According to a Lifeway Research study conducted earlier this year, just 31% of U.S. Protestant churchgoers read the Bible daily — roughly one in three.
In the survey of 2,130 Protestant churchgoers who attend religious services at least once a month, another 30% said they read the Bible a few times a week, meaning 61% read it at least several times a week.
However, a more recent Lifeway Research report found that two-thirds of churchgoers failed the evangelical research firm's Bible literacy quiz.
While 94% correctly identified Moses as the recipient of the Ten Commandments, knowledge dropped sharply beyond the basics. Only 45% knew that Saul was Israel's first king, while roughly two-thirds mistakenly believed Hezekiah is a book of the Bible.
Discussing the findings on American Family Radio, author and speaker Dr. Ray Pritchard of Keep Believing Ministries warned that the problem has been decades in the making.
"The concerning thing here is the trend," the "Today's Issues" co-host said. "Over the last 50 years, the graph is not going up in terms of knowledge; the graph is going rapidly, rapidly down."
Pritchard, a U.S. pastor who has ministered extensively in multiple countries overseas, noted that incoming students at Christian colleges score significantly lower today than students did decades ago.
The decline is not limited to recent findings. A 2019 Pew Research study similarly highlighted significant knowledge gaps among evangelicals. It found that 34% did not know Jesus was from Nazareth, 31% did not know He gave the Sermon on the Mount, and 25% mistakenly believed the "Golden Rule" was one of the Ten Commandments.
To combat what he described as a "sad" decline, Ed Vitagliano emphasized that local churches must refocus on systematic discipleship and training.
"The Church can certainly do a better job," he said.
Although Lifeway's research shows that daily Bible reading has increased from 16% in 2007 to 19% in 2012 and 31% in 2025, ministry leaders say more must be done to translate Bible engagement into biblical understanding.
With modern distractions competing for people's attention, experts say reversing the trend will require intentional, foundational Bible education — from the pulpit to the Sunday school classroom.
