A new survey by the American Bible Society found that more young adults believe the Word of God has transformed their lives.
According to the first installment of the State of the Bible USA 2024 report, 58 percent of respondents either “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed that the Bible transformed their lives in comparison to 2023 (57 percent).
The first chapter of the report, “The Bible in America Today,” also found that the percentages of Generation X adults 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 were the same as the figures for the overall population.
One notable finding is that 54 percent of Generation Z, the youngest group of American adults born in 1997 or later, said the Bible transformed their lives, an increase from 50 percent in 2023.
“Our youngest adults show signs of interest in the Bible, curiosity about it, and transformative interaction with it,” John Farquhar Plake, American Bible Society Chief Program Officer and Editor-in-Chief of the State of the Bible series, said in a statement.
“If this trend continues, we have good reason for hope,” he added.
The most significant increase in the percentage of respondents was seen among Baby Boomers, adults born between 1946 and 1964, who “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed on the transformative effect of the Bible on their lives in 2024, a 5 percent jump from the 64 percent who said the same in 2023.
On the other hand, millennials, adults born between 1981 and 1996, were the generation that saw a decreased percentage when asked about the Bible’s transformative effects (50 percent in 2023 to 48 percent this year). As reported by The Christian Post, millennials were also the only generation to have read the Bible less frequently in 2024 (12 percent)
Millennials were also the only generation to have more people (12 percent) say they read the Bible less frequently in 2024 compared to 2023; 11 percent said their Bible reading increased.
Overall, 15 percent of respondents had increased their Bible reading in the past, while 10 percent had done the opposite. When it came to Gen Z, 21 percent said their Bible reading increased over the past year, while 9 percent said it decreased. Boomers and those born before 1946 (16 percent) had an increase in Bible reading, along with 15 percent of Gen X adults. However, there was a drop in Bible reading among 10 percent of the oldest and 9 percent of Gen X adults.
The report, which surveyed 2,506 U.S. adults, was conducted between Jan. 4 and 23, 2024, with a margin of error of +/-2.73 percentage points.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.