In a surprising twist, new research has highlighted an unexpected trend in Bible readership among university students in Britain. While one might assume Christian students would be the primary readers of the Bible, it turns out that non-Christian students are engaging with the text more often than anticipated.
A study conducted by the Savanta data centre for the Fusion student movement surveyed over 2,000 students from 186 universities. Findings indicated that 12% of non-Christian students interact with the Bible at least once a week. This interaction could be as minimal as encountering a Bible verse on social media.
Conversely, the assumption that Christian students regularly read the Bible does not hold up according to the study. A striking 71% of Christian students reportedly do not read the Bible weekly.
Responses revealed that about half of all students at British universities see the Bible as relevant to contemporary life. However, relevance perception drops to 32% among non-Christians and 27% among those with no religious affiliation.
When considering the credibility of the Bible, 44% of all students believe it to be a reliable text, but only 19% of students without religion share this view.
Adam Mitchell-Baker, representing Fusion, told Premier, “Students have differing opinions on the reliability [of the Bible], but they still want to find out more.
“They might see that it’s in some way offensive to them or kind of misogynistic or homophobic, but they’re still interested in reading it. They still want to understand, ‘What does this say about today’s world?’ They’re wondering how they can understand it amongst all the, all the different kind of competing noises in the world today.”
He further noted that the teachings of Jesus offer students more positive role models compared to figures like Andrew Tate or Donald Trump.
Fusion, which is on a mission to provide every student in Britain with a Bible, expressed surprise at the findings, stating, “the potential opportunity for spiritual transformation offered by greater engagement with the Bible is huge”.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
