Last fall, we conducted a large survey of clergy, inquiring about their reading habits and about the role that reading played in their congregations.
We worked with sociologist John W. Hawthorne to analyze the survey data that we collected and are delighted to release it now to the public!
Here’s an excerpt from our introduction that highlights a few key findings of the survey:
We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout of respondents to the survey: we had just under 1000 people who completed the survey from across North America – and to a lesser extent, around the globe. Not surprisingly, we had more male respondents (roughly 2/3) than females (about 1/3). However, given that the general clergy population is estimated to be 80% male and 20% female, we were glad to have a higher than expected response from female clergy.
We found that our respondents read at least ten hours per week, which is substantially higher than the average American’s reading habit (which is less than 2 hours per week.) One encouraging finding of our survey was that 76% of respondents indicated that reading was a part of their congregational life and church-sponsored activities. Another interesting finding was that print books were by far the preferred means of reading for survey participants (61% preferred print books, compared to 16% who prefer ebooks and 11% who prefer audiobooks.) We also found that respondents over the age of 70 spent the most time reading compared to other age groups, which is not terribly surprising, given that the reading habits of this oldest generation were solidly formed long before the digital age. Also not surprising, was the finding that younger clergy were significantly more likely to read books about leadership and ministry. These are just a few findings from this survey that stood out to me. I hope you will dig into this report and discover other findings that seem relevant to the present state of reading, publishing, and church life.
[ DOWNLOAD THE SURVEY REPORT ]
This project was generously funded in part by a Thriving Congregations grant from the Lilly Endowment.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
Understanding Christian Nationalism [A Reading Guide] |
 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall for Christian Readers!
|
 Hilarious One-Star Customer Reviews of Bibles |
