150 countries analysed | 89 languages | 90,000 people surveyed
The Patmos Initiative brings together people and organisations sharing one vision – a world where everyone encounters the Bible, is empowered to explore it and experiences the impact it can have on lives and communities. We call this Bible Engagement.
The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Survey is the most ambitious and pioneering Bible Engagement research project ever conducted due to its scale, methodology and reach. Conducted in partnership with Gallup, The Patmos Survey analyses the missiological context of 150 countries, exploring the religious attitudes and beliefs of 90,000 people in 85 countries, providing world class data, and establishing a new understanding of how people relate to the Bible.
The Patmos Survey took a two-phased approach to understanding how people relate to the Bible:
- Identify a global typology that establishes how countries may be grouped, according to similar contexts for mission, into country clusters or ‘Mission Contexts’.
- Within each identified Mission Context, survey a representative sample of the adult population across a range of countries to establish attitudes, beliefs and behaviours with regard to the Bible (and other markers), leading to the identification of distinct audience groups in the population that can be used as key audiences for understanding the religious landscape, directing mission strategy and helping people explore the Bible for themselves.
Survey Launch on 30 April 2025
On 30 April 2025, the British and Foreign Bible Society and United Bible Societies will launch The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Survey at an online event across three time zones. Interpretation will be available in French and Spanish.
