Bible Literacy Report:
Executive Summary

What do American teens need to know and what do they know?

• A qualitative study of 41 leading high school English teachers by Marie Wachlin, Ph.D., principal investigator
• Byron R. Johnson, Ph.D., scholarly advisor

An analysis of Gallup survey results by Bible Literacy Project, Inc.

A nationally representative survey of 1,002 teenagers by The Gallup Organization

Commissioned by Bible Literacy Project, Inc. under a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

About the Report

This report summarizes results from two separate research projects funded by the John Templeton Foundation:

1) a qualitative research project on what English teachers believe their students need to know about the Bible conducted and authored by Marie Wachlin, Ph.D., and

2) an analysis of a nationally representative survey by The Gallup Organization on what American teens currently know about the Bible and other religious literature of the world, authored by the Bible Literacy Project, Inc. The full text of the survey results, authored by the Gallup Organization, is reprinted as an appendix. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

About the Principal Investigator: Marie Wachlin, Ph.D., a former public high-school English teacher in Oregon, is currently a supervisor at Concordia University College of Education. Her academic essays include “The Bible—A Classic in a Class by Itself,” English Journal (February 1998) and “The Place of Bible Literature in Public High School English Classes,” Research in the Teaching of English (February 1997).

About the Bible Literacy Project: The Bible Literacy Project is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to research and public education on the academic study of the Bible in public and private schools. In 1999 it co-published a consensus statement with the First Amendment Center, “The Bible & Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide.” For more information visit www.bibleliteracy.org or download guide from the Center.

About The Gallup Organization: The Gallup Organization has studied human nature and behavior for more than 70 years. Gallup employs many of the world's leading scientists in management, economics, psychology, and sociology. Gallup performance management systems help organizations increase customer engagement and maximize employee productivity through measurement tools, coursework, and strategic advisory services. Gallup's 2,000 professionals deliver services at client organizations, through
the Web, at Gallup University's campuses, and in 40 offices around the world.

Suggested Citation:

• Pages 8–21: Marie Wachlin, 2005. “What do high school teachers think students need to know about the Bible?” The Bible Literacy Report: What do American teens need to know and what do they know?, (New York City: Bible Literacy Project).
• Pages 22–28: Bible Literacy Project, Inc., 2005. “What do American teens know about the Bible?” The Bible Literacy Report: What do American teens need to know and what do they know?, (New York City: Bible Literacy Project).
• Pages 29–55: The Gallup Organization, 2005. “Teenagers’ Knowledge of the Bible,” The Bible Literacy Report: What do American teens need to know and what do they know?, (New York City: Bible Literacy Project).

Executive Summary

What do American students know about the Bible, and what do they need to know in order to get a good education? This research project consists of two parts:

(I) a qualitative research study of what the best high-school English teachers think their students need to know about the Bible and

(II) the only recent nationally representative survey of American teens’ religious knowledge to uncover what American students currently know about the Bible (and other religious texts).¹

The Qualitative Research Findings

In a diverse sample of high school English teachers in 10 states, 40 out of 41 teachers said Bible knowledge confers a distinct educational advantage on students. Ninety percent of high-school English teachers said it was important for both college-bound and “regular” students to be biblically literate. An Illinois teacher stated, “I think from the standpoint of academic success, it is imperative that college-bound students be literate. For the others, I think it’s important for them to understand their own culture, just to be well-grounded citizens of the United States—to know where the institutions and ideas come from.”

Conversely, many teachers reported that students in their English classes who were not familiar with the Bible were disadvantaged. One California teacher said: “Students who don’t know the Bible are certainly at a disadvantage. It’s harder for them. They’re not as familiar with it, and it takes more time for them to understand what it is.” Teachers reported students without Bible knowledge take more time to teach, appearing “confused,” “stumped,” “clueless.”

These English teachers reported that among their students, Bible illiteracy is common. The majority of high-school English teachers in this sample estimated that fewer than a fourth of their current students were Bible literate. Only 4 of the 30 public schools in the study (compared to all four private schools) offered a unit or course about the Bible. Economically advantaged school districts in this sample were far more likely to offer academic study of the Bible than less advantaged school districts.

The Nationally Representative Gallup Survey: 
Bible Literacy Project Analysis

This Gallup Survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,002 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, who were interviewed between May 20 and June 27, 2004. It represents the first extensive, nationally representative survey of the Bible and religious knowledge among American teens in recent years.

The good news is that strong majorities of American teens recognize the basic meaning of widely used Judeo-Christian terms such as “Easter,” “Adam and Eve,” “Moses,” “The Golden Rule,” and “The Good Samaritan.”

