The Christian Bible is considered to
be one of the best-selling books of all time.
Though accurate figures are impossible to compile, there is no doubt
that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of volumes are sold each year. One translation alone, the New International Version, has seen more than 400 million copies in print worldwide since its
introduction in the 1970s.
Despite its ubiquity in the culture,
however, Americans in general, and American Christians in particular, are not
especially well-informed about the contents of the Bible. The Pew Forum, which is noted for its polling
and statistics-gathering on matters religious, completed a survey in 2010 about
religious knowledge among U.S. residents.
Seven questions in the survey focused specifically on very basic Bible
knowledge. For the total number of all
respondents completing the survey, the average correct out of seven was 4.1;
for Christians, the average was only a tenth of a point higher, at 4.2. Best overall group score was achieved by Mormons
at 5.7, followed by White Evangelical Protestants at 5.1. Lowest scores came from Hispanic Catholics at
2.4 and Unaffiliated-Nothing in Particular at 3.2.
