08/7/18

Biblical Engagement and Influence, Part 2

When adult Americans were asked what they must have each day, 37% said they needed coffee. That may not be surprising news, but given the survey, “The State of the Bible 2018,” and the options in the multiple-choice question it may be. The four choices given in ranked order were: coffee (37%), something sweet (28%), social media (19%) and the Bible (16%). If the same survey found 70% of adult Americans believe the Bible is the inspired word of God to some degree—but only 16% see it as something they need in their lives on a daily basis—that may explain why so many Americans have difficulties navigating through life with their moral compass.

In Part 1 of this article, we looked at what the “State of the Bible Study 2018” said about topics such as beliefs on the Bible and other sacred texts (the Koran, the Torah and the Book of Mormon), engagement with the Bible, beliefs on whether the Bible is the literal or inspired word of God, and others. Here we will look at what people believed about how the Bible influences their daily life, its impact on thoughts and behaviors, the Bible’s role in U.S. Society, whether the Bible is the moral fabric of our country and belief on the influence of the Bible on social and political issues.

The organization conducting the survey, the Barna Group, sorted its study participants into five segments of Bible Engagement. The percentages of study participants who fit within the five segments are in parentheses. The five segments from the highest to the lowest engagement were: Bible Centered (9%), Bible Engaged (17%), Bible Friendly (15%), Bible Neutral (5%) and Bible Disengaged (54%). See Part 1 for a discussion on how the Barna Group developed their sense of Bible Engagement.

Not surprisingly, as the level of Bible Engagement fell, the importance of the Bible as a necessity in daily life fell as well: Bible Centered (61%), Bible Engaged (43%), Bible Friendly (21%), Bible Neutral (9%) and Bible Disengaged (2%). Bible Centered adults were the only segment where a majority thought the bible was a daily necessity. More than half of all adults wish they used the Bible more (57%). Interestingly, significant majorities of most of the segments of Biblical engagement wished they used the Bible more. “The vast majority of Centered (89%), Engaged (90%), Friendly (83%) and most Neutral (70%) also have an appetite for greater time with the Bible.” Only one in three Disengaged (32%) are interested in spending more time with the Bible. See the following Tables from the study.

Adults who reported using the Bible in the past month were asked a series of questions on what impact, if any, the Bible had on their thoughts and behavior. More than half of monthly Bible users strongly (or very strongly) agreed it influenced their willingness to engage in their faith more (56%), and to show more loving behavior to others (54%). Forty-two percent strongly agreed using the Bible in the past month influenced them to be more generous with their time, energy or finances. Another 28-29% agreed there was some influence on these behaviors as a result of their monthly use of the Bible. See the following graphic from the study.

Adults who used the Bible at least 3-4 times per year say (most or all of the time) they have a sense of connection to God (47% and 31%) and an awareness of how much they need God (57% and 29%). They also report having a curiosity to know God better (48% and 32%). See the following graphic from the study.

Increased levels of Bible Engagement meant there was a greater of awareness among study participants of how much they needed God (ranging from 87% to 8% between the Bible Centered and the Bible Neutrals), of having a connection to God (ranging from 83% to 10% between the Bible Centered and the Bible Neutrals) and having a curiosity to know God (ranging from 86% to 6% between the Bible Centered and the Bible Neutrals).

Intriguingly, individuals with the lowest level of Bible Engagement, the Disengaged, were an exception. Disengaged individuals who read the Bible at least 3-4 times per year were more aware and curious than the next highest Engaged group, the Neutrals. The Disengaged who read the Bible at least 3-4 times per year were aware of their need for God most or all of the time (65%), had a sense of connection to God most or all of the time (62%) and were curious to know God most or all of the time (54%). The Neutrals who read the Bible at least 3-4 times per year were aware of their need for God most or all of the time (50%), had a sense of connection to God most or all of the time (39%) and were curious to know God most or all of the time (31%). See Table 2.2 on page 39 of the “State of the Bible Study 2018” for more information.

