American Bible Society today released the eighth and final chapter of its 16th annual State of the Bible report, which reveals data about Americans’ tendencies and attitudes regarding love and generosity. It examines how Contributory Love relates to flourishing, Scripture Engagement, and financial generosity and explores the key facets of giving—who gives, why, how much, and to whom. Chapter Eight of State of the Bible: USA 2026 is now available to download at StateoftheBible.org.

“Generosity is a tangible expression of love,” said Dr. John Farquhar Plake, American Bible Society’s Chief Innovation Officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series. “Generosity is an overflow of the heart, and this year’s State of the Bible findings clearly demonstrate that a life transformed by the Bible inspires sacrificial giving and ultimately impacts a person’s overall well-being—along with that of their community.”

The concept of Contributory Love is adapted from the work of VanderWeele and Lee on interpersonal love, which defines Contributory Love as “a disposition towards desiring good for a person for his or her own sake.” To measure Contributory Love, the State of the Bible survey asked two questions from a longer survey VanderWeele and Lee have devised: “I make necessary sacrifices in order to help other people” and “My own well-being depends on meaningfully contributing to the well-being of others.”

State of the Bible findings come from a nationally representative survey designed by American Bible Society and fielded by NORC at the University of Chicago, using their AmeriSpeak panel. Responses came from 2,649 online and phone interviews with American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data were collected from January 8–27, 2026.

Key findings analyzed in Chapter 8: Love and Generosity

  • People who say the message of the Bible has transformed their lives give more in charitable donations. The median donation for respondents who “strongly agreed” with the Bible’s impact on their lives was $1,000, compared to $200 for those who “somewhat agreed” and a nominal figure for those who disagreed (page 20).
  • High Contributory Love scores correlate with greater Human Flourishing. The report finds that people who “often” or “always” make necessary sacrifices to help others average a 7.2 on the Human Flourishing Index, which typically ranges from 6.0 to 7.5—a full point above those who “rarely” or “never” make such sacrifices. In particular, Contributory Love is most strongly associated with the “Character and Virtue” flourishing domain (page 6).
    • Even when money is tight, people with high Contributory Love scores still give to others. Only 37% of those with high Contributory Love scores also have high financial and material stability (page 6).
  • Nearly nine in ten (89%) respondents who engaged with the Bible in the past month donated to charitable causes (including churches) (page 16).
  • Religious organizations (places of worship and local, regional, or national religious organizations) receive the majority of Americans’ charitable giving (nearly 60%). Most of these donations are given to churches, parishes, or temples (45%). Local non-religious charities follow (23%), with national non-religious charities receiving the smallest proportion of donations (20%) (page 19).

To download the eighth chapter of State of the Bible 2026, visit StateoftheBible.org. Starting in December, print copies of the report will be available for purchase.

*State of the Bible includes definitions of Scripture Engagement, Bible Use (active and occasional users), Movable Middle, Nones, and other key terms on their website.