Research says Blacks more likely to read Bible than others in U.S.

According to Pew Research, Blacks in the U.S. are more likely than others to read the Bible regularly. Scripture’s importance to the black population in the U.S. is reflected in Pew Research Center survey data showing that black people are more likely than most other Americans to read scripture regularly and to view it as the word of God. Among Christian groups, 61 percent of those who are members of the historically Black Protestant tradition (more than half of all Black Americans) tradition read scripture at least weekly, similar to the level seen among those in the evangelical Protestant tradition (63 percent). In addition, those in the historically Black Protestant tradition are much more likely than Catholics (25 percent) and mainline Protestants (30 percent) to say they read scripture at least weekly, though less likely than Jehovah’s Witnesses (88 percent) and Mormons (77 percent). A sizable share of all Black people (77 percent) also say the Bible is the word of God (as opposed to having been “written by men”), compared with 57 percent of whites and 65 percent of Hispanics. Among those in the historically Black Protestant tradition, 85 percent say they believe the Bible is the word of God, a level more comparable to that seen among those in the evangelical Protestant tradition (88 percent), Mormons (91 percent) and Jehovah’s Witnesses (94 percent) than among Catholics (64 percent) and mainline Protestants (62 percent). Black people overall are also more likely than people in other racial or ethnic groups to believe the Bible or other holy scripture should be interpreted literally. Roughly half (51 percent) of Black Americans feel this way, compared with 26 percent of whites and 38 percent of Hispanics. For more information on the study, go here.