Coffee, social media, dessert and the Bible are a daily necessity for Americans, according to new research commissioned by the American Bible Society (ABS).
The largest segment of Americans, 37 percent, see coffee as a top essential, the 2018 State of the Bible report said. Dessert topped the list for 28 percent, compared to 19 percent who chose social media and 16 percent for the Bible..
More than half of adults, or 58 percent, said they wished they read the Bible more often.
In similar research released by the Pew Research Center, African Americans read the Bible more often than other ethnicities and cite particular comfort in the Exodus account of the Israelites' deliverance from slavery.
More than half of Christian and non-Christian blacks in the U.S., 54 percent, say they read the Bible at least once weekly outside of religious services, Pew said. The percentage falls to 38 percent for Hispanics and 32 percent for whites.
In the ABS State of the Bible report, Scripture was considered a daily necessity among a small segment of the population researchers judged as "Bible-centered." Among those approximately nine percent of Americans, 61 percent chose the Bible as more essential than other options. Bible-centered people said the book offers hope and peace.
"The Bible provides the wisdom of the ages for today's fears, challenges and struggles," ABS president and CEO Roy Peterson said upon the report's release. "We are finding the more engaged with the Bible someone is, the more hopeful and peaceful they are."