slavery and prostitution). The value that the average American places on the Bible is seen in the average number of Bibles per household: 4.7. Unfortunately only 37% read them at least once a week.
Barna also reports that increasing levels of busyness and the growing number of distractions are responsible for the decline in Bible reading. Work, family, and other responsibilities continue to take up time that used to be spent reading the Bible – or reading anything! Difficult life situations and decreasing levels of faith also contribute to the decline. However, 62% of Americans do wish that they had more time to read the Bible.
Not surprising, a fourth trend is that more and more people are reading the Bible on a screen instead of in print. Among the people who have increased their Bible reading in the past year, 26% attribute the increase to having the Bible on their smartphone or tablet. Other media elements, such as podcasts, streaming church services, and even The Bible miniseries have caused some to start reading their Bibles more. But despite the convenience of having a Bible in your palm whenever you want it, 84% of people still prefer to read the Bible in print.
A fifth trend is that people are increasing coming to the Bible in search of comfort and guidance. While the desire to connect with God remains the most common reason for reading your Bible, more and more people read the Bible because they are interested in finding how the Bible informs the relational, vocational and financial difficulties that they are facing.
A final trend that Barna discovered is that people are less likely to link moral decline with a lack of Bible reading. Most Americans (81%) believe that morality in this country is on the decline, but people are increasingly pointing to movies, music, and the media as the explanation. In fact, only 26% of adults – and only 17% of adults under forty – believe that a lack of Bible reading contributes to a decline in morality.
So, what can we conclude from this research? First, we should not lose hope. The Bible has not lost all of its influence in society. Second, we should be concerned. Bible reading is on the decline. Third, we should be vigilant. We must guard our own practice of reading the Bible so that we can be part of the solution – not part of the problem.