American Bible Society today released their sixth chapter of the 14th annual State of the Bible report, focusing on generational differences in people’s perceptions of well-being, with an emphasis on data about Gen Z. The research looks at anxiety, fears, self-acceptance, peer affirmation, trauma and hopefulness across different age groups. The sixth chapter of State of the Bible 2024 is now available to download at StateoftheBible.org.

“Our youngest adults—those in Generation Z—have more fears, greater anxiety, lower self-esteem, and less affirmation from peers than any older generation. This news sounds an alarm for all Christians to do what they can to help,” said John Farquhar Plake, PhD, American Bible Society’s Chief Innovation Officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series. “The good news is that our data shows the Bible makes a major difference. For instance, Gen Z reports far more clinical anxiety symptoms than any older group. But young adults who engage with the Bible—reading it regularly and applying it to their lives—experience half the anxiety of their peers.”

The State of the Bible findings come from a nationally representative survey performed for American Bible Society by NORC at the University of Chicago, using their AmeriSpeak panel. The data came from 2,506 online interviews with American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Key findings analyzed in Chapter 6: Gen Z—Hope and Challenge

  • Gen Z reports more significant levels of fear, specifically in the areas of grief and loss, family stress or trauma and financial stress or hardship, compared with other generational cohorts. Additionally, only 11% of Gen Z are considered “Scripture Engaged” (page 108).
  • Scripture Engagement is associated with significantly lower anxiety levels among all Americans, but especially among Generation Z. The anxiety score for Bible Engaged Gen Z respondents (3.4) is less than half that of the anxiety score for Bible Disengaged Gen Z respondents (7.1) (page 114).
  • More than half (52%) of Americans have personally experienced or witnessed trauma. Of those, 84% are still affected by it at least sometimes and 21% say they are affected by it most of the time or always. Additionally, new data suggests that more than one-fifth (23%) of Gen Z adults in America are living with trauma effects of overwhelming magnitude (page 119).
  • When seeking help for emotional or personal issues, Gen Z is the least likely among the generations to seek help from a church or faith community or a professional counselor. However, they are the most likely generation to talk with a trusted family member, and most likely to seek help on social media (page 123).

Between October and December 2024, American Bible Society will release three more chapters in the State of the Bible story, including research on the “nones” and nominal believers, coping with loneliness, and generosity and philanthropy.

To download the sixth chapter of State of the Bible 2024, visit StateoftheBible.org.

*For descriptions on how Scripture engagement was measured and reported, please see page 131 of the eBook available for download at StateoftheBible.org.