Reading has long been more than a way to gather facts. It shapes how people think, reflect, question, and understand the world around them. For many, it also creates a quiet space to connect with spiritual beliefs through sacred writings and meaningful literature.

As reading becomes less common, many experts are asking a different question: Could the decline in deep reading also affect personal faith and spiritual life?

The concern goes beyond finishing fewer books each year. Studies show that reading skills, attention spans, and the habit of reading for pleasure have all declined across several generations. While researchers often focus on academic performance or mental health, another conversation is beginning to take shape.

If reading helps people reflect on life's biggest questions, what happens when that habit slowly disappears?

The Growing Reading Decline

Recent research paints a concerning picture. Andreas Schleicher of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported in 2024 that literacy levels are either declining or remaining stagnant across many developed nations.

The numbers highlight the shift:

1. Around 54% of Americans now read below a sixth-grade level.
2. Nearly 30% read at a level typically expected of fourth- or fifth-grade students.
3. Daily reading for pleasure among American adults has dropped by 40% over the past two decades.
4. About half of U.S. adults say they did not read a single book during the previous year.

Young readers are showing an even sharper decline. Reading scores among American children have reached their lowest levels in decades. Nearly one-third of eighth graders perform below basic reading proficiency, while average reading scores for twelfth graders reached their lowest point since national tracking began about 30 years ago.

The habit of reading for enjoyment has also faded. In 1992, 37% of 13-year-olds said they read for fun almost every day. That figure dropped to 27% in 2012 and only 14% in 2023.

Many studies connect these trends to reduced concentration, weaker memory, lower empathy, and greater exposure to misinformation. Yet one important question receives far less attention: how might declining literacy influence spiritual reflection?

Sacred Texts as Secondhand Knowledge

For centuries, access to sacred writings changed the way believers understood faith. Before the printing press became widely available, many people depended entirely on religious leaders to explain scripture because personal copies were rare.

Today, access is no longer the challenge. Interest is.

As fewer people spend time reading foundational religious texts, spiritual understanding often comes through podcasts, social media clips, short videos, or isolated quotes shared online. These sources can offer encouragement, but they rarely replace the context and depth found in reading complete passages.

Harvard scholar Niall Ferguson points to the lasting importance of written language, explaining, "Without text, it is hard to keep track of the stories that help us understand our purpose in this world and our relationship to the divine."

British columnist James Marriott raises a similar concern. He argues that setting aside great books creates what he describes as a "tragic impoverishing of the human experience," since previous generations viewed literature as one of life's deepest sources of comfort and meaning.

The same concern extends to sacred writings. Reading directly allows individuals to wrestle with ideas, notice context, and develop personal understanding rather than relying entirely on someone else's interpretation.

The Impact of Digital Distractions

Modern technology has reshaped how attention works. Instead of spending long periods with a single book, many people now consume endless streams of short videos, headlines, and social media posts.

Humanities scholar Thomas Chatterton Williams describes reading as an activity that still demands "the rare patience a book still demands of a reader — those precious slow hours of deep focus." That kind of focus has become increasingly difficult in an online world designed for constant stimulation.

Every minute, an estimated 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. Content creator Asa Park summarized today's digital formula in simple terms:

"Whatever it takes to make people click. Energy can never dip, not even briefly. Every second must justify itself, or it gets cut. No pauses, no breathing room. Remove all dead air. Silence is failure."

Researchers believe these habits are changing the brain's ability to stay focused. Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, reported that average attention spans in 2023 measured roughly one-third of what they were in 2004.

Neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, author of "Reader, Come Home", warns that many readers are replacing thoughtful reading with quick skimming. She argues that this weakens what she calls "cognitive patience," making it harder to absorb complex ideas or reflect on meaningful passages.

Computer scientist Cal Newport, author of "Deep Work", echoes that concern. He warns, "We're rapidly losing the ability to think deeply at all," and calls for society to "reclaim our heritage as contemplative beings" by resisting digital habits that constantly interrupt sustained thinking.

Deep Reading Still Builds Better Thinkers

Reading has always demanded more than recognizing words on a page. It asks readers to analyze ideas, connect evidence, question assumptions, and follow detailed arguments from beginning to end.

In "Amusing Ourselves to Death," media scholar Neil Postman explains, "To engage the written word means to follow a line of thought, which requires considerable powers of classifying, inference-making, and reasoning."

