Women more satisfied with their churches' efforts to help them understand the Bible, poll finds
Churchgoers across the country have been reflecting on how their local congregations support daily faith practices. Many describe steady encouragement from pastors who connect Scripture to ordinary routines and invite people into deeper study. The American Bible Society gathered responses from 2,649 adults between January 8 and 27 through its partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. The fifth installment of the State of the Bible report, released last month, focused on church health and how congregations foster growth. Forty-three percent of those surveyed said they felt very satisfied with their church's help in understanding the Bible. Another 31 percent called themselves satisfied, while 25 percent expressed dissatisfaction. Similar patterns appeared when people rated efforts to challenge personal growth and create serving opportunities in the wider community. Women gave stronger marks across every category measured. Half of female respondents said they were very satisfied with Bible understanding support, compared with 36 percent of men. Women also showed higher satisfaction with relational spiritual growth opportunities and with pastors who model consistent faith habits. Those classified as Scripture Engaged, scoring 100 or higher on the engagement scale, expressed the strongest approval. Seventy percent of this group reported being very satisfied with church efforts around Bible understanding and relationship-based growth. The Movable Middle and Bible Disengaged groups recorded lower rates of strong satisfaction. John Farquhar Plake, chief innovation officer and editor in chief of the report, noted that most churchgoers feel equipped for their faith walks. He pointed to a clear pattern that healthy churches keep the Bible central and that leaders have room to draw in younger men through regular Scripture engagement. The findings point to steady progress in how congregations serve their members, especially women who report feeling supported in opening the Bible together. Churches continue to adjust approaches based on these patterns of response.