ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the global impact of the Bible, although mostly focussing on European and North American culture, picking up Eyal Poleg’s concept of the Bible as a mediated text even before the introduction of the printing press. The chapter traces the history of Bible reading through the Reformation and Evangelical Revival periods and into the contemporary world of media through Rethinking Biblical Literacy. It looks at Clive Field’s work on Bible Engagement in UK society and the decline in Bible engagement which he proposes. The chapter then shifts its attention to Jacques Berlinerblau’s exploration of the history of the Bible in the USA, alongside James Bielo’s exploration of the social life of scripture. Field’s work in the UK is matched with the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) research project, The Bible in American Life. Finally, the chapter explores the contextual research of Brian Malley in the USA and Louis Lawrence in the UK to conclude that this book explores the Bible engagement of ordinary Bible readers within their own context, particularly within popular culture and the everyday use of the Bible.