James Marriott makes a similar observation, arguing that certain forms of careful, logical thinking simply cannot develop without regular reading and writing. Drawing on historian Walter Ong's work, he notes that writing slows thinking in a productive way, giving ideas time to develop rather than reacting only to emotion.

As short-form content continues to dominate screens, thoughtful reading remains one of the few activities that encourages patience, reflection, and careful reasoning. Those skills support learning in every area of life, including the quiet moments many people associate with faith and spiritual understanding.

How Vocabulary Shapes Faith

Regular reading does more than expand knowledge. It also strengthens vocabulary, emotional awareness, and the ability to describe complex experiences. Those skills become especially valuable when trying to explain moments of hope, doubt, gratitude, or personal faith.

As reading habits decline, everyday language often becomes more limited. That makes it harder to describe meaningful spiritual experiences with clarity. Feelings that might once have been expressed as a "dark night of the soul" or a sense of "betrayal of God's will" may simply be dismissed as a bad day or an emotional slump.

The same challenge applies to positive experiences. A deep sense of peace, forgiveness, or gratitude may be difficult to explain without the words to describe it. The "Book of Mormon" offers a similar example, describing people who experienced a sacred moment but "knew it not." The passage suggests that recognizing spiritual experiences often depends on awareness, reflection, and language.

Reading exposes people to ideas and expressions that help make sense of life's deeper questions. Without that steady exposure, important moments can become harder to identify or communicate.

Reading Shapes Faith Beyond Information

Pastor Gary Grogan believes the decline in reading reaches beyond literacy. Speaking to the Deseret News, he said, "It is about spiritual formation."

According to Grogan, faith grows through attention, reflection, memory, imagination, and the willingness to spend time with sacred truths. Deep reading strengthens those same qualities, allowing religious texts to become more than information on a page.

Author Jessica Hooten Wilson, who wrote "Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice," shares a similar view. She argues that reading should not be treated as a simple way to gather facts or pass the time.

"The idea that reading is just for information or just for entertainment — both are wrong," Wilson told the Deseret News. She added, "If reading is only for one of those things, then AI should replace it. But if reading instead is a formative activity by which the human being practices and learns to become more human, then we can't get rid of it."

Her perspective highlights an important difference. Reading encourages patience, thoughtful reflection, and personal growth in ways that quick digital content rarely matches.

Imagination Plays a Role in Spiritual Life

Another concern raised by Wilson is the gradual loss of imagination.

She explains that words often point beyond their literal meaning. They help readers picture ideas that cannot be physically seen, making it easier to consider hope, purpose, forgiveness, and faith.

Wilson told the Deseret News that words serve as reminders that reality is both visible and spiritually significant. When imagination weakens, people may find it harder to think about truths that extend beyond everyday life.

The "Book of Mormon" describes faith as a "hope for things which are not seen, which are true." That kind of hope depends on the ability to picture possibilities that cannot be measured or immediately observed.

Constant exposure to short-form videos may also change expectations. Fast-moving content rewards instant reactions, while prayer and scripture often require silence, patience, and sustained attention. Over time, those quieter practices may begin to feel unfamiliar rather than meaningful.

What Happens When Sacred Reading Fades?

Research from Lifeway Research suggests that regular Bible reading continues to shape religious belief and understanding.

Executive Director Scott McConnell told the Deseret News that people naturally forget many things they hope to remember. He noted that listening to scripture through church services, study groups, or online recordings can still support faith because it reminds people of "who God is and what he wants" while helping them "understand his heart for us."

The "Book of Mormon" also tells of the Mulekite people, who arrived without written records. According to the text, "their language had become corrupted ... and they denied the being of their Creator." The account connects the loss of written records with fading spiritual memory.

Pastor Francis Chan has emphasized the same idea in a direct message to believers. Holding up a Bible at one gathering, he asked how many people regularly read God's word alone. After a brief pause, he said, "If you're not, ... I don't really have much hope for you."

Reading trends continue to change as digital entertainment occupies more of everyday life. Even so, many researchers, educators, and faith leaders agree that deep reading offers something screens can rarely replace. It strengthens attention, expands vocabulary, encourages thoughtful reasoning, and creates space for reflection.

Whether someone approaches scripture, classic literature, or thoughtful nonfiction, reading invites a slower pace that allows ideas to take root. As literacy rates continue to decline, the conversation is no longer limited to education alone. It also raises important questions about how people learn, remember, reflect, and maintain meaningful connections to the beliefs that shape their lives.