- Introduction
- Patterns
Reading sacred texts (Demographic Patterns)
Outside of attending religious services, about how often do you read the Bible, Koran, Torah, or other sacred book?. Results weighted by WEIGHT (Baylor Religion Survey, Wave 2, 2007)
Reading sacred texts by Age
| 18-29 years old | 30-44 years old | 45-59 years old | 60-74 years old | 75 years and older | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 27.7% 74 | 31.6% 160 | 26.0% 119 | 23.1% 63 | 22.6% 28 | 27.3% 444 |
| Less than once a year | 15.4% 41 | 11.3% 57 | 15.5% 71 | 14.7% 40 | 17.7% 22 | 14.2% 231 |
| Once or twice a year | 12.4% 33 | 11.9% 60 | 11.4% 52 | 8.8% 24 | 8.9% 11 | 11.1% 180 |
| Several times a year | 8.2% 22 | 10.7% 54 | 9.8% 45 | 9.9% 27 | 12.9% 16 | 10.1% 164 |
| Once a month | 4.1% 11 | 3.0% 15 | 2.4% 11 | 3.7% 10 | 1.6% 2 | 3.0% 49 |
| 2-3 times a month | 5.2% 14 | 7.1% 36 | 6.1% 28 | 6.2% 17 | 3.2% 4 | 6.1% 99 |
| About weekly | 9.0% 24 | 4.0% 20 | 4.4% 20 | 7.0% 19 | 7.3% 9 | 5.7% 92 |
| Weekly | 4.9% 13 | 7.7% 39 | 8.1% 37 | 6.6% 18 | 6.5% 8 | 7.1% 115 |
| Several times a week or more often | 13.1% 35 | 12.8% 65 | 16.4% 75 | 20.1% 55 | 19.4% 24 | 15.6% 254 |
| Missing | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 21 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 267 | 100.0% 506 | 100.0% 458 | 100.0% 273 | 100.0% 124 | 1628 |
Reading sacred texts by Church attendance
| Never | Less than once a month | Less than once a week | Weekly or more | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 59.4% 222 | 34.1% 156 | 13.5% 39 | 4.7% 23 | 4 | 27.3% 440 |
| Less than once a year | 19.8% 74 | 22.9% 105 | 11.8% 34 | 3.5% 17 | 2 | 14.3% 230 |
| Once or twice a year | 9.6% 36 | 15.7% 72 | 15.6% 45 | 5.3% 26 | 1 | 11.1% 179 |
| Several times a year | 5.1% 19 | 14.0% 64 | 17.0% 49 | 6.3% 31 | 2 | 10.1% 163 |
| Once a month | 0.8% 3 | 1.1% 5 | 6.9% 20 | 4.1% 20 | 1 | 3.0% 48 |
| 2-3 times a month | 1.1% 4 | 4.6% 21 | 9.0% 26 | 9.2% 45 | 3 | 6.0% 96 |
| About weekly | 0.8% 3 | 2.0% 9 | 10.1% 29 | 10.2% 50 | 1 | 5.7% 91 |
| Weekly | 1.1% 4 | 2.6% 12 | 6.3% 18 | 16.6% 81 | 1 | 7.1% 115 |
| Several times a week or more often | 2.4% 9 | 3.1% 14 | 9.7% 28 | 40.1% 196 | 7 | 15.4% 247 |
| Missing | 4 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 374 | 100.0% 458 | 100.0% 288 | 100.0% 489 | 22 | 1609 |
Reading sacred texts by Education
| Less than high school | High school graduate | Some college or vocational training | College graduate | Postgraduate work/degree | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 30.2% 38 | 31.8% 147 | 23.3% 140 | 28.5% 61 | 25.6% 51 | 8 | 27.3% 437 |
| Less than once a year | 16.7% 21 | 12.1% 56 | 13.6% 82 | 17.8% 38 | 15.1% 30 | 5 | 14.2% 227 |
| Once or twice a year | 10.3% 13 | 9.3% 43 | 10.6% 64 | 14.5% 31 | 13.6% 27 | 2 | 11.1% 178 |
| Several times a year | 10.3% 13 | 9.3% 43 | 11.0% 66 | 7.0% 15 | 12.1% 24 | 5 | 10.0% 161 |
| Once a month | 1.6% 2 | 2.4% 11 | 3.3% 20 | 2.8% 6 | 4.5% 9 | 1 | 3.0% 48 |
| 2-3 times a month | 3.2% 4 | 6.5% 30 | 6.8% 41 | 4.2% 9 | 5.0% 10 | 4 | 5.9% 94 |
| About weekly | 9.5% 12 | 3.9% 18 | 7.0% 42 | 6.1% 13 | 2.5% 5 | 2 | 5.6% 90 |
| Weekly | 8.7% 11 | 8.2% 38 | 6.8% 41 | 7.0% 15 | 4.5% 9 | 0 | 7.1% 114 |
| Several times a week or more often | 9.5% 12 | 16.5% 76 | 17.5% 105 | 12.1% 26 | 17.1% 34 | 1 | 15.8% 253 |
