Christians Are Gaining Hope and Confidence During the Pandemic Through Reading the Bible, a Survey Finds Author: Hazel Southam for Bible Society
Increased reading of the Bible during the pandemic is leading to Christians feeling hope in God and a sense of confidence in the future, despite what’s happening around them.
The findings come in a survey for Bible Society, carried out by Christian Research.
The survey found that reading the Bible was making a big difference to how Christians felt. Forty-two per cent reported that it led to an increased sense of hope in God during the crisis, rising to nearly half (49 per cent) among 45 to 54-year-olds. Some 28 per cent said that reading the Bible had increased their confidence in the future, whilst 63 per cent said that it had enabled their confidence to remain the same, rather than dipping.
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‘It’s encouraging to see that the Bible is giving people hope and confidence,’ said Dr Andrew Ollerton, author of The Bible Course. ‘The Bible has the ability to stand over our circumstances as something solid, a reference point in uncertain times. It’s like having felt all at sea, and then having a rock to stand on.’
Twenty-three per cent of those surveyed said that the Bible had increased their mental wellbeing, including 47 per cent of 24 to 34-year-olds.
Thirty-three per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds reported that reading the Bible had helped them feel less lonely.
‘Mental health is so important,’ said Dr Ollerton, ‘and the Scriptures are a source of endurance and wellbeing.’
Naomi Campbell is a mother-of-two from Jersey who has been shielding throughout the pandemic due to health issues. She said: ‘The verse that has meant a lot to me in all of this is Isaiah 61.3, ‘You have given me a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.’ My life has had a lot of challenges, but all the way along, God has given us the opportunity to see his goodness, his creativity in our lives.
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‘Scriptures and additional materials quoted are from the Good News Bible © 1994 published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK, Good News Bible© American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission.’
