Churchgoers Report How They Read, Live Out Scripture
A new Lifeway study finds that while churchgoers say they value scripture, fewer are doing it each day.
The research looked at American Protestants who attend services at least once a month. It revealed that a healthy 61% said they read the Bible fairly regularly. Of those, 31% who said they do so daily and 30% a few times a week. Another 14% said they read it once a week, while 11% said only few times a month.
The findings, according to Lifeway’s 2025 State of Discipleship study, prove a long-running concern among pastors and Bible teachers: valuing Scripture does not always mean people will act on it. Lifeway said roughly three-quarters of Protestant churchgoers believe the Bible has authority over every area of life, though only 40% strongly agreed with that statement
“Protestant churchgoers overall report they are engaging the Bible, but on any specific question, as many as 1 in 5 say they are not following Jesus Christ in that way,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said in the report. He added that the pattern is “often good but far from the standard seen in Scripture.”
READ: Study makes recommendations for reviving the popularity of marriage
There was some encouragement in the numbers. Lifeway’s study says Bible reading among churchgoers has held mostly steady since 2019 and has climbed noticeably from earlier benchmarks. In 2007, just 36% of churchgoers were regular Bible readers. That rose 46% in 2012, driven, say experts, by bible apps which increased convenience and allowed readers to easily pick translations after a “text run.”
For the study, Lifeway surveyed 2,130 Protestant churchgoers online in March 2025. More recently, in late 2025, the Barna Research Group found weekly Bible reading among all U.S. adults had recovered to 42%. The conclusion is that there may be a broader interest in Scripture beyond just those who regularly attend church.
–Dwight Widaman
#Protestant #Churchgoers #Scripture #Bible #Lifeway #Discipleship
