ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996 TAG: 9608120005
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Bible is being reduced to the status of an icon with little practical value in the homes of many Americans, according to a researcher taking the religious pulse of the nation.
In a series of polls in recent years, George Barna found that more than 90 percent of Americans own a Bible. In fact, those households have an average of three Bibles.
However, many of them may be gathering dust on coffee tables or bookshelves. In 1992, nearly 50 percent of respondents said they read the Bible during the past week; by this year, the figure declined to 34 percent.
``It's a great icon,'' Barna said in an interview. But in terms of being practical, the Bible is not a source of advice for many.
The president of Barna Research Group in Oxnard, Calif., analyzed the data from 28 religion surveys his organization has conducted between 1987 and 1996 for a book, ``The Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators,'' published by Dallas-based Word Publishing.
He concludes that America is changing from a Christian nation to a spiritually diverse society with more personal faiths. Religion remains vital, but the knowledge of traditional religious language is not so widespread.
And the Bible - as least as it is presented today - is among the casualties.
That does not mean it is still not treated as the most important book in Western culture.
In a poll this spring, 80 percent said the Bible is the most influential book in human history, and 76 percent said Bible reading is important to them.
But Barna also found Americans are not reading the Bible as much as they used to, and their lack of biblical literacy has revealed itself in surveys in recent years.
When asked why they don't read the Bible, respondents to Barna's latest survey gave as their most common reasons a lack of time, difficulty in understanding Scripture and irrelevance to their lives.
What would make them more likely to turn to the Bible? More than 60 percent said a personal crisis or a Bible with practical ideas for living better.
Nearly 50 percent said they would read the Bible if they had more free time or if it was written in a language that was easier to understand.
Are we Bible-illiterate?
80 percent incorrectly think the Bible includes the statement ``God helps those who help themselves.''
Although signs bearing ``John 3:16'' are often visible in the background at sporting events and other public places, nearly 65 percent of Americans do not know that it refers to the passage saying that whoever believes in Jesus shall have eternal life.
Only 50 percent of adults know that the Book of Jonah is in the Bible.
10 percent believe Joan of Arc was the wife of Noah.
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