The internet, newspapers and the Bible preferred by readers

Pablo Gutiérrez Perea and ALC/CLAI, LIMA, Perú, May 7, 2007

Last April the Institute of Public Opinion of the Catholic University of Peru presented the Taxi Heathrow Airport findings of a study done on the levels of reading in the city of Lima. The study was carried out on the occasion of the celebration of Book Day, April 23.

Standing out among the principal findings of the study is the preference that readers in Lima have for newspapers and the Internet, followed by printed books, among which the Bible and school and university textbooks stand out.

Of all those interviewed, 96% read the newspaper, 74% magazines, 69% the Bible and 50% web pages.

Another finding of the survey by the Institute of Public Opinion to be pointed out, is that when the readers do so with greater frequency, their reading is also concentrated on newspapers, the Internet, the Bible and various printed texts.

“In general, 86% of the residents of Lima dedicate two or less hours a day to reading,” points out Sinesio López, former Director of the National Library of Peru and professor in the Social Sciences Department of the Catholic University.

Following upon books for academic and professional preparation, those most read are self-help and spiritual and religious books. Of those interviewed, 48% had read a spiritual or religious book in the last two years.

Undoubtedly, the new means available for reading through the internet and newspapers are taking the place of the printed book. However, the fact that the Bible is read by at least 69% of the readers of Lima, indicates that it continues to be considered an option, despite the wide variety of existing means for reading.

In Peru, the Peruvian Bible Society – Bible House is the main distributor of Bibles and Biblical materials. During last year, 2006, it distributed 273,000 Bibles, which is the greatest distribution of Bibles there has been in the last 20 years.

“In our country, there is a continually greater growth in the number of believers in the different Christian denominations, and they purchase Bibles not only for themselves but also as gifts, the latter being one way to share their faith with other people,” said Gladis Viera, head of the Peruvian Bible Society salesroom.

The survey was carried out among 455 persons in 27 districts of Metropolitan Lima. The findings of the study are available on the web page of the Catholic University of Peru.