Will Maule | Faithwire.com | April 2, 2020

A new study has found that some 20% of non-Christians have become interested in reading the Bible ever since the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep across the globe. 

The poll, commissioned by pro-Israel ministry group “The Joshua Fund” and conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, interviewed 1000 Americans — Christian and non-Christian — to find out a bit more about their spiritual reactions to the crisis.

Notably, some 44% of Americans polled said they see the global coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown as a “wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God,” and as “signs of coming judgment.” 

In addition, some one-in-five non-Christians (21.5%) polled said the crisis is causing them to “start reading the Bible and listen to Bible teaching and Christian sermons online even though they usually don’t.” 

This group is also inclined to “search online to learn more about Bible prophecy and God’s plan for the future of mankind, and have more spiritual conversations with family and friends,” according to the study.

As for the Christians, four-in-ten (40.1%) of the respondents said they are “reading the Bible more than ever, watching or listening to Bible teaching and Christian sermons online since they cannot go to church.” This group was also found to be “searching online to understand Bible prophecy and God’s plan for the future of mankind.” 

There are some 235,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the United States, with the global total now on the cusp of one million; the worldwide death toll has now surpassed 50,000.