U.S. Bible reading falls back to 2024 levels, survey finds
Bible engagement in the United States seems to have tapered off after an increase in 2025, a new study reveals.
“Last year, we saw an uptick in Bible reading in the United States,” said John Farquhar Place, chief innovation officer for the American Bible Society. “But this year, Bible use and scripture engagement have generally returned to 2024 levels.”
A combined 48 percent of Americans said they have read half or more of the Bible, according to the group’s State of the Bible USA 2026. This includes 17 percent who said they have read the entire Bible; another 17 percent who have read most of it; and 14 percent who said they have read about half. One-third of respondents told pollsters they have read a little bit of the Bible, while 10 percent have not read any of it. Another 7 percent said they were not sure how much of the Bible they had read.
The story, reported by the Christian Post, defined active Bible users as those who engage scripture at least once a week outside of a church service and classified those who use scripture at least three or four times a year as occasional Bible users. A plurality of Americans (42 percent) never use the Bible, while an additional 13 percent use it less than once a year and another 7 percent read it once or twice a year. This amounts to a combined 62 percent of respondents who are not Bible users, identical to the share measured in 2024 and slightly larger than the 59 percent recorded in 2025.
“Though scripture engagement has come back down, the number of Americans who are interested in and open to the Bible has swelled by nine million people over the last two years,” Plake said. “Bible-curious Americans tell us that they would welcome someone to guide them through the complexity of the Bible.”
The U.S. region with the highest percentage of Bible users at 54 percent is the East South Central states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Regions with Bible use lower than the national average are the Mid-Atlantic states (37 percent), including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania; West North Central states (35 percent), of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota; Pacific states (26 percent) of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington; and New England states (15 percent).
–Lee Hartman
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