However, substantial minorities lack even the most basic working knowledge of the Bible. Almost one out of ten teens believes that Moses is one of the twelve Apostles. About the same proportion, when asked what Easter commemorates, or to identify Adam and Eve, respond “don’t know.”

However, only a minority of American teens appear to be “Bible literate,” reaching the level of knowledge similar to that defined by high school English teachers as necessary to a good education. For example:

• Fewer than half of teens (49 percent) knew what happened at the wedding at Cana (Jesus turned water into wine). Nearly one out of four refused even to guess.
• Given a choice of four quotations from the Bible, almost two-thirds of teens could not correctly identify a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount.
• Similarly, fewer than a third of teens could correctly identify which statement about David was true. (David tried to kill King Saul.) One-quarter of teens believed that the statement “David was king of the Jews” was false.
• Only 8 percent of teens in public schools in this sample reported that their school offered an elective course on the Bible, and just one out of four public-school students (26 percent) said that a unit or section on the Bible was offered in an English or social-studies class.

The Bible Literacy Project analysis of the Gallup data concludes “[N]o controversy among adults, however heated, should be considered an excuse for leaving the next generation ignorant about a body of knowledge crucial to understanding American art, literature, history, language, and culture.”

Introduction: Why this report?

What do American students know about the Bible—and what should they know, in order to be well-educated? What do American public schools teach about the Bible, and what should they teach?

This report is the culmination of an important new research project that seeks to understand how well our current public-school curriculum addresses the educational needs of an increasingly diverse student body. The Bible has long been acknowledged to be one of the most influential texts in the English language.

According to a 1986 study by Anne Juhasz and Leslie Wilson, for example, when college English professors were asked what book they wished incoming freshmen to have read before entering the university, the most frequently named was the Bible.² Few other books have been so influential in American culture, history, language, arts, and letters, and at the same time so likely to generate controversy among educational elites, especially when it comes to public schools.

In one sense, this is understandable. After all, one reason for the Bible’s enduring influence on American history and culture is that it is not merely a work of philosophy or literature; for millions of American Christians and Jews, the Bible is (in whole or in part) sacred text. In the past, legitimate concerns about the separation of church and state, religious tolerance, and community consensus have led many educators and communities to edit this book out of public-school curricula. We have been able to find no recent estimates on what proportion of American public schools teach Bible courses, based on nationally representative surveys. However, prior qualitative research with educators suggests that relatively few American students have access to courses in Bible literacy. In one 1997 study, for example, though more than 80 percent of a convenience sample of high-school English teachers reported that it was important to teach some Bible literature, only 9 percent said they taught such a Bible unit or course.³

In recent years, a growing number of educators, scholars and reformers have expressed dissatisfaction with this solution to the problems raised by teaching about the Bible in a public-school setting. In 1999, a group of 21 educational and religious organizations (including the National School Boards Association, and the National Education Association) issued a consensus statement on the academic study of the Bible in public schools:

“Educators widely agree that study about religion, where appropriate, is an important part of a complete education. Part of that study includes learning about the Bible in courses such as literature and history. Knowledge of biblical stories and concepts contributes to our understanding of literature, history, law, art, and contemporary society. . .The Supreme Court has held that public schools may teach students about the Bible as long as such teaching is ‘presented objectively as part of a secular program of education.’”⁴

The purpose of this research project is to provide new scientific information on an important educational and civic question: What do students know and what do they need to know about the Bible, in order to receive a high-quality education?

This research consists of two parts: (I) a qualitative research study of what the best high school English teachers think their students need to know about the Bible, authored by Marie Wachlin; and (II) a new, nationally representative Gallup survey of American teens’ religious knowledge, to uncover what American students currently know about the Bible (and other religious texts).⁵

While religious attitudes, affiliation, and practices have been well-studied, religious knowledge remains a relatively understudied field. We anticipate this report will mark the beginning, not the end, of important new research into these questions. Together, these two pieces of research will also help educators and scholars to establish baseline standards of Bible literacy.

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Footnotes

1. A third part—a qualitative research study into what university and college professors believe their students need to know about the Bible, also funded by the John Templeton Foundation— will be released in 2006.
2. Anne Juhasz and Leslie Wilson 1986. “Should students be well read or should they read well?” NASSP Bulletin, 70 (488) (March, 78–83.
3. Wachlin, M. G., 1997. "The place of Bible literature in public high school English classes." Research in the Teaching of English, 31 (February), 18–19.
4. The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide, 1999. (Nashville, TN: The First Amendment Center and New York, NY: Bible Literacy Project): 5–6.
5. A third part- a qualitative research study into what university and college professors believe their students need to know about the Bible, also funded by the John Templeton Foundation—will be released in 2006.

For the complete 55-page national report, log on to www.bibleliteracy.org.

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