Do tell what does the research demonstrate regarding the reading fluency and comprehension of many modern readers when reading 16th - Century English.
Was a control group involved?
Reading levels of the General population is on a 5th grade reading level.
Shakespeare is no longer a High School level of reading....it's post-secondary.
So we have a group of elitists snobs that claim only one translation is acceptable?
No different than the Pharisees in any respects. The Pharisees claimed that the Aramaic translation was the ONLY viable translation and that the Greek Septuagint was a heathen translation. The Aramaic translation also included "Targums" which was explanatory commentaries on the scriptures in the margins. (On the left side of the collums on the scrolls as Hebrew and Aramaic is read right to left)
Stephan was stoned to death in part because he quoted the Septuagint instead of Hebrew or Aramaic translations. The Greek translation was deemed to be the wicked language of Goyim and not allowed in the Sanhidrin. So it infuriated them more for a predetermined outcome.
So....where this notion of "not needing anyone" to help you understand the scriptures is absolutely against what scriptures relate starting with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Adam had the responsibility of teaching Eve and their children what God had said and we see Eve failing completely in her conversation with the serpent.
It also fails in that Levites were responsible for all handling of scriptures to teach the people God's Word.
However, this Caste-based lifestyle has been destroyed by John's Baptism. (Why Jesus said, " of those born among women there is none greater than John")
But the principle remains that the Gospel is not such that you discover it for yourself you must hear it from someone else. Meaning you need to be prepared to give an answer for the faith you hold. And if you are average you only read on a 5th grade level. If divergent, then you have a 50/50 of lower or higher. Meaning that the Gospel Scriptures are now closed to 85%+ of the entire population.
Totally NOT what God wanted or intended.
The scriptures themselves are 5,700 to 2,000 years old from another culture and manner of writing. Completely foreign to the current population. Of course a hermeneutics guide is 100% necessary. God doesn't supernaturally hand out knowledge to the majority of people despite the Bible itself being supernaturally preserved over the thousands of years. (And it's destruction and deliberate neglect has seen very profound determination over the millennia. )
It's prejudice in its most profound form with a fig leaf of religiosity for clothing....and insufficient. It is also hateful, spiteful, and murder of an eternal nature....the worst kind of murder.