Free Republic

Today we have more options for reading the Bible than ever before. While many of us still prefer our leather covers, ribbon markers, and gilded pages, the American Bible Society recently found that 41 percent of Americans read Scripture on the Internet. Twenty-nine percent say they search for Bible verses on their cell phones, and 17 percent say they use their Kindle or iPad. Yet despite all this access, pollster George Gallup has dubbed the United States “a nation of biblical illiterates.” Time magazine says: “Only half of U.S. adults know the title of even one Gospel. Most can’t name...

As research shows the correlation between spiritual maturity and reading the Bible, one organization is addressing the significant lack of biblical literacy within the Christian community, as few Christians take time to make Bible study a daily practice. Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, says his group's findings indicate that church members may be aware of general themes about Christianity, but they lack the biblical literacy necessary to better understand the full story of what God is doing in the world. "We did a study at LifeWay Research and found the number-one correlated factor to spiritual growth and maturity was...

Commenting on the results of the survey, Theos Director Paul Woolley said: "These findings provide us with a good snapshot of our national relationship with Christianity. They show that the Christmas story, in its classic formulation is still very much in our cultural blood stream, as indeed is the Christian story as a whole. "However, when you probe in any depth, you discover that our knowledge and understanding is rather more shaky.” The poll also found that knowledge of the Christmas story varied with age. The youngest people questioned (aged 18-24) knew the least about the story of the birth...