In short
About 22% of US adults read scripture on their own at least once a week, while 61% seldom or never do (Pew Research Center, 2023-24). The American Bible Society counts 25% of adults as active Bible users in 2026, using its own definition of engaging scripture at least three times a year outside worship. Across sources, roughly half of Americans say they wish they read the Bible more than they actually do.
- Only about 22% of US adults read scripture weekly on their own.
- A clear majority, 61%, seldom or never read the Bible outside services.
- Definitions matter: the ABS active-user measure is a much lower bar.
- A persistent gap: about half of Americans wish they read the Bible more.
About 22% of US adults read scripture on their own at least once a week, while 61% seldom or never do, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Beyond weekly readers, Pew finds 44% of Americans say the Bible is very or extremely important in their lives. The American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2026 report counts 25% of adults as active Bible users, with a further 13% occasional and 62% who do not read scripture, and finds openness rising even as regular reading dips. Across sources, a consistent gap appears between how often Americans read the Bible and how often they wish they did, with about half saying they want to read scripture more.
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults reading scripture weekly | 22% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Seldom or never read scripture | 61% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Active Bible users | 25% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Wished they read the Bible more | 51% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
| Say the Bible is very or extremely important | 44% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Say the Bible is the literal word of God | 20% | 2022 | Gallup |
How often Americans read scripture on their own
The core behavioral picture comes from Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study: a weekly-reading minority, a thin band of occasional readers, and a large seldom-or-never majority. The figures measure reading scripture on one's own, outside of religious services.
About 22% of US adults read scripture on their own at least once a week, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
61% of US adults seldom or never read scripture outside of religious services, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read scripture once or twice a month | 7% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Read scripture several times a year | 9% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Take part weekly in prayer, Bible-study, or religious-education groups | 13% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Seldom or never take part in such groups | ~75% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
The wish-to-read-more gap
Americans consistently say they want to read the Bible more than they actually do, a gap the American Bible Society tracks year over year. Curiosity about scripture is wider than regular reading.
About 51% of Americans said they wished they read the Bible more, according to the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2025 report.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curious but uncommitted "Movable Middle" wishing they read more | 80% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
| Expressed curiosity about the Bible or Jesus | 56% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
| Fell into the "Movable Middle" (up ~9 million since 2024) | 28% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
The wish-to-read-more figures are self-reported aspiration, not behavior. They describe how people say they feel about their Bible reading, which is why they run well above the share who actually read weekly.
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Bible users and scripture engagement (State of the Bible)
The American Bible Society segments Americans by how they engage scripture. Its "Bible User" measure counts anyone who engages the Bible on their own at least three times a year outside a worship service, which is a broader and lower bar than reading the Bible weekly.
25% of Americans were active Bible users in 2026, with 13% occasional users and 62% who do not read scripture, according to the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2026 report.
41% of Americans were classified as Bible Users in 2025, up from 38% in 2024, according to the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2025 report.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scripture Engaged (returning to 2024 levels after a 2025 peak) | 17% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Scripture Engaged, about 52 million adults (up from 18% in 2024) | 20% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
| More US adults who became Bible Users vs 2024 | 10 million | 2025 | American Bible Society |
| Year-over-year rise in Bible Use among men (2024 to 2025) | 19% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
The "Bible User" and "Scripture Engaged" figures use proprietary American Bible Society definitions and should not be read as weekly-reading rates. A Bible User need only engage scripture three times a year outside worship to qualify.
Who reads the most
Reading frequency varies sharply by Christian subgroup, gender, and generation. Some traditions read scripture at more than twice the national weekly rate.
59% of Latter-day Saints read scripture on their own at least once a week, the highest of any US religious group, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evangelical Protestants reading scripture weekly | 51% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Historically Black Protestant tradition reading weekly | 46% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Women vs men Scripture Engaged | 20% vs 15% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Gen Z Scripture Engaged (up from 11% in 2024) | 15% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
| Millennials Scripture Engaged (up from 12% in 2024) | 17% | 2025 | American Bible Society |
How Americans view the Bible
Beliefs about the Bible's importance and authority frame how often people read it. Pew measures how important Americans say the Bible is, and Gallup tracks whether they see it as the literal word of God.
44% of US adults say the Bible is extremely or very important in their lives, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
20% of Americans say the Bible is the actual, literal word of God, a record low in Gallup's four-decade trend.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Say the Bible is somewhat important | 19% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Say the Bible is not too or not at all important | 37% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Say the Bible is the inspired word of God, not entirely literal | 49% | 2022 | Gallup |
| Say the Bible is a collection of fables, legends, and history | 29% | 2022 | Gallup |
| Pray at least once a day (steady since 2021) | 44% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Describe themselves as Christian | 62% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
How people access scripture
Among people who engage with the Bible, reading has moved substantially to digital and app-based formats, though print remains common. The American Bible Society also tracks how much of the Bible people have read over their lifetime.
About two-thirds of Bible Users access scripture digitally, while roughly one-third use print only, according to the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2025 report.
62% of digital Bible Users use Bible apps to access scripture, according to the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2025 report.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bible Users reading printed Bibles at least monthly | ~80% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Bible Users using digital text at least monthly | 62% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Americans who have read half or more of the Bible | 48% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Americans who have read the Bible in its entirety | 17% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
| Americans who have not read any of the Bible | 10% | 2026 | American Bible Society |
How we compiled these statistics
Every figure on this page is traced to a primary source and dated to the year the data was collected. Reading-frequency, subgroup, importance, prayer, and Christian-share figures come from Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Bible-User, Scripture-engagement, aspiration, access, and lifetime-reading figures come from the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2025 and 2026 reports (conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago). The literal-word-of-God figures come from Gallup's May 2022 poll. We label the American Bible Society's proprietary Bible-User and Scripture-Engaged definitions wherever they appear and never equate them with weekly reading. We exclude the retracted UK Quiet Revival data, keep prayer-and-health claims off this reading-behavior page, and note where a press release rounds a precise survey figure.
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Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Pew Research Center, Prayer, reading scripture and other religious practices (2023-24 Religious Landscape Study)
- Pew Research Center, Importance of religion and the Bible (2023-24 Religious Landscape Study)
- Pew Research Center, 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study Executive Summary
- American Bible Society, State of the Bible 2026, Chapter 1
- American Bible Society, State of the Bible 2025 release
- Gallup, Fewer in US Now See Bible as Literal Word of God
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