The American Bible Society (ABS) recently conducted a survey finding that 70% of 12- to 15-year-olds surveyed said there are correlations between the messages of the Bible and the way they apply those messages to their lives.

More than 1,600 12- to 18-year-olds participated in a six-question survey conducted by Weekly Reader Research on behalf of ABS, which also found that 51% of those surveyed were introduced to the Bible by their parents. A pastor or priest introduced 18% of teens to the Bible, the survey said, while 12.5% were introduced by a youth leader.

The study also found that children who read the Bible before age 10 were more likely to read the Bible regularly as teenagers, and 56% of respondents said they were introduced to the messages of the Bible before age 10.

More than half the teens surveyed read the Bible daily, weekly, on Sunday or sometimes; and of that, 6% read the Bible daily.

“We conducted the survey to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the role the Bible plays in the lives of teens in America,” said Paul Irwin, ABS president. “All of us were very excited to see, and have reinforced, the important role parents play in introducing the Bible to children at a young age.”

Another finding in the survey was how teens are likely to turn to the Bible in times of crisis, and girls are significantly more likely to do so. About 58.9% of girls-compared to 52% of boys-are most likely to read the Bible when “a family member or friend is sick or dying.” When asked if they read the Bible “when they are depressed or feeling down,” 52.2% of girls said yes, versus 44.4% of boys surveyed.

When asked if they turned to the Bible for education about sex and sexuality, 21% of all teens surveyed answered yes.