By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer

A new study conducted among young people in Britain finds that most view the Bible as “old fashioned” and “irrelevant” and meant only for church-goers.

According to a report by Reuters, a Durham University study polled 900 youth in Britain and found that less than one in 20 could name all Ten Commandments. Forty percent did not know that exchanging Christmas gifts derived from the story of the Wise Men and 60 percent knew nothing about the Good Samaritan. One respondent thought that David and Goliath were the names of a ship while another thought Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den, was The Lion King.

“It is the first recognition of something which we all knew in our gut,” said Durham University’s Rev. Brian D. Brown, about the dismal results of the survey. “We knew it was there but we weren’t exactly willing to face up to it.”

He said the decline in biblical knowledge in people under the age of 45 proves the need for greater religious education among young people.

“We have got to recognise that it (the Bible) is the foundation of our society, upon which our whole culture has been based,” he said. “To understand it and to live in it you do need an understanding of the Bible.”

Understandably, atheists are unconcerned about the decline of the Bible’s popularity.

“It shows really that religion is becoming less important to people,” Pepper Harow, campaigns officer at the British Humanist Association told Reuters. “The fact that people have little knowledge of the Bible perhaps suggests that it’s becoming less and less relevant to people in the 21st century.”

The good news is that in spite of the tepid response to the Bible, three-quarters of those surveyed said they owned one, and a third said it was significant in their lives.

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