Despite the well-documented rise of religious “nones,” new research found that the share of young adults who believe the Bible has had a transformative effect on their lives has increased.
“Our youngest adults show signs of interest in the Bible, curiosity about it and transformative interaction with it,” said John Farquhar Plake of the American Bible Society. “If this trend continues, we have good reason for hope.”
One question in the society’s latest State of the Bible survey asked respondents if they agreed that “the message of the Bible has transformed my life.” A slightly higher share of those surveyed in 2024 (58 percent) either “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed that the Bible had a transformative effect on their lives Bottom of Form
The percentages of adults belonging to Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, who “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed about the transformative effect of the Bible on their lives in both 2023 and 2024 matched the figures for the population as a whole. The share of respondents in Generation Z, the youngest group of American adults defined as those born in 1997 or later, that cited the Bible as a source of transformation in their lives increased from 50 percent in 2023 to 54 percent in 2024.
Baby boomers, adults born between 1946 and 1964, were the only generation that saw a larger increase in the percentage of respondents who credit the Bible as a transformational influence in their lives. Sixty-nine percent of Baby Boomers “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed that the Bible had such an effect on their lives in 2024, a 5 percent jump from the 64 percent who said the same last year.
“Increasingly, the Bible must compete for our attention in an ever-busier world,” Plake stated in response to the findings about scripture engagement. “The State of the Bible survey bears this out as we see scripture engagement decreasing over the last few years, especially in younger generations.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice