The percentage of adult Bible users in the U.S. saw a marked increase this year, according to the American Bible Society’s 2021 State of the Bible study.
The study defines Bible users as individuals who read, listen to or pray with the Bible at least three to four times a year outside of a church service or event. In 2021, 50% of Americans were Bible users, amounting to 128 million people.
Trend reverses
U.S. Bible users had been on a downward trend, both in raw numbers and population percentage. The summer of 2020 reached the lowest percentage (48%) and tied for the lowest number of people (123 million).
The 128 million Bible users in 2021 marks the second highest number in the 10-year history of the study, behind on 129 million in 2014, and tied for the third highest percentage since the study began in 2011 and the highest percentage since 2017.
The study also found:
- Eleven percent of Americans say they interact with their Bible daily.
- One in 6 (16%) read the Bible most days during the week, up from 12% in 2020.
- Around 3 in 10 Americans (29%), they say they never interact with Scripture, down from 31% in 2020 and 35% in 2019.
- When asked directly, 24% of Americans say their Bible reading increased in the past year. Most (63%) say it stayed the same, while 9% say it decreased.
- In all, 181 million Americans opened their Bible in the past year — up 7.1% from the 169 million adults who did so in 2020.
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