Back to all national dataA quarter of adults in England and Wales want to know more about the Bible
Asked, '‘To what extent would you be interested or not in discovering more about the Bible?’ a total of 23 per cent of adults in England and Wales selected 'fairly interested' or 'very interested'.
16 per cent said they were 'fairly interested' and seven per cent 'very interested'. More of those aged 18-24 – 17 per cent – were fairly interested compared with those aged 45-64, at only 15 per cent.
| Not at all interested | Not very interested | Fairly interested | Very interested | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 47.51% | 23.37% | 15.93% | 6.76% | 6.43% |
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 to 74
75+
| Not at all interested | Not very interested | Fairly interested | Very interested | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 43.05% | 26.25% | 17.28% | 5.73% | 7.69% |
| 25 to 34 | 46.97% | 23.41% | 16.39% | 6.74% | 6.49% |
| 35 to 44 | 50.22% | 20.71% | 15.84% | 6.57% | 6.66% |
| 45 to 54 | 51.97% | 21.21% | 14.71% | 5.82% | 6.3% |
| 55 to 64 | 50.13% | 22.63% | 14.79% | 6.95% | 5.49% |
| 65 to 74 | 44.14% | 23.58% | 17% | 9.11% | 6.16% |
| 75+ | 41.73% | 28.85% | 16.24% | 6.71% | 6.48% |
Of those who said they weren't at all interested or not very interested (71 per cent), 59 per cent said it was because they were 'not religious' while 24 per cent answered that 'previous experiences of Christians/church have put me off'. Other reasons were that people wouldn't have the time (11 per cent) or that they didn't think they'd understand it (five per cent) or that they wouldn't know where to start (six per cent), while 37 per cent said it just wouldn't be relevant to them.
Many people are open to finding out more about the Bible if they're given help and the right tools.
Bible Loving
Bible Infrequent
Bible Nostalgic
Bible Uncertain
Bible Conflicted
Bible Cultural
Bible Indifferent
Bible Dismissive
| I wouldn't know where to start | I wouldn't know how to find the bits relevant to me | I don't think I'd understand it | I wouldn't have the time | It wouldn't be relevant to me | I think it would be boring | I don't like reading | I practice a different faith | I wouldn't learn anything I don't already know | I'm not religious | Previous experiences of Christians/church have put me off | I tried in the past | Other | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bible Loving | 0% | 0% | 11.96% | 3.64% | 0% | 0% | 5.86% | 15.79% | 32.98% | 0% | 2.82% | 0% | 14.72% | 12.24% |
| Bible Infrequent | 10.52% | 10.63% | 2.84% | 21% | 5.16% | 4.27% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 26.57% | 6.23% | 11.88% | 9.36% | 11.71% | 15.5% |
| Bible Nostalgic | 16.37% | 16.68% | 6.27% | 23.24% | 12.33% | 5.3% | 4.65% | 2.82% | 19.82% | 15.35% | 13.03% | 11.78% | 6.39% | 14.28% |
| Bible Uncertain | 18.42% | 13.61% | 12.67% | 22.22% | 13.77% | 11.76% | 7% | 3.96% | 11.85% | 27.28% | 14.88% | 11.65% | 4.15% | 7.71% |
| Bible Conflicted | 4.07% | 5.37% | 3.89% | 14.73% | 18.08% | 6.32% | 2.04% | 10.07% | 22.34% | 24.38% | 30.19% | 10.72% | 12.5% | 6.97% |
| Bible Cultural | 11.38% | 8.59% | 10.22% | 14.5% | 24.76% | 11.45% | 3.8% | 6.62% | 10.48% | 43.85% | 15.44% | 6.64% | 3.2% | 8.08% |
| Bible Indifferent | 5.7% | 3.98% | 5.99% | 11.04% | 38.72% | 19.1% | 3.65% | 4.44% | 7.22% | 63.24% | 20.53% | 5.25% | 4.07% | 5.2% |
| Bible Dismissive | 0.84% | 1% | 0.8% | 5.61% | 48.48% | 13.86% | 1.33% | 3.65% | 15.4% | 76.27% | 31.34% | 5.2% | 9.05% | 1.75% |
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