UNITED STATES – A survey by the American Bible Society has found that 70 per cent of 12-18 year-olds agree that there is a link between the messages of the Bible and the way they conduct their lives. African Americans were the ethnic group most likely to concur with this statement. More than 1,600 12-18 year-olds took part in the survey.

Fifty-one per cent of the young people said their parents had introduced them to the Bible, 18 per cent said a pastor or a priest had been responsible and 12.5 per cent said a youth leader had done so.

The survey also revealed that roughly 56 per cent were introduced to the Bible before the age of 10 and that children reading the Bible by that age were more likely to continue doing so as teenagers.

From the findings of the survey it is estimated that six per cent of the 30.2 million 12 -18 year-olds in the United States read the Bible daily.

Asked if they were likely to turn to the Bible in a crisis, about 59 per cent of girls and 52 per cent of boys said they were most likely to read it when a family member or friend was sick or dying. Fewer – 52.2 per cent of girls and 44.4 per cent of boys – said they read it when depressed.