On the Side of the Angels. The Third Report of the Biblos Project

Abstract

In the third phase of the Biblos project we wanted to get closer to the problems of the Bible in our culture. How can we be sure what young people think about it? Here we used questionnaires and interviews with students in Year 6 (chronological ages 10 and 11), Year 9 (ages 13, 14) and Year 12 (Lower Sixth, 16, 17). Are their attitudes uniformly negative, or have we come to assume that without good reason? How far do attitudes vary with age? Or gender? Or religious affiliation (or lack of it)? Where have these attitudes come from? We wanted to ensure that from a statistical and methodological point of view, the research was reliable. Our sample closely reflected the 2001 national census categories of religious adherence. Some conclusions from this phase of the work are surprising. Others are not. They are presented in detail in the report that follows. But our findings represent a wake-up call to Religious Education, to the faith communities that deal with the Bible and to the Bible Society itself in seeking to present biblical narrative effectively to young people.