A book considered difficult to read but interesting by the majority of the population. Poorly read and used for personal prayer but present in households as well. It is the Bible, the focus of a survey conducted by Gfk Eurisko, presented in the Vatican Newsroom and sponsored by the Catholic Biblical Federation, in the run-up to the Bishops Synod of October which will deal with "God’s Word" in the life of the Church. The survey was conducted on 8 European countries (United Kingdom, Germany, Holland, France, Poland, Russia, Spain, Italy) and in the United States, to "assess the relation between the adult population and the Scriptures". The survey was conducted on a representative ecumenical sample (Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox people). As to how often it is read, the survey showed that over the last 12 months at least one passage from the Bible has been read by 20% of the Spanish population, 27% of Italians, and 36% of English people. The percentage rises for Poland (38%) and Russia (35%) up to the peak of 75% in the USA. Only in the United States is the reading of the Bible the favourite form of communication. 30% of Germans, 31% of Italians and 34% of Poles prefer sermons, while in the UK, Holland, Russia, Spain and France TV religious programs are favourites. (continued)
