Practicing Christians flourish more than people who identify as non-religious, the State of the Bible USA 2024 report from the American Bible Society found.
The Human Flourishing Index, created by Harvard University, measures an individual’s level of human flourishing on a scale of 0 to 10 based on their responses to questions about their happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships.
Overall, religious “nones” have an average score of 6.5 on the index, compared to the average score of 6.9 for all Americans. The difference between the level of flourishing for “nones” and the public as a whole is most pronounced in the “meaning and purpose” domain. “Nones” have an average score of 6.3 in this area, compared to 7.0 for all Americans.
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The research broke non-practicing Christians into three subcategories and found that “practicing Christians” who attend church services at least once a month identify as Christian and describe their faith as “strongly important to them” score higher than all three groups of “nones.” Across the Human Flourishing Index and its subcategories, “practicing Christians” score the highest, followed by “casuals,” “nominals” and “non-Christians.” Overall, “practicing Christians” have an average score of 7.6, followed by “casuals” (7.3), “nominals” (6.8) and “non-Christians” (6.6).
“Practicing Christians” also have an average score of 7.6 in the “close social relationships” domain, while “casuals” (7.0), “nominals” (6.8) and “non-Christians (6.7) have lower average scores. Although all categories have an average score of at least 7.0 in the “character and virtue” domain, the 7.8 average score among “practicing Christians” is higher than that of “casuals” (7.5), “nominals” (7.1) and “non-Christians” (7.0).
When it comes to “meaning and purpose,” the 7.9 average score among “practicing Christians” is significantly higher than the average scores of “causals” (7.4), “nominals” (6.8) and “non-Christians” (6.5). “Practicing Christians” actually tie “causals” with an average score of 7.2 in the “physical and mental health” domain, coming in ahead of “nominals” (6.6) and “non-Christians (6.4).
“Practicing Christians” have an average score of 7.6 in the “happiness and life satisfaction” domain, followed by “casuals” (7.3), “nominals” (6.7) and “non-Christians” (6.4).
“Could the church help them flourish by drawing them into a deeper connection with Jesus, the Bible and the church community?” asked John Farquhar Plake, chief innovation officer for the American Bible Society. “One quarter of all Americans are unaffiliated with any religion. In our research, we call them ‘Nones.’ It’s tempting to think they are unreachable, but one-tenth of Nones say they have made a commitment to Jesus that’s still important to them. They’re not coming to church — that’s clear — but maybe the church could come to them.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice