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Crowded lives continue to impact teens’ Bible reading in US, study finds

Crowded lives continue to significantly impact the amount of time America’s teenagers spend reading the Bible, an annual study of US teenagers’ relationship with the book has found.

The 2016 Teen State of the Bible research, commissioned by the American Bible Society and conducted by Barna Research, shows that while 69 per cent of US teens own a Bible and a quarter said they read it once a week, 53 per cent said they wished they read the Bible more and 14 per cent said their Bible reading declined in the past year.

The research showed that of those who said their Bible reading declined, 51 per cent said the main reason was “being too busy with life’s responsibilities”, although the report noted this reason was 20 points lower than the 2015 figure.

Other findings showed that 18 per cent of teenagers said they increased their Bible reading in the past year with 55 per cent of those saying they did so because they “came to understand [Bible reading] as an important part of [their] faith journey”. Meanwhile, 86 per cent of American teenagers said they viewed the Bible as sacred literature.

The survey also found that 50 per cent of US teens said their parents read the Bible ‘frequently’ or ‘sometimes’, while 54 per cent of those said the Bible has ‘a lot’ of influence on rules at home and 32 per cent said it has ‘some’ influence.

Arthur Satterwhite, of the American Bible Society, said the while US teens “sometimes get a bad rap as being uninterested or even anti-faith”, the report showed that “a majority of America’s teens have respect for and interest in the Bible”. “Many teens are recognising that the Bible speaks to the complete human experience – the struggles and trials and triumphs of life.”

The study, which was conducted online, included interviews with more than 1,000 teenagers aged 13 to 17. Of the teenagers interviewed, 29 per cent identified as practicing Christians, 41 per cent as non-practicing Christians and 30 per cent as having another or no faith.

~ www.americanbible.org/features/teen-state-of-the-bible

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