Guest Article

CAN THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES SPEAK TO BIBLICAL LITERACY?

DR. ROBIN K. HENSON, PH.D. PROFESSOR AND DISTINGUISHED TEACHING PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

Many years ago, after taking an introductory psychology course during my undergraduate degree program, I found my young self challenged by the idea that psychology seemed very promising in helping people’s lives in very practical ways. As an explicitly human enterprise, it sure seemed to me that psychology had a lot to offer my interests in ministry at the time. So, I added a psychology major. I wasn’t wrong. Through years on pastoral staffs, as a counselor, as an academic, and even coaching my son’s youth football team, I’ve seen the behavioral sciences come to life in very practical ways, from supporting foster kids with counseling and case management, to parenting, to trying to teach and motivate 9-year-old boys to block and tackle. As impactful as the behavioral sciences can be, however, nothing compares to the transformative power of Scripture. As the inerrant Word of God, it is the basis and truth of our Christian faith — a claim increasingly important in a culture that often finds little use for God, or even worse, finds Him irrelevant. Unfortunately, current trends point clearly toward declining levels of biblical literacy and engagement, including among those that claim to be Christians. For example, in a recent 2019 survey, the Barna Group and the American Bible Society noted that only 5% of respondents were Bible-centered while 48% were Bibledisengaged.[1] Because the Bible is inherently transformative as God’s revelation of His redemptive plan to our human condition, the consequences of this trend are troubling, both practically for people’s lives and eternally. What does rising biblical illiteracy have to do with psychology? Well, everything. It’s as relevant as any other issue to which we bring behavioral science to bear. It’s a people issue with spiritual implications. Why would such be relegated to just pastors, small group leaders, and seminary students?

Recently, I have begun to research biblical literacy from a psychological framework with focus on people’s self-efficacy beliefs. Originating in Bandura’s social cognitive theory and studied across myriad fields, why not apply these principles to self-referent beliefs in one’s ability to study and learn Scripture? These beliefs have been shown to be consistently predictive of future behavior — perhaps they have a role to play in addressing biblical engagement too. It is an empirical question worth study. Of course, this work is one small slice of the behavioral science pie. How can our respective fields address biblical learning, motivation to engage Scripture, and cognitive, behavioral, and spiritual congruence within the sanctification process? Does social psychology have anything to say about the collective perceptions of the value and role of Scripture? How do family systems influence members’ biblical engagement? Biblical literacy is a people issue. That makes it squarely relevant for psychological study and intervention. Of course, the transformative power of Scripture as the Word of God supersedes our psychological knowledge and intervention. But that shouldn’t keep us from bringing to bear what we know to the issue — to the benefit of humankind and to the advancement of the kingdom of God.

[1] “State of the Bible 2019: Trends in Engagement,” Barna Group.