Americans’ Experience with the King James Version of the Bible Survey of over 1000 adult Americans
Methodology
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Methodology •
•
•
LifeWay Research asked these questions as part of a random digit dial (RDD) telephone survey March 2-6, 2011 of adult Americans (aged 18 and over). The sample of 1,004 completed surveys provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +3.1%. Responses were weighted to reflect the adult American population in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in household, and number of phone lines in the household.
Survey Responses
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53% of adult Americans indicate they personally read the Bible at least once a month 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
18%
Every day
13%
10%
6%
6%
A few times a week
Once a week
A few times a month
Once a month
1% Don’t Know Q1. How often, if at all, do you personally read the Bible?
22%
24%
Rarely
Never
6
89% of adult Americans have at least one Bible in their household 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Median known # of Bibles in a household: 3
Mean known # of Bibles in a household: 4.1
15% 8% 0
1
14%
2
3% Don’t Know Q2. How many Bibles, if any, do you have in your household?
18% 10%
3
4
8%
8%
5
6
9%
3%
2%
7
8
9+
7
67% of adult Americans who own a Bible own a King James Version translation • 62% of all adult Americans own a King James Version translation of the Bible Among adult Americans who own a Bible 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
67%
23% 10% Yes
No
Q3. Do you own a King James Version translation of the Bible? n = 921, excludes individuals stating they own zero Bibles.
Don't know/Refused
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27% of adult Americans indicate they have never read the King James Version of the Bible 31%
I have found the language to be beautiful I have found the language to be hard to understand I have found the language to be easy to remember
27% 23% 16%
I have found the language to be outdated
27%
I have never read it for myself None of these
4%
Don’t know
4% 0%
20%
40%
Q4. Please indicate which if any of the following has been your experience with the King James Version of the Bible. (Choose all that apply)
60%
80%
100%
Among adult Americans who own a King James Version of the Bible, 43% found the language to be beautiful Among adult Americans who own a Bible 43%
I have found the language to be beautiful I have found the language to be hard to understand I have found the language to be easy to remember
38% 32% 22%
I have found the language to be outdated
6%
I have never read it for myself None of these
3%
Don’t know
2% 0%
20%
40%
Q4. Please indicate which if any of the following has been your experience with the King James Version of the Bible. (Choose all that apply) n = 618
60%
80%
100%
9
10
Comparisons between Readers and Non-Readers Readers
Non-Readers
Mean number of Bibles in household (Median)
5.8* (5)
2.2 (2)
Percent owning a King James Version of the Bible
82%*
39%
* Indicates statistically significant difference at 95% confidence interval between readers and non-readers. Reader is defined as a person who reads the Bible at least once a month.
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“How often, if at all, do you personally read the Bible?” •
•
Women are more likely than men to read the Bible “A few times a week” (16% to 9%). Women are also more likely to read it at least once a month (60% to 46%). Older Americans (age 55+) are least likely to say they “Never” read the Bible (18%) compared to Americans under 35 (28%) and those between 35 – 54 (26%).
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“How often, if at all, do you personally read the Bible?” continued • • • •
