Two in Three U.S. Churchgoers Fail Bible Literacy Quiz, Averaging 51, Lifeway Research Finds
Lifeway Research asked more than 2,000 American Christian churchgoers dozens of questions about general Bible knowledge, and the average respondent scored 51. Around 2 in 3 (65 percent) earned an F, below 60. Almost 1 in 10 (9 percent) received a D, between 60 and 69, and another 9 percent received a C, between 70 and 79. Just 8 percent scored a B, 80 to 89, and 9 percent reached A status, 90 and higher.
The study was released from Brentwood, Tennessee. Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said church leaders often theorize that churchgoers don't know their Bibles but have typically lacked objective proof, and that the study confirms most Christian churchgoers haven't learned or don't remember many things in the Bible and how it is organized.
The quiz covered eight categories of Bible literacy: people of the Bible, which books contain certain narratives, ordering specific biblical events, filling in the blanks of Bible verses, which major division a book belongs to, identifying whether a book belongs in the Old or New Testament or is not part of the Bible, knowing whether a phrase is included in the Bible, and general Bible knowledge. McConnell said significant examples were selected rather than obscure characters or events, and the goal was not to trick anyone but to understand recall of what churchgoers have read and been taught.
Among the findings, 94 percent correctly identified Moses as the person who received the Ten Commandments from God, while only 45 percent correctly named Saul as the first king of Israel and 32 percent said David. Only 11 percent correctly ordered the events of Deborah judging Israel, David killing Goliath, Jonah being swallowed by a big fish and Esther delivering Israel. Two in 3 (67 percent) wrongly identified Hezekiah as a biblical book, and 44 percent wrongly believed the Gospel of Thomas is in the Bible.
On Bible habits, around 1 in 5 (21 percent) said they read the Bible personally every day, another quarter (24 percent) a few times a week, and 22 percent said they rarely or never read it. Daily readers averaged 66 percent correct, compared with 36 percent for those who rarely or never read Scripture, and those attending church four times a month or more had the highest average score by attendance, at 55 percent.
McConnell said Bible literacy comes with both reading and studying the Bible, digging to understand each passage while also moving throughout the Bible regularly to aid remembering.
The online survey of 2,012 Americans was conducted August 12-29, 2026, using a national pre-recruited panel. Respondents were screened to include those who identified as Protestant/nondenominational, Catholic or Orthodox Christian and who attend church in a typical month. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 2.2 percent.
(Source: Baptist Press)
Source: Baptist Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：教会里摊开的圣经。Wilfredor 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: An open Bible in a church. Photo by Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
