For Americans disillusioned with Gen Z, a new study offers a ray of hope. According to a report from the American Bible Society, Gen Z has the highest stress levels of any age group, but those who read the Bible regularly score higher on measures of happiness and mental health than millennials and Gen Xers.
Current State of the Bible in 2024 report The survey found that Gen Z had a significantly higher stress score of 12.9 than Baby Boomers (6.3), Gen X (9.9), and Millennials (11.9).
But on the other hand, Gen Zers who are “Bible-mad” — meaning they read the Bible regularly and say it has influenced their lives — scored highly in the report’s Human Flourishing Index, which measures personal happiness, mental health, social relationships and more.
Members of Gen Z who are actively engaged with the Bible received a score of 8.0 on the scale of human flourishing, higher than Millennials (7.9) and Gen X (7.6) and on par with Baby Boomers (8.0).
Bottom line: Bible-reading Gen Zers say the Bible has the power to change their lives.
“It is important to recognize that many members of Gen Z are not Bible-engaged and have the lowest thriving scores (6.0). However, the subset of Gen Z who are Bible-engaged has the highest thriving scores (8.0),” the report states. “This indicates that they are living lives of purpose, character and happiness.”
When asked, “Has the Bible’s message changed my life?” 55 percent of Gen Zers answered “Yes.”
John Farquhar Plake, chief innovation officer at the American Bible Society and editor-in-chief of the “State of the Bible” series, said the data is positive for Gen Z.
“For the past few years, we’ve reported some pretty alarming statistics about Gen Z. As a group, these 18-27 year olds are less connected to church and the Bible, more stressed, and less hopeful than older generations,” Plake says. “But what about those Gen Zers who are engaged with the Bible? They score higher on measures of human flourishing than their non-Bible-reading peers, and they score higher than any other generation. While more research is needed in this area, this suggests that the unique challenges that keep young people from flourishing can be overcome by regularly connecting with God in the Bible.”
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Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
