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Survey: 51 Percent of Americans Say the Bible Has Too Little Influence on Society

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Feb 22, 2016

A recent survey revealed that the majority of Americans value the Bible and want to see it have a greater role in politics as well as the church.

The Illinois Family Institute reports on the results of the American Bible Society’s fifth annual State of the Bible survey.

The survey polled 2,000 Americans on questions related to the Bible, culture, the Church, and politics.

One of the rather surprising results of the survey was that 51 percent of Americans said that the Bible has too little influence on society today. Only 19 percent said that the Bible has too much influence on society.

In addition, 56 percent of suvey participants said that politics would be more civil if politicians read the Bible more. Over 60 percent said that they would like to read the Bible more themselves.

The Bible also came in first as the religious text which the majority of survey participants said was sacred literature. Seventy-nine percent of participants said that the Bible was a holy text, while only 10 percent said the same of the Koran, followed by seven percent who said the Torah was a holy text, and four percent who said the same of the Book of Mormon.

The survey also found that the Midwest and the South are the regions of the country most likely to have a Bible in the households of residents. Ninety-four percent of Midwesterners reported having a Bible in the house and 92 percent of Southerners reported the same. 

As far as Bible versions go, the King James Version is still the preferred translation, with 39 percent preferring it. Other versions cited were the New King James Version, the New International Version, and the English Standard Version.

Although many of the survey results were positive, some findings revealed that the Bible may be absent in some churches.

“One-quarter of adults say they never hear the Bible read aloud at a church service or Mass,” according to part of the survey summary.

Publication date: February 22, 2016