| Missing | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 126 | 100.0% 462 | 100.0% 601 | 100.0% 214 | 100.0% 199 | 28 | 1602 |
Reading sacred texts by Political party
| Democrat | Independent | Republican | Other | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 31.9% 189 | 35.0% 123 | 18.4% 113 | 29.7% 11 | 9 | 27.4% 436 |
| Less than once a year | 16.2% 96 | 15.7% 55 | 11.2% 69 | 16.2% 6 | 5 | 14.2% 226 |
| Once or twice a year | 11.8% 70 | 12.8% 45 | 10.1% 62 | 8.1% 3 | 1 | 11.3% 180 |
| Several times a year | 12.2% 72 | 6.6% 23 | 10.1% 62 | 10.8% 4 | 4 | 10.1% 161 |
| Once a month | 1.9% 11 | 2.6% 9 | 4.2% 26 | 8.1% 3 | 1 | 3.1% 49 |
| 2-3 times a month | 5.2% 31 | 4.8% 17 | 7.5% 46 | 5.4% 2 | 2 | 6.0% 96 |
| About weekly | 4.4% 26 | 6.6% 23 | 6.0% 37 | 2.7% 1 | 4 | 5.5% 87 |
| Weekly | 6.4% 38 | 6.0% 21 | 8.3% 51 | 2.7% 1 | 4 | 7.0% 111 |
| Several times a week or more often | 10.0% 59 | 10.0% 35 | 24.1% 148 | 16.2% 6 | 6 | 15.6% 248 |
| Missing | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 592 | 100.0% 351 | 100.0% 614 | 100.0% 37 | 36 | 1594 |
Reading sacred texts by Sex
| Male | Female | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 30.5% 233 | 24.4% 211 | 27.3% 444 |
| Less than once a year | 16.1% 123 | 12.6% 109 | 14.3% 232 |
| Once or twice a year | 12.7% 97 | 9.6% 83 | 11.1% 180 |
| Several times a year | 9.5% 73 | 10.7% 92 | 10.1% 165 |
| Once a month | 2.6% 20 | 3.4% 29 | 3.0% 49 |
| 2-3 times a month | 4.7% 36 | 7.2% 62 | 6.0% 98 |
| About weekly | 4.3% 33 | 6.7% 58 | 5.6% 91 |
| Weekly | 6.8% 52 | 7.3% 63 | 7.1% 115 |
| Several times a week or more often | 12.8% 98 | 18.1% 156 | 15.6% 254 |
| Missing | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 765 | 100.0% 863 | 1628 |
Reading sacred texts by Religion
| Protestant | Catholic | Jewish | None | Other | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 15.9% 146 | 36.9% 129 | 38.7% 12 | 67.2% 119 | 18.1% 17 | 22 | 26.9% 423 |
| Less than once a year | 10.8% 99 | 18.0% 63 | 25.8% 8 | 22.6% 40 | 13.8% 13 | 9 | 14.2% 223 |
| Once or twice a year | 10.7% 98 | 13.7% 48 | 16.1% 5 | 6.8% 12 | 11.7% 11 | 5 | 11.1% 174 |
| Several times a year | 10.9% 100 | 12.9% 45 | 12.9% 4 | 1.1% 2 | 11.7% 11 | 1 | 10.3% 162 |
| Once a month | 4.6% 42 | 1.4% 5 | 6.5% 2 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0 | 3.1% 49 |
| 2-3 times a month | 8.0% 74 | 5.1% 18 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 3.2% 3 | 3 | 6.0% 95 |
| About weekly | 7.3% 67 | 4.9% 17 | 0.0% 0 | 1.1% 2 | 3.2% 3 | 2 | 5.7% 89 |
| Weekly | 10.0% 92 | 3.7% 13 | 0.0% 0 | 0.6% 1 | 4.3% 4 | 4 | 7.0% 110 |
| Several times a week or more often | 22.0% 202 | 3.4% 12 | 0.0% 0 | 0.6% 1 | 34.0% 32 | 6 | 15.7% 247 |
| Missing | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 920 | 100.0% 350 | 100.0% 31 | 100.0% 177 | 100.0% 94 | 52 | 1572 |
Notes
The Baylor Department of Sociology received a three-year grant from the John M. Templeton Foundation, to conduct a nationally representative multi-year study of religious values, practices, and behaviors. Wave 2 of the Baylor Religion Survey was collected in 2007 and includes a deep selection of questions related to religious behaviors, beliefs and belonging. Special topic modules examine race and religion, and personality.
