Most churchgoers place a high value on the Bible, but only a couple of third commit to reading it day-after-day.
The Lifeway Research State of Discipleship study found Bible engagement to be one amongst eight signposts measuring distinct characteristics for believers progressing of their spiritual maturity. On a scale of 0 to 100, the typical churchgoer scores 69.8 on Bible engagement, placing it fifth among the many signposts.
Among U.S. Protestant churchgoers, most say they read Scripture recurrently, but just 31% say Bible reading is a each day habit.
“Protestant churchgoers overall report they’re engaging the Bible, but on any specific query as many as 1 in 5 say they aren’t following Jesus Christ in that way,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “This reflects an overall pattern in assessments of churchgoers where the direction is commonly good but removed from the usual seen in Scripture.”
Bible reading levels
According to the State of Discipleship study, around 3 in 5 Americans who attend religious services no less than once a month (61%) recurrently read the Bible, including 31% who read day-after-day and 30% who accomplish that just a few times every week. Some engage once every week (14%) or just a few times a month (11%). Few say they read Scripture just once a month (5%), while 1 in 10 (9%) accomplish that rarely or never.
Reading frequencies have remained mostly regular since 2019, when Lifeway Research found 59% were regular Bible readers. Personal Bible engagement has increased, nonetheless, since previous studies. In 2012, 46% recurrently read the Bible, including 19% who did so day-after-day. Five years earlier, in 2007, only 36% of churchgoers were regular Bible readers, with just 16% who read each day.
“The portion of churchgoers reading the Bible just a few times every week or more on their very own has leveled off recently after rising dramatically since 2007, however the churchgoer population was also changing during this era,” said McConnell,
“A lower percentage of Americans attend a Protestant church once a month today than when this series of studies began. Clearly, the remnant of Americans attending church every month are more willing to recurrently read the Bible on their very own than when churches were more populated.”
A recent Lifeway Research study found 9 in 10 Americans have read no less than a few of the Bible, but just 22% have finished the book no less than once. Churchgoers were more likely than others to have read larger percentages of the Bible. Even amongst those that attend church services greater than once every week, around 3 in 5 (59%) say they’ve read the complete Bible no less than once.
While the State of Discipleship found Bible engagement to be a positive factor for adults’ spiritual growth, previous Lifeway Research studies have shown the importance of Bible reading for the subsequent generation. The biggest predictor of whether a toddler becomes a faithful believer as a young adult is whether or not or not they recurrently read the Bible growing up.
Additionally, while 66% of churchgoing teenagers stop attending after they change into young adults, those that spend time recurrently reading the Bible are 1.23 times less likely to drop out in comparison with those that don’t spend personal time in Scripture.
Skipping Scripture
When U.S. Protestant churchgoers miss time of their Bible, many say it has a negative impact, but not everyone feels the absence in the identical way.
Three in 5 (62%) say they desperately miss the time with God in the event that they go several days without reading the Bible, while 21% are unsure and 17% disagree. Similarly, 3 in 5 (58%) say they find themselves unfulfilled in the event that they go several days without reading their Bible, while 21% aren’t sure and 21% disagree.
Yet even amongst those that say they notice after they aren’t engaged with the Bible, that sentiment isn’t at all times strong. Three in 10 (30%) strongly agree they desperately miss personal time with God after they go several days without reading the Bible, and 26% strongly agree they find themselves unfulfilled in that situation.
“Most of those engaging the Bible recurrently are doing so because they enjoy what the practice brings to their lives,” said McConnell. “Movement toward more Bible engagement requires intentionality, but movement away from this devotion can start out as a slow drift. However, a moment of reflection amongst those that have experienced the worth of engaging the Bible reminds them of what they’re missing.”
Compared to 2019, churchgoers have similar overall attitudes. Seven years ago, almost 3 in 5 (58%) said they desperately missed the time with God after they went several days without reading the Bible, while 22% weren’t sure and 20% disagreed. At that point, nonetheless, 33% strongly agreed and 25% somewhat agreed.
Attitudes toward the Bible
As expected, U.S. Protestant churchgoers hold Scripture in high regard, but not at all times in the best regard.
Around 3 in 4 (74%) say the Bible has authority over every area of their lives, with 15% unsure and 11% disagreeing. However, only 40% strongly agree, leaving 3 in 5 with no less than some doubts in regards to the authority of Scripture.
Similarly, greater than 7 in 10 (72%) find themselves fascinated by biblical truths throughout the day, while 19% aren’t sure and 10% disagree. Yet just 31% strongly agree that’s recurrently the case for them. Those percentages are just like 2019, when 69% agreed, 20% weren’t sure and 12% disagreed.
“The Bible can’t have full authority in someone’s life in the event that they don’t know what it says or aren’t considering what it says in regards to the specific things they’re facing in life,” said McConnell. “The Bible makes the appeal, ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order that it’s possible you’ll discern what’s the great, pleasing, and ideal will of God’ (Romans 12:2b, CSB).”
For more information, view the complete report.
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