I’ve just got round to having a proper look at the preliminary findings of the National Biblical Literacy Survey. The survey was released by the Centre For Biblical Literacy and Communication at Durham University and was discussed on the Sunday programme and in The Independent earlier in the week.

While three quarters of Brits own a Bible, it seems that it stays on the shelf. The survey revealed very low levels of biblical literacy. Not surprisingly, very few could name the Ten Commandments. Most surprisingly, however, 57% had no idea about the story of Joseph and his brothers while 60% were clueless about the parable of the Good Samaritan. And people tended to be more familiar with the New than the Old Testament.

So those are the headlines. But what does this mean? The rather strange leaking of only some of the findings at this point has left many questions unanswered. Do British people actually like the Bible? What is their attitude towards it? Do they think it has any continued relevance? Fortunately, I have some of the answers to this. (Photo: GeoWombats)

A focus group survey about the Bible that I commissioned in 2006 covered some of this ground. Granted, it was only a qualitative survey, but we did interview people in both London and Manchester, as well as people of different age groups and social grades. Plus, we spoke to people who didn’t go to church, rather than committed Bible-bashers.

The respondents told us that yes, they did own a copy of the Bible, but again, they didn’t read it. Why not sling it out, then, asked our researcher? The interviewees shuddered at this thought. Somehow, they placed a psychological value placed on owning a Bible. That didn’t stop them seeing the Bible as a dusty old-fashioned book that they struggled to relate to, but they wanted it in the house nonetheless.

However, when they were presented with modern-language Bibles and asked for their views, to our surprise, their eyes lit up. A Bible in easy-to-understand English, without a scary leather cover, was something of a novelty. They related to this idea of a Bible much better. Somehow, they had mentally associated the word ‘Bible’ with the old-fashioned King James Version – a version only read by 8% of churchgoers in any case.

Our findings were complemented by some research last year by the Catholic Biblical Federation. Their research showed that while only 36% of Brits thought that the Bible was easy to read, 75% agreed that its contents were ‘interesting’. Not only that, 60% believed that it should be taught in schools as a literary classic.

It seems, therefore, that this is part of the answer. Brits are happy to be made more aware of the contents of the Bible – but want to read it in modern English and in easy-to-digest formats. They also want it to be presented in a more hands-off way; i.e. as a cultural classic rather than a religious text that they must believe in – or else. Alarmingly, few schools currently take this approach. And as the former Poet Laureate Andrew Motionremarked recently, that has got to change.