This seems like another one of those "let's do a study because we can get the money" studies:
How do Americans read the Bible? Scholars in Indianapolis have received a $500,000 grant to figure that out.
The Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded the grant to the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to look at how Americans relate to the Bible in their everyday lives. The center said Wednesday the three-year project is the first large-scale national study on the way scripture is read and interpreted in everyday life.
Even if they find out "how people read the Bible for themselves" or "how religious practice affects an individual's understanding of scripture," what exactly can they do with it? Philosophical discussion point: Is it worth knowing something just to know it, or should we restrict our learning efforts to that knowledge whichwe will actually find useful?
