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New survey finds sharp decrease of Bible users in the US

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new survey by the American Bible Society found that there has been a sharp decrease in the number of US adults who use the Bible over the last year, the Christian Post (CP) reports. The survey’s findings were recorded in the ABS annual State of the Bible report published on Wednesday.

Conducted in January, the poll surveyed 2,598 US adults, CP said. Bible use was defined as ranging from reading the Bible outside church 3 to 4 times a year to reading it daily. The study found that just 39% of US adults now use the Bible, compared to 53% in 2014.

Especially noteworthy, however, is this year’s sharp decrease from 50% just last year, CP said.

Over the last eight years, the percentage of Bible users remained steady at between 48% and 51%.

The study showed that while ten percent of US adults use the Bible daily, 60 percent read it 3-4 times a year. An additional 4% use the Bible four to six times a week, 7% read it two to three times a week, 5% read the Bible once a week, and 7% read it once a month, CP reports.

The State of the Bible report also found what it describes as a “major decrease in Scripture Engagement” among US adults.

This engagement is defined as “consistent interaction with the Bible that shapes people’s choices and transforms their relationships with God, self, and others.”

The report found that the number of Americans engaged with Scripture declined from an estimated 64 million in 2021 to an estimated 49 million in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of Americans who are disengaged from the Bible went up from an estimated 100 million in 2021 to 145 million this year, CP reports.