On Wednesday, the American Bible Society released its annual “State of the Bible” report with startling results. The group found an “unprecedented” drop in the number of Americans who read the Bible, a discovery they called “startling, disheartening, and disruptive.”
The survey consisted of 2,598 U.S. adults who were asked about the frequency in which they read the Bible, as well as other questions about their beliefs.
The group defined “Bible users” as those who read the Bible “at least 3-4 times each year on their own, outside of a church setting” — not an exceptionally high bar.
“First, we noticed an unprecedented drop in the percentage of Bible Users in the United States,” the report revealed. “In every study since 2018, Bible Users have accounted for between 47 and 49 percent of American adults; however, the 2022 data showed a 10-percent decrease from the same time in 2021. That means nearly 26 million Americans reduced or stopped their interaction with Scripture in the past year.”
“Second, our concern deepened when we looked at the Scripture engagement numbers for the United States. One in five Americans left the Scripture Engaged category in the past year (−21% or 14.7 million adults), and two in five left the Movable Middle (−44% or 28.7 million adults). Only the Bible Disengaged category grew, and at an alarming rate, up by 38% (45.2 million adults) in a single year.”
“This year’s numbers show a major shift away from personal Bible reading,” the group lamented, revealing that those who said they “never” read the Bible rose from 29% in 2021 to 40% in 2022.
Robert L. Briggs, the President and CEO of the American Bible Society, speaking of the first report released by the group in 2011, said that he was distraught that “10 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of the Bible.” In contrast, the 2022 report showed that 47% of Americans hold an unfavorable or indifferent view of God’s Word.
Similar to what we read in Romans chapter one, our generation has exchanged “the truth for a lie,” has “professed themselves to be wise,” and has chosen to stop “retain[ing] God in their knowledge.”
The Bible prophetically warned that “the time will come” when the world and many in the church would “turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
This trend is particularly evident among the younger people in society. The “State of the Bible” report found that a whopping 69% of Millenials think disfavorably or indifferently about Scripture’s value in society.
What are faithful Christians to do in response to these alarming statistics? The apostle Paul provides us with keen insight into this question when he instructed his young apprentice Timothy.
1 Timothy 4: 12-16 KJV – “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity… give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine… Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all… for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
In other words, as our culture moves away from the sound truth of God’s Word, Christians have an even greater need to be an example by devoting themselves more wholly to it. Our relationship with God, our love of His Word, and our faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ not only results in our salvation, but as Paul explains, it provokes others to come to repentance and eternal life as well.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST – CLICK HERE
