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Daily Bible Reading Links to Higher Happiness and Mental Health Scores Among Gen Z
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Jul 09, 2024
For Americans disillusioned with Generation Z, a new study offers a beacon of hope. The report from the American Bible Society reveals that members of Generation Z have the highest stress level of any age group but that those who read their Bible regularly score higher on a happiness and mental health scale than Millennials and members of Generation X.
The State of the Bible 2024 report found that Gen Z scored 12.9 on a stress scale, far higher than Boomers (6.3), Gen Xers (9.9), and Millennials (11.9).
On the flip side, though, members of Gen Z who are “Scripture engaged” -- that is, they regularly read their Bible and say it impacts their lives -- scored high on the report’s “human flourishing index,” which gauges an individual’s happiness, mental health and social relationships, among other factors.
Gen Z members who are Scripture-engaged scored an 8.0 on the human flourishing scale, higher than Millennials (7.9) and Gen X (7.6) and equal to Boomers (8.0).
The takeaway: Gen Zers who read the Bible say it has life-changing power.
“We need to acknowledge that many in Gen Z are Bible disengaged, and they have the lowest flourishing numbers on the board (6.0). But that subset of Scripture engaged Gen Z-ers has the highest number (8.0),” the report said. “This suggests they are living with purpose, character, and happiness.”
A full 55 percent of Gen Z members answered “yes” when asked, “The message of the Bible has transformed my life.”
John Farquhar Plake, the American Bible Society’s Chief Innovation Officer and the editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series said the data is positive for Generation Z.
“For the last few years, we’ve reported some rather troubling statistics about Generation Z. As a group, these 18–27-year-olds are less connected with the church and the Bible than older generations. They also experience more stress and less hope,” Plake said. “But what about those in Gen Z who do engage with Scripture? They score higher on the human flourishing scale than other young adults who don’t read the Bible and have the highest score of any generation. There’s more research to be done here, but this suggests that the unique challenges keeping young adults from flourishing are countered by a regular connection with God in Scripture.”
Photo Credit:©Getty Images/ FatCamera
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
