83% of Americans Have Never Read the Bible: The Crisis No One Is Talking About
NRB President Troy Miller warns that America's real crisis is not moral rebellion but widespread biblical illiteracy threatening the nation's constitutional foundations.
Why Biblical Illiteracy Is Destroying America From the Inside Out
Troy Miller, President and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), is sounding the alarm on what he calls the real crisis facing America: widespread biblical illiteracy. Writing for The Christian Post on April 23, 2026, Miller argues the central problem confronting both church and culture is not moral rebellion against biblical truth, but widespread unfamiliarity with it.
Miller points out that Scripture is often no longer known with sufficient depth to be interpreted responsibly, rejected intelligently, or applied coherently. Large numbers of self identified Christians now affirm claims fundamentally at odds with historic Christian orthodoxy.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
Invoking the words of John Adams, Miller contends the American constitutional framework was never designed to function in a moral vacuum. When people lose familiarity with Scripture's moral framework, they lose what he calls the "conceptual architecture" for understanding justice, freedom, and responsibility.
The consequences are visible across public life. Public officials invoke God without theological rigor. Media personalities handle Scripture without discipline. Christian audiences cannot distinguish sound doctrine from charisma. The result, Miller warns, is "freedom emptied of purpose" and "rights detached from responsibility."
His warning comes during the "America Reads the Bible" initiative in Washington, D.C., where 475 national leaders are reading the entire Bible aloud over seven days at the Museum of the Bible to mark America's 250th anniversary. President Trump participated on April 21, reading 2 Chronicles 7:14 from the Oval Office.
NRB President Says Scripture Must Be Recovered as Authoritative Teaching, Not Political Ornament
Miller's proposed solution calls for recovering Scripture as authoritative teaching, not as civil religion, partisan ornament, or a reservoir of selectively quoted affirmations. Churches must provide better catechesis and theological training. Media platforms bear responsibility for clarifying rather than confusing biblical truth.
The American Bible Society's 2026 State of the Bible report confirms the scope of the problem: only 17% of Americans say they have read the entire Bible, while shallow preaching, weak catechesis, and the prioritization of relevance over doctrinal seriousness have left many Christians without the framework necessary to recognize error.
The Crusader's Opinion
Let's be brutally honest. A nation that does not know its Bible is a nation that has already surrendered its soul. We have traded the Word of God for trending hashtags and feel good sermons that wouldn't challenge a child. Troy Miller is right: the crisis is not that America has rejected Scripture. The crisis is that America doesn't even know what it's rejecting. You cannot defend what you have never read. You cannot stand on truth you have never studied. Every church that replaced verse by verse teaching with coffee shop theology helped build this disaster. Every pastor who chose relevance over revelation contributed to the collapse. If 83% of Americans have never read the Bible cover to cover, then we are not a biblically literate nation. We are a nation running on spiritual fumes, and the engine is about to die.
Take Action
- Commit to reading the Bible in its entirety this year. Start with a structured reading plan from YouVersion Bible App or Bible Gateway Reading Plans.
- Ask your pastor to implement verse by verse expository preaching and adult catechesis classes at your church. If they refuse, find a church that takes Scripture seriously.
- Support the work of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) as they advocate for biblical literacy through Christian media.
- Visit America Reads the Bible to watch or participate in the nationwide Bible reading initiative.
- Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted Christians worldwide who risk their lives just to own a copy of Scripture.
