More than 30 million Evangelical Protestants gather every week for Bible study groups, meeting in homes, churches, coffee shops, restaurants, and other public and private venues across the country. What happens in these groups? How do they help shape the contours of American Evangelical life?

In January, New York University Press released Words Upon the Word, Bielo’s ethnographic account of how Evangelicals use Bible study to reflect on the details of their faith. Bielo uses a close analysis of participants' discourse to allow these Evangelical Christians to speak for themselves on the defining themes of Evangelical group life—from textual interpretation to spiritual intimacy and the rehearsal of witnessing. Bielo’s book describes how, in discussing the Bible with one another, they become self-conscious religious subjects, sharing the intimate details of life, interrogating beliefs and practices, and articulating their version of Christian identity and culture.

Miami Visiting Assistant Professor James S. Bielo spent more than nineteen months of ethnographic work with five congregations to better understand what group Bible study means for Evangelical culture and why Bible study matters so much to Evangelicals.