The percentage of American adults who believe the Bible has too little influence on society is 41%, which is a drop of 7% from the year before. Additionally, 25% of American adults believe the Bible has too much influence on society, almost double that of 2011 (13%). Biblical Engagement and age are factors influencing belief on the influence of the Bible on society. Boomers (53 to 71) are most likely to believe the Bible has too little influence (49%), while Millenials (19-33) and Gen Xers (34-52) believe the Bible has too much influence (33% and 28% respectively). As expected, when Biblical Engagement decreases, the belief there is too much influence of the Bible on society increases, while the belief there is too little influence of the Bible on society decreases. See the chart below on Biblical influence on society from the study.

When asked to choose whether the Bible or the U.S. Constitution was more important for the moral fabric of the U.S., most adults said the Constitution was more important (56%). Levels of Biblical Engagement directly influenced this choice with 80% of Bible Centered individuals believing the Bible was more important, while 76% of the Disengaged thought the U.S. Constitution was more important. See Table 3.4 from the study.

The majority of Americans don’t believe the Bible has much influence on issues like what they buy or the movies and television they watch, or their views on LGBT issues, abortion or refugees. Again levels of Biblical Engagement reflect clear differences with belief in any Biblical influence on these issues. The following table contains the percentages of Americans who agree or strongly agree that the Bible influenced their views on these issues. The highest (Bible Centered) and lowest (Bible Disengaged) segments of Biblical Engagement were compared.

*The Bible has a lot of influence on …?*
	Centered	Disengaged
What I buy	62%	4%
Movies/TV watched	78%	3%
Views on LBGT issues	81%	8%
Views on abortion	84%	9%
Support for refugees	72%	5%

Part 1 of this article centered primarily on how different levels of Bible Engagement influenced beliefs about the Bible itself, whether it was a sacred text, if it contained everything needed to live a meaningful life, was it inspired, how often people used it. Part 2 looked primarily at how different levels of Bible Engagement influenced daily life, thoughts and behaviors and to what extent the Bible influenced various social and political issues. Clearly, higher levels of Biblical engagement meant greater agreement with the importance of the Bible to all these areas.

There is not always agreement on what the Bible teaches about things such as LBGT issues, abortion, war and others. Yet it unequivocally acts as a moral compass for those individuals who acknowledge its inspiration as the Word of God and seek to apply it to these and other issues in their lives. People with high Biblical Engagement won’t always be in agreement with others on important social or political issues. But at least they are trying to use their moral compass to guide their journey instead of simply doing what seems right in their eyes.

07/17/18

Biblical Engagement and Influence, Part 1

Photo by John-Mark Smith from Pexels CCO license

The American Bible Society commissioned the Barna Group to do a nationwide survey on the extent to which American adults are engaged with the Bible. The study used an enhanced definition of “Biblical Engagement” to demonstrate “how consistent interaction with the Bible shapes people’s choices and transforms their relationship with God, self and others.” The study has some interesting findings, including that 79% of all adults consider the Bible to be sacred literature. However, 17% thought the Torah was a sacred book, 16% thought the Koran was a sacred book and 12% thought the Book of Mormon was a sacred book. And 18% thought that none of these four were sacred books or literature.

The above information is found in Table 3.1 on Sacred Literature in “State of the Bible 2018.” Looking further at the data, you can see while belief that the Bible is a sacred text decreased from 86% in 2011 to 79% in 2018, reported belief in the sacredness of the other three texts, the Koran, Torah and the Book of Mormon increased over the same time period. You can see the pattern of change in the following segment taken from Table 3.1.

The Barna Group used an algorithm to sort study participants into five segments of Bible Engagement. They used fourteen different questions (see page 5 of the State of the Bible 2018) to define the five segments. The fourteen questions fell into three categories with the most influence on the concept of Bible Engagement. Those categories were: “Frequency (how often people interact with the Bible), Centrality (how the Bible shapes their choices), and Impact (how the Bible transforms their relationships).” Those who scored the highest on the engagement scale scored high on the combined factors of Bible Engagement, while those who were disengaged scored lowest. The five categories from the highest to the lowest engagement were: Bible Centered, Bible Engaged, Bible Friendly, Bible Neutral and Bible Disengaged.

Bible Centered individuals made up 9% of the population. The Bible Engaged were 17% of the population, while Bible Friendly individuals were 15% of the population. Bible Neutral individuals were 5% of the population and 54% of adults were Bible Disengaged. But the Disengaged were not necessarily hostile or negative towards the Bible. “The Disengaged are primarily classified by their infrequent interaction with the Bible and its minimal impact on their lives.”

