Nearly half of Americans have read at least half of the Bible, while only about a quarter qualify as “active” Bible readers, according to a new survey that found that a 2025 uptick in Bible reading has seemingly subsided.
The American Bible Society has released the first installment of the “State of the Bible USA 2026.” The chapter, titled “The Bible in America Today,” outlines the frequency and depth of Bible reading among Americans based on responses collected from 2,649 U.S. adults from Jan. 8–27. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
“Last year, we saw an uptick in Bible reading in the United States. Bible sales increased. We heard discussions about revival,” said American Bible Society Chief Innovation Officer and State of the Bible series Editor-in-Chief John Farquhar Plake in a statement. “But this year Bible Use and Scripture Engagement have generally returned to 2024 levels.”
When asked how much of the Bible they have read, a combined 48% of Americans said they have read half of the Bible or more. That includes 17% who said they have read the entire Bible, another 17% who said they have read most of the Bible, and 14% who said they have read about half. Meanwhile, 35% of respondents told pollsters they have read “a little” bit of the Bible, while 10% have not read any of it. Another 7% said they were “not sure” how much of the Bible they had read.
The survey examined the frequency of Bible use in the U.S., with the American Bible Society defining “Active Bible Users” as those who “use Scripture at least once per week” outside of a church service and classifying those who use Scripture at least three or four times a year as “Occasional Bible Users.” A plurality of Americans (42%) never use the Bible, while an additional 13% use it less than once a year, and another 7% read it once or twice a year.
This amounts to a combined 62% of respondents who are “Not Bible Users.” Compared to the previous two years, the percentage of respondents who are “Not Bible Users” was identical to the share measured in 2024 and slightly larger than the 59% recorded in 2025.
Broken down by sex, large majorities of both men (66%) and women (59%) are “Not Bible Users,” while 10% of men and 16% of women are “Occasional Bible Users.” The share of “Active Bible Users” is nearly identical among men (24%) and women (26%).
Six percent of those surveyed use the Bible three or four times a year, while 7% use the Bible once a month, with the combined 13% comprising the “Occasional Bible Users” category. The share of respondents in the “Occasional Bible Users” category dropped 3 percentage points from 2025, matching the 13% measured in 2024.
The share of respondents who use the Bible once a week (6%) and several times a week (6%) was higher than the percentage of those surveyed who use the Bible four or more times a week (3%) but lower than the share of Bible users who interact with Scripture on their own every day (9%). Overall, 25% of Americans are “Active Bible Users,” down from 26% in 2025 but up from 24% in 2024.
“Though Scripture engagement has come back down, the number of Americans who are interested in and open to the Bible has swelled by 9 million people over the last 2 years,” Plake said. “Bible Curious Americans tell us that they would welcome someone to guide them through the complexity of the Bible.”
The percentage of Americans who are Bible users, the sum of “Active Bible Users” and “Occasional Bible Users,” adds up to 38%. Broken down by education level, Bible use is higher than the national average among respondents without a high school diploma (47%), those with a high school diploma (43%), and those with some college or an associate degree (39%).
On the other hand, Bible use is lower than the national average among those with a bachelor’s degree (30%) and respondents with postgraduate or professional degrees (33%). The U.S. region with the highest percentage of Bible users is the East South Central states (54%), referring to Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Other regions with Bible use higher than the national average include the Mountain states (45%), which consist of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; the South Atlantic states (43%), including Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; the West South Central states (43%), specifically Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; and the East North Central states (40%): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, regions with Bible use lower than the national average are the Mid-Atlantic states (37%), including New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; the West North Central states (35%), referring to Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; the Pacific states (26%), consisting of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington; and the New England states (15%).
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
