While the survey found that Protestants generally read the Bible more than Catholics, John Martignoni, founder of the Bible Christian Society, argued that Catholics know the Scriptures better than they think, especially if they attend Mass on a regular basis. “And all Bible reading is incomplete if it doesn’t lead us to prayer, so that our time with Scripture becomes a dialogue in which we listen to God in the text, then respond to God in prayer and a transformed life,” Binz said. “Whether we have read the whole Bible once or multiple times has little to do with the quality of our encounter with the God’s word.”īinz mentioned several time-honored ways in which readers can deepen their relationship with the Word of God, including lectio divina, a prayerful, meditative reflection on short passages, and Ignatian prayer, in which the reader imaginatively places himself into a particular scene from Scripture. It depends on the quality of that reading based upon the methods of reading given to us through the Church,” Binz said in an interview. “An understanding of Scripture as God’s transforming word does not depend on how much Scripture we have read.
Binz, author of the Threshold Bible Study. Another 12 percent say they have read almost all of the Bible, while 15 percent have read at least half.īut that focus is missing the point, says Stephen J. That includes 11 percent who’ve read the entire Bible once, and 9 percent who’ve read it through multiple times. One in five Americans, the organization found, has read through the Bible at least once. LifeWay surveyed 1,000 Americans about their views of the Bible and found that 10 percent of American haven’t read the Bible at all 13 percent have read a few sentences, and 30 percent have read several passages or stories. The only time most Americans hear from the Bible is when someone else is reading it.” “Even among worship attendees less than half read the Bible daily. “Most Americans don’t know first-hand the overall story of the Bible-because they rarely pick it up,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay. And a third of Americans never pick it up on their own,” according to the Nashville-based polling firm. “Less than a quarter of those who have ever read a Bible have a systematic plan for reading the Christian scriptures each day. Guinness World Records designates it the world’s “best-selling and most widely distributed book,” with estimates of the number of copies printed at more than 5 billion.Įven in this increasingly secular age, the Bible is everywhere, from the arms of church-going folks to the drawer of nightstands in hotels.īut an organization called LifeWay Research says that more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Good Book. LifeWay Research examines reasons Americans aren't picking up The Good Book.
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