Gen Z has been fairly vocal about their struggles with mental health, but according to the American Bible Society’s recent report, “The State of the Bible 2024,” young adults who read their Bible regularly report being much happier than their peers.
The report found that Gen Z scored 12.9 on a stress scale, significantly higher than Boomers (6.3), Gen Xers (9.9), and Millennials (11.9). On the flip side, however, members of Gen Z who are “Scripture engaged” — regularly reading their Bible and allowing it to impact their lives — scored impressively high on the report’s “human flourishing index.” This index measures an individual’s happiness, mental health, social relationships and other factors. Gen Z members who are Scripture-engaged scored an 8.0 on this scale, higher than even millennials (7.9).
The study finds:
“We need to acknowledge that many in Gen Z are Bible disengaged, and they have the lowest flourishing numbers on the board. But that subset of Scripture-engaged Gen Zers has the highest number. This suggests they are living with purpose, character and happiness.”
The report also highlighted that a full 55 percent of Gen Z members answered “yes” when asked if the message of the Bible has transformed their lives.
John Farquhar Plake, the American Bible Society’s chief innovation officer and the editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series, sees the data as a positive sign for Gen Z.
Plake said:
“For the last few years, we’ve reported some rather troubling statistics about Generation Z. As a group, these 18 to 27-year-olds are less connected with the church and the Bible than older generations. They also experience more stress and less hope. 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.”