Over Half of Americans Think Politicians Need to Read the Bible Daily, Survey Finds

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, March 31, 2016

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds his Bible while speaking at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, September 19, 2015. | (Photo: Reuters/Brian C. Frank)

More than half of Americans believe politicians can become more civil toward each other if they read the Bible on a daily basis, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Bible Society.

The annual nationwide survey, called the "2016 State of the Bible: The Bible and Politics" conducted by the Barna Group, showed that 51 percent of American adults think politicians would be more civil if they read the Bible daily, and 53 percent believe politicians would also be more effective if they did so.

No only this, 80 percent of Americans view the Bible as sacred literature, a percentage unchanged from last year, said the study, released Wednesday. Furthermore, 66 percent agree that the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life — 69 percent believed so in 2015.

Only 19 percent say the Bible has too much influence in society; down 13 percentage points from the 2011 report.

The survey also found that 46 percent believe the Bible has too little influence in society, and 30 percent believe the Bible has the right amount of influence.

"Americans still believe the Bible has the power to improve the most uncertain or tumultuous of life's challenges — even politics — when God's Word is allowed to influence them," said Andrew Hood, director of communications of American Bible Society.

"At American Bible Society, we see the transforming power of Scripture everyday, from broken families being restored to men and women overcoming trauma to teens being released from addiction," Hood added. "We have a 10-year goal of seeing 100 million people in the U.S. experience the transforming power of the Bible by engaging with it. Whether a politician or a preacher, a truck driver or a teacher, all can have their lives positively changed by God's Word."

Two research methodologies were used for the study, which provided a larger sample size for key questions and ensured even greater representation among all age groups, the Bible Society said. One methodology included 1,008 telephone interviews with adults in all 50 states in the U.S., while the second study consisted of 1,000 online surveys using a nationally representative panel.