Not an easy read: Survey indicates Bible hard to understand

Published: 2008-05-02

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Bible: Most people in Europe and North America have one and some of them actually read it, but more than half of them say it is difficult to understand. A survey commissioned by the Catholic Biblical Federation found that even those who reported reading the Bible said it was not easy to understand. Luca Diotallevi, the Rome-based sociology professor who coordinated the survey's working group, said, "This is very important: People described the Bible as difficult whether or not they said they read it. The people of God are asking for help reading the Bible," he said in an April 30 interview. The Catholic Biblical Federation commissioned the survey as part of its preparation for the October world Synod of Bishops, which will focus on the Bible. During an April 28 Vatican press conference, the federation and GfK-Eurisko, which conducted the survey, presented preliminary results from nine countries: the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and Russia.

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