The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Survey
Today, most people with a smartphone can access the Bible, but are they engaging with it? We partnered with Gallup to find out how people around the world relate to the Bible.
IN PARTNERSHIP
The Patmos Survey: key findings
Finding 1: religion still matters
We discovered that, in most of the world, faith still matters to people. And most of the world believes in God.
69% say religion is an important part of their daily life
In the Sahel region and Sub-Saharan Africa, over nine in ten people say religion is an important part of their daily life
Eight out of ten people globally believe in God or a ‘higher power’
Belief in God is highest in our two majority-Muslim Patmos Clusters (1 and 3), where over 95% say they believe in God
In central and eastern Europe, we see the biggest disparity between the importance of religion and belief in God. 39% say religion is an important part of their daily life but 80% say they believe in God or a ‘higher power’
Finding 2: Christians and the Bible
We have found Christians around the world who are committed and engaged with the Bible.
74% of Christians own a Bible
42% use the Bible weekly
Worldwide, 55% of Christians are confident in describing the overall story of the Bible
Seven in ten Christians agree the Bible is personally relevant to them
Christians in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa show the highest use and confidence levels in the Bible
Finding 3: hopes and dreams
Globally, three out of four Christians are interested in learning more about the Bible.
Interest levels are significantly higher amongst Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa: 93% of Christians say they are interested in learning more about the Bible
In Latin America, almost eight in ten Christians report interest in learning more about the Bible
The top three words Christians chose to describe the Bible were: truth, wisdom, and comforting
The top two reasons people gave for their interest in learning more about the Bible were: ‘to help them grow spiritually’ and ‘to help them know God better’
Finding 4: beyond boundaries
The Patmos Survey tells us interest in the Bible is not limited to Christians.
11% of those asked, from various religious traditions and those with no religious tradition, are open to learning more about the Christian Bible. That represents over 240 million people worldwide
20% of those who identify as non-religious are interested in learning more about the Bible
The non-religious said they thought the Bible could ‘help answer life’s big questions’ or help them ‘grow spiritually’
Lowest interest levels are in religiously diverse Asia and the secular West
Finding 5: challenge – awareness and indifference
The Patmos Survey reveals we face a real challenge with levels of indifference and awareness about the Bible.
We found indifference towards the Bible and religion in more secular contexts: 64% of people are not interested in learning more about the Bible
The lowest interest in learning more about the Bible amongst Christians is in religiously diverse Asia and the secular West
We found a significant lack of awareness in some parts of the world. In religiously diverse Asia, 75% of people say they know nothing about the Bible. In fact, 56% say they have never heard of it
Finding 6: the Bible for a new generation
Most participants, who are aware of the Bible, agree that it’s good for children to know at least some stories from it.
49% agree the Bible is personally relevant
71% agree it’s good for children to know stories from the Bible
Globally, Christians aged 18–24 are using the Bible more frequently than any other age group: 50% report using the Bible on a weekly basis
Similarly, Christians aged 18–24 have the highest confidence levels to tell the story of the Bible, find passages relevant to specific situations, and talk with friends and family about the message of the Bible
The Patmos Survey: key findings in detail
Global perspectives on The Patmos Survey
Discover more insights: download The Patmos Survey report
Register for the Patmos Forum to download your free copy of The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Survey report.
Explore further
Mission contexts
To see a world where everyone can encounter the Bible, we need to understand the different mission contexts around the world.
Methodology
It’s not easy surveying the world about the Bible. Read more about our robust methodological approach.
Articles
Discover more about The Patmos Survey and new insights on the Patmos data from a range of authors.