Consistent polling shows trust in America continues to fade – in government, institutions, even religion. Yet one new report finds that many still turn to the Bible, even as others question its relevance in modern life.
For more than a decade, the American Bible Society has asked Americans each year about their relationship with scripture – asking who reads it, what they believe, and why it matters. The latest findings reveal a nation deeply divided over faith and trust.
Only 36% of Americans believe the Bible is totally accurate, while 39% say it is not. Nearly 1 in 5 people see the Bible as a tool written to control or manipulate people.
“The majority of Americans don’t ever reach for the Bible at all,” said Dr. John Plake, researcher and Chief Innovation Officer with the American Bible Society. “They’re not what we call Bible users. And what we’ve noticed here is that trust is really built on relationship. And so, when people have a relationship with their family, they trust their family. If they have a broken relationship with their family, trust gets broken with it.”
That link between relationship and trust extends beyond scripture. The report shows that trust in organized religion stands at just 29%, while family remains America’s most trusted institution at 55%. In contrast, media and government rank at just 5% and 6%, respectively.
“I think the state of the Bible in America is hopeful,” said Dr. Plake. “We’ve had times when we were more centered around the Bible than we are today, when there were more Bible users than there are today; maybe more scripture-engaged people than there are today. But there is a curiosity and an interest in the Bible that I’ve not seen in 36 years of full-time ministry.”
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The data also reveals deep generational divides. Older evangelical and black Protestant churchgoers remain the most biblically engaged compared to younger generations. But younger generations are showing renewed interest, with Bible engagement rising 36% among Gen Z and 290% among Millennials in the past year alone.
Dr. Plake notes that reading the Bible correlates with greater well-being.
“So, looking across that continuum, we found that the more Bible-engaged people are, the lower their levels of anxiety, the lower their levels of traumatic stress, the higher their levels of hope, and the higher their levels of human flourishing,” Dr. Plake explained.
And while much has been said about America’s growing number of religious “nones” – now about one-quarter of the U.S. population – the addition of 10 million new Bible users suggests that spiritual curiosity remains alive and well, even in an age of skepticism.
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