Biblical literacy Statistics
Which group reads and better understands The Holy Bible?
What about my claim that well-read Bibles lead to atheism? Surveys conducted by secular as well as Christian-sponsored research groups demonstrate that the majority of Christians are intellectually lazy, having not studied the Holy Bible to any meaningful degree, no doubt relying on the 'feel good' stuff their pastor cherry picks for them. This is confirmed by basic biblical knowledge tests where Christians (including some pastors) score lower than atheists. One would expect that the secular among us would know far less about biblical text than those who sit in church every Sunday.
Not so.
Atheists are more biblically literate than Christians according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Atheists and agnostics, followed by Jews and Mormons, were the highest-scoring groups in a 32-question survey of religious knowledge. Surprisingly, the poorest performers were Protestants and Catholics who scored significantly below atheists.
Christians are biblically illiterate according to data from the Barna Research Group, a Christian-based research and resource company. Barna revealed that fewer than half of Christians can name the four gospels, and many cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus' disciples. 60 percent of Christians can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. "Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate," says George Barna, Evangelical Christian and president of the group.
Other surveys uncover more embarrassing statistics. 82 percent of Christians believe the idiom, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Furthermore, a majority think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one's family. Wrong! (Read my essay 4-WWJD: Jesus on Sex, Marriage & Family.)
It gets worse. Another Barna poll revealed that 12 percent of Christians believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Ouch. Another survey revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. Now that would be hilarious if it were not so ignominious. And, get this, a significant number believe that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham!
Oh my.
Americans believe some crazy stuff. According to Gallup research, 90 percent of Americans believe in the God of the Bible, 72 percent believe in angels with wings while 68% believe in the devil (aka Satan). But there is hope: Religious belief amongst millennials, our future thought leaders and policy makers, is lowest and this group is less likely to join an established religion. But hold on a minute. A whopping 56 percent of millennials believe in haunted houses and they are more likely to join a cult!
Appalling.
Seminaries produce atheists, possibly more than any other single institution, according to studies. When a young person enters seminary, applying logic and reason to biblical text instead of emotion often causes young seminarians to lose faith. Does this support the notion that well-read Bibles lead to atheism?
Maybe.
Christians claim the moral high ground, basing their world view, politics and personal relationships on an ancient book they know very little about, surveys say. These statistics are nothing less than...
Scandalous!
I hope you will find this site helpful in understanding what the Holy Bible actually says about many important topics–and what it does not say. I suggest reading my work-in-progress, the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) series under the Essays tab, starting with the Introduction and moving through each successive essay over time. I am not a biblical scholar nor have I considered the plethora of diverse opinions on the topics I discuss. I can say I try to take the point of view of the average person of average intelligence as if reading the Bible for the first time. Because that is exactly what I am. Feel free to challenge me and point out where I am wrong using evidence. I just ask that you don’t quote the Bible to prove the “truth” of the Bible and I won’t quote The Lord of the Rings to prove the truth of The Lord of the Rings.
Yours Truly,
Bert R.
P.S. Just for fun I invite you to take the biblical knowledge quiz I have posted on this site. Click the tab in the Menu at top.