There were notable differences in Bible Engagement according to age. For the “State of the Bible Study 2018,” Millennials: were those 19 to 33; Gen X: those currently 34 to 52; Boomers: those currently 53 to 71; Elders: those 72 or older. Bible Centered individuals were most likely to be Gen Xers (35%) or Boomers (38%). Disengaged individuals tended to be Gen Xers (35%), followed by Boomers (29%) and Millennials (26%). Neutrals were most likely to be Millennials (37%), followed by Gen Xers (30%) and Boomers (26%). See the following chart from the study.

Bible users, meaning they engaged with the Bible on their own outside of a church service at least three or four times a year, made up 48% of the population. This percentage has remained more or less stable since 2011. Fifteen percent of adults use the Bible daily and 13% use it several times a week. Nine percent use it once a week; 6% once a month; and 7% three or four times a year.

Four out of five Bible Centered adults use the Bible daily, while another 18% use it at least weekly. One third (33%) of the Bible Engaged adults use the Bible daily, and another 58% use it at least weekly. Daily Bible use dropped to 10% among Bible Friendly individuals, with 51% who used it once or several times a week. No Neutrals reported daily Bible use and 27% reported using it once or several times a week. Not surprisingly, 77% of the Disengaged use the Bible less than once a year or never. See Table 1.2 from the study for more information.

When it comes to beliefs about the Bible, 42% of adults agree strongly that the Bible contains everything you need to know how to live a meaningful life. “The vast majority of Bible Centered (89%) and Engaged (80%) believe this to be true, while about half of those who are Friendly do (54%).” Then agreement drops for individuals classified as Neutral (31%) and Disengaged (19%). “Strong agreement with this statement is most common among Boomers (47%), compared to 42% of Gen X, 37% of Elders, and 34% of Millennials.” Strongly agreeing that, “the Bible contains everything you need to know how to live a meaningful life,” has dropped from 53% for all adults in 2011. See Table 3.1 below from the study.

Thirty-two percent of Americans believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and has no errors, while some verses are meant to be symbolic. This compares to 22% who believe it is the actual word of God and should be taken literally, word for word. Another 16% believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, but contains factual or historical errors. When you look at how the different segments of Biblical Engagement view the Bible, Bible Centered individuals are almost even with regard to whether they believe the Bible should be taken literally (48%) or has some symbolic verses (47%). “More than one third of the Disengaged believe the Bible is just another book of teachings written by men with stories and advice.” See Table 4.1 below from the study.

Adults who claim that the Bible is just another book of teachings were asked a follow-up question to determine if they are skeptical about the Bible or if they have a more opposing perspective. A plurality of Disengaged adults, who represent 95% of those believe the Bible is just another book of advice, believe either strongly (44%) or somewhat (34%) that the Bible was written to control or manipulate others. Just 22% of Disengaged adults believe it was not written to control others. [See Table 4.2 from the study].

What we’ve reviewed so far suggests while most adult Americans believe the Bible to be sacred literature, the others (the Koran, the Torah and the Book of Mormon) are gaining in their recognition as sacred texts. Individuals who fit within the Bible Centered segment of Biblical Engagement read the Bible more frequently, and are more likely to strongly agree that it contains everything a person needs to live a meaningful life. They also are more likely to say either the Bible is the actual word of God which should be taken literally, word for word; or it is the inspired word of God with no errors but some symbolic verses. Bible Engaged and Bible Friendly persons are less likely to believe the Bible is the actual word of God, which should be taken literally, word for word. But they are equally likely to say it is the inspired word of God with no errors but with some symbolic verses.

In Part 2 we’ll look at what the “State of the Bible Study 2018” said about what people believed about how the Bible influences daily life, its impact on thoughts and behaviors, the Bible’s role in US Society, whether the Bible is the moral fabric of our country and belief on the influence of the Bible of social and political issues.

Faith Seeking Understanding

Charles Sigler, D.Phil.

Tag: Biblical Engagement

Biblical Engagement and Influence, Part 2

Biblical Engagement and Influence, Part 1