Photo: Adobe Stock
The American Bible Society has long been known for its commitment to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. A key part of their work is compiling research and actively engaging Americans and international citizens connected to Bible reading and ownership. The 2024 stats are alarming, showing that Americans continue to trend in a disengagement area of the Bible.
The 2024 numbers show that 57 percent of Americans do not interact with the Bible or rely on it, compared to 18 percent that do. These numbers are similar to their findings in 2022, where only 39 percent of Americans used their Bible weekly outside of church, and only 10-14 percent read it daily.
While there is a legitimate interest in Christianity, and particularly a new resurgence of young men joining the Orthodox faith, American Christianity is still in trouble. The Religious Landscape Study reported that 62 percent of Americans identify as Christians. In 2007, the number was 78 percent, and in the late 1980s, it was around 89 percent.
The lack of biblical literacy is troubling, as most modern churches have youth groups being taught basic Bible lessons that were once common knowledge among all American children and adults.
The decline in biblical literacy, church membership, and Christian identification signals a complete adherence to unbelief or self-acknowledgment of atheism and continues to gain steam. Religion, and precisely that of Christianity, has been replaced by secular humanism and rationalism. More dangerously, some exist, even using the name of Christ and identification of being a Christian, that outright deny the Bible and the deity of Jesus Christ.
This makes the visible church very confusing to an American populace that is not biblically literate. Why does one church embrace sola scriptura and another employ transgender clergy members on their staff? These are the questions that the American people face daily.
While Christians are grateful for the separation of church and state, the day that creationism departed from the public school system as a legitimate theory of creation started a downward spiral connected to atheism in the educational system.
While God is quoted, and often by both conservative and liberal pundits and politicians, which God is being referenced? Is it Jesus Christ, the only true God, or a man-made deity excusing the sin and injustice of fallen creation?
There should be no discussion of Christianity being more prominent in one political party over the other. Historically, both Republicans and Democrats were, by and large, Christian in identity. Those days seem to be continuously disappearing. Evangelicals, those who have a rich connection to revivalism in America, have a stronghold in the Republican Party today, and the GOP knows it. However, the conservative party is guilty, too, of allowing unbiblical ideas and teachings to enter their party’s platform.
Biblical literacy is not just a statistic of who owns, reads, and knows their Bible. Instead, it is an indication of where the nation stands in terms of its allegiance to Jesus Christ, its knowledge of Him and His standards, and, most centrally, it provides insight into our commitment either to Him or against Him.
Church attendance and membership are crucial, but so is individual commitment to Christ. During the American Revolution, Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Congregationalists, Catholics and others united under a common cause to fight injustice and tyranny, all in the name of Christ. While the nation may not be Christian today, its history is connected to Jesus, and it has consistently spoken out against darkness in the name of Christ.
With the growing interest in masculinity returning to younger generations and the expansion of orthodox denominations, such as the Eastern and Anglican churches, there remains an opportunity for Americans to proudly assert the Bible’s influence on life, societal issues, and standards, and to educate their families in the ways of God.
The alternatives are fearful, accepting a pagan nation’s fate, similar to that of the Roman Empire. The Bible combats sin and individualism. For the staunch and proud conservatives, you must ask yourselves, where do your standards of gender identity, freedom, and family morals come from? None other than the Bible.
Conservatism has historically been closely tied to Christianity; leaders such as William McKinley, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan were aware of this connection. President Trump has made similar acknowledgments and admissions as well. The only way to combat the growth of progressivism and liberalism is to embrace the standards of the Creator, who created man in His image.
Should humans seek to implement societal standards, those created by fallible individuals? Or should they hold firm to the chief standards of greatness from the one true God? The answer is simple. If the American people seek to do their part in upholding conservative and family values, they should restore the importance of the Church and the reliance on and use of the Bible.
