King James Version
Most Popular US Bible
NEW YORK (AP) - Americans have
seemingly contradictory desires in choosing Bible
translations,
judging from a new Gallup Poll for the American Bible
Society.
The poll showed the Bible is the category of book
Americans say they most often read regularly, and
that 93 percent of American homes have one.
The King James Version, with its old-fashioned language
from 1611, remains by far the most revered
translation, and yet Americans say the Bible should be
easier to read and understand. In the Gallup poll,
conducted in October, 36 percent felt the Bible is not
easy to understand, and 61 percent said the Bible
should be easier to read than it is.
Until the 1950s, the King James was the only Bible in
wide use among Protestants, who tend to
dominate the Bible-buying market. Since then many new
versions have been produced to meet the
demand for modernized Scriptures.
The Gallup Poll found that in households with a Bible, 54
percent owned the King James, followed by 15
percent for the New International Version and
single-digit responses for the updated New King James,
the New American Standard Bible, Catholic editions and
the New Revised Standard Version.
The King James was used most often, by 41 percent of
homes with any Bible, followed by the New
International Version at 8 percent. But in the homes with
more than one version the King James only
edged the New International by 30 percent to 23 percent.
Religion
News in Brief 05/03/01
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