The Impact of Reading the Bible and Studying the Bible on Biblical Knowledge
Robert Filback and Stephen Krashen
Knowledge Quest, 31(2): 50-51. 2002
Abstract: In a study of Christian adults, frequency of voluntary bible reading was a significant predictor of recognition of biblical names; amount of formal bible study was not a significant predictor.
INTRODUCTION
Free voluntary reading is a powerful way of learning. Those who read more do better on tests of history, literature, "cultural literacy," science, and "practical knowledge,"1 This study attempts to determine whether reading the bible for pleasure results in increased knowledge of the bible, and to compare its effects to formal bible study.
PROCEDURE
Subjects. Subjects were women and men between 19 and 68 years old affiliated with a multi-denominational Christian non-profit service organization. One hundred received a brief cover letter and questionnaires (see below). Approximately half were returned, most within a few days time. After eliminating partially completed questionnaires and those with unclear responses 50 usable surveys remained and were used for the analysis. Other subjects (n = 89) filled out the questionnaire in a classroom, while they participated in a summer orientation and training program. Eighty subjects turned in the questionnaires and 52 were usable (i.e. not eliminated due to partial or missing data).
Subjects were informed that completion of the survey was voluntary and anonymous. In fact, subjects were asked not to include their names. Completion of the survey took about ten minutes.
Measures. Subjects were asked to take the Bible Character Recognition Test (BCRT). The BCRT was a list of 28 names from the Old and New testaments selected by the first author. An attempt was made to include a range of names, from well-known to less well-known, in order to insure an appropriate level of difficulty.
Subjects were asked to simply indicate if they were familiar with the names. This checklist kind of measure has been validated in a series of studies by Stanovich and colleagues, who reported that checklist measures of authors and book titles correlate consistently and highly with measures of amount of free voluntary reading done, vocabulary knowledge, and as noted above, general knowledge.2 The BCRT included names such as: Jonathan, Ruth, Philemon, and Claudia. All names on the BCRT were bible characters. There were, in other words, no "foils." Kim and Krashen reported that performance on an author recognition test without foils was an excellent predictor of cultural literacy.3
Subjects were given the following instructions: "Below you will see a list of names. Some of the people on the list are biblical characters (people mentioned in the bible). Please read the names and put a check mark next to the names of those individuals who you know to be biblical characters. Do not guess, but check only those who you know to be characters from the bible."
Subjects were also asked their age, number of years they had been a Christian, years of education completed, years of formal bible training, and the number of years they had studied the bible on their own. They also answered the following questions:
Do you enjoy reading the bible? (1 = not at all; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = often; 5 = all the time).
How often do you read the bible? (1 = never; 2 = once/year; 3 = once/month; 4 = once/week; 5 = every day)
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