Fewer Americans Say They Read Bible
About six in 10 Americans say they read the Bible at least occasionally, but that number is down considerably over the last two decades, according to a Gallup poll.
The October survey found 59% saying they read the Bible. Surveys in the 1980s found that 73% said they did so. The number of those saying they read the Bible weekly or more often dropped only slightly, from 40% in 1990 to 37% now.
Despite the slide in readership, Gallup reported that 65% of Americans still say the Bible “answers all or most of the basic questions of life.” The number saying so declined as educationlevel rose: 72% of those with a high school education or less said the Bible answers life’s basic questions, compared with 46% of those with postgraduate degrees.
Forty-seven percent of Republicans said they are weekly readers, compared with 32% of Democrats.
The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews of 1,024 adults Oct. 6-9. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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