According to the American Bible Society's 11th Annual State of the Bible Report, more Americans are turning to the Bible than they have in prior years, and they are reading it more often.

Approximately one in every four persons in the United States has a more regular Bible reading habit than they did a year ago, according to a news release sent to PR Newswire.

"Our research shows that in the midst of incredible pressure, Americans are finding hope and resilience in the Bible," says John Farquhar Plake, PhD and director of ministry intelligence for American Bible Society.

"This marks the fourth straight year in a trend of Americans moving toward the Bible, with COVID-19 encouraging many of us to look to faith for answers. There's an astounding opportunity right now for the Church to answer our nation's pervasive trauma and pain with the hope and healing of God's Word," he added.

The results were derived from a poll of 3,354 online interviews with American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in January 2021, plus 91 additional answers from Gen Zers.

Key Findings

As part of its collaboration with the American Bible Society, Barna highlighted the following notable key findings in light of the ABS's latest report on Americans' Bible usage:

With a 5% increase since last year, more than half of Americans feel that the country would have experienced worse without the Bible while one in three American adults (33%) think America would be the same whether there is a Bible in the nation. Approximately seven out of ten Americans believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, with half of those believing it is error-free.

181 million Americans reportedly opened a Bible, which is much higher than 2020, when, at least sometimes, 169 million individuals used the Bible.

One in every six Americans (16%) reads the Bible on a weekly basis, an increase from 12 percent in 2020. Over two-thirds of Americans (63%) say they use the Bible the same manner they did last year, while one-tenth (9%) say they have decreased their Bible usage since last year. One in every four, on the other hand, claims to read the Bible more often.

The Bible is being "tested-driv(en)" by 95 million Americans who are yearning for hope and wisdom. Individuals who identify as Bible Disengaged have decreased in number for the fourth year in a row, while those who identify as Movable Middle have increased.

When it comes to the mode, six out of ten Americans still chose to read from printed or paper Bibles, despite the fact that virtual interactions and gadget dependence have expanded in practically every facet of everyday life during the pandemic. Compared to those labeled as "Bible Disengaged," those who engage with the Bible (27%) would choose to read the Bible on smartphones or tablets.

Greg Yoder with Keys for Kids Ministries asserted that "people were clinging to God's Word because that was the important thing; that's what [gave] them comfort."

Last spring, he said that people and families were flocking to Keys for Kids Ministries in order to go deeper into the Scriptures. Between April, May and June, they observed a rise of around 300%.