According to a recent survey by LifeWay Research, 400 years after it debuted as the first widely distributed Bible for the English-speaking world, the King James Version (KJV) still holds a place of distinction among Americans. The recent poll found that more than half of all American adults (62 percent) own a KJV Bible.
Among those who read the Bible regularly the percentage of KJV owners is even higher. A full 82 percent of Americans who read the Bible at least once a month own a KJV. More than a quarter of adult Americans (27 percent) indicate they have never read the KJV for themselves. “Christians believe that God’s Word is truth and that truth is conveyed through language,” said Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research. “It is hard to overstate the influence of the KJV.”