On October 26 at the Movement Day Global Cities conference, Samuel Harrell of the American Bible Society delivered some startling statistics on the Bible’s current state in America.
In a six-year collaborative study with Barna Group, Harrell found that just 18 percent of American adults occasionally read the Bible. Within that group, only 37 percent of practicing Christians regularly engage with their Bible. Skepticism of biblical text is on the rise, increasing to 22 percent among adults. Generally, belief in the Bible as a sacred, meaningful piece of literature is declining, and millennials are leading the pack for agnostic and atheistic affiliation.
The puzzling thing is, two-thirds of American adults believe the Bible holds all the knowledge you need for a meaningful life and 64 percent believe that the Bible is more influential than any other text. Harrell also found that 62 percent of Americans want to read the Bible more. If the majority finds biblical text to be applicable and valuable, why is biblical illiteracy so common?
A key reason may be a reliance on second-hand explanation. It seems that many Christians would rather be fed biblical truths than feed themselves. If we attend church every week and hear the biblical stories, why seek them on our own? Religious officials are trained to teach us, after all, and they understand the text far better than us.
If that is true, it shouldn't halt anyone from reading on their own. In fact, pastors should be encouraging their congregations to fact-check their sermons for biblical accuracy. You'd be surprised how often the Bible is misquoted or taken out of context in any given sermon. Sometimes the Bible isn't used at all. It's imperative to receive the teacher's message and then explore it for yourself.
Another reason for biblical illiteracy may be a lack of fellowship. I think we can all admit that the Bible is oftentimes confusing. Old Testament, anyone? Most people view the Bible as a personal devotion, and that isn't a bad thing. We can find a lot of interesting stories and lessons on our own. However, without an understanding of context and a view of the overall biblical narrative, the stories and lessons within can be easily misunderstood. As such, it's important to immerse yourself in a community that allows you to individually explore the Bible while utilizing each other's understanding.
Lastly, I think we need to be honest about our views of the Bible. Though we won't admit it, many people secretly (maybe unknowingly) question whether the Bible is going to do anything for them. Why do we read the Bible? Is it to make ourselves better people? To fulfill our obligations as Christians? To learn biblical history? I would argue that the main purpose of reading the Bible is to understand who God is, and how we fit into his story. If we try to read the Bible with misplaced motivations like obligation or guilt, then the statistics delivered by Harrell will only worsen. View the Bible as a cohesive narrative that continues to this day (you can decide whether or not the text is true), and the drive to become biblically literate may improve significantly.
Though religious affiliation in America is generally on the decline, its presence is still very strong. Biblical literacy is suffering, but there's no need to huff and puff if you're well-versed. We need to reevaluate second-hand explanations of the text, our commitment to learning in community, and our motivations behind biblical study.
If you are interested in reading more on the American Bible Society's study, click here.
