A growing number of young Americans engaging with Scripture are reporting higher levels of well-being. The American Bible Society’s latest report reveals that Gen Zers and millennials who actively read the Bible experience stronger flourishing than their generational peers.
Younger adults engaging with Scripture scored an average of 8.1 on the Human Flourishing Index, a scale developed by Harvard University to assess six domains of life, including mental and physical health, happiness and meaning, according to the American Bible Society’s 2025 State of the Bible report.
In contrast, the average for Gen Zers overall was 6.8, the lowest of any generation measured in the study. Boomers, by comparison, scored the highest at 7.5, with 45% of them reporting high flourishing.
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Researchers noted that 43% of Americans who strongly sensed God’s activity in their lives reported high flourishing, while 41% of those who rejected this belief reported low flourishing.
Flourishing was also higher among those who read the Bible daily, with an average score of 7.9, compared to 6.8 among those who never read it. Monthly church attendance among Christians who strongly value their faith was similarly associated with higher scores on the flourishing index.
Data for the State of the Bible report was gathered in January through 2,656 online interviews with American adults across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., using the AmeriSpeak panel by NORC at the University of Chicago.
The report documented an upward shift in national flourishing scores across nearly every domain.
Gen Zers showed particular improvement in the area of close social relationships, increasing from 6.6 in 2024 to 7.0 this year. This put them ahead of both millennials and Gen Xers in that domain, which researchers noted as a significant development for a generation often associated with social isolation.
A separate study cited in the report, the Global Flourishing Study, ranks the U.S. 15th among 22 nations in terms of human flourishing and 12th in secure flourishing. The top countries — Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Israel and Nigeria — outperformed wealthier Western nations, which are showing declines in relationship and purpose-based indicators.
A part of the report published last month found that Bible engagement across the United States has increased for the first time in four years, reversing a post-pandemic decline. About 11 million more Americans are now reading the Bible than in 2024, with the largest gains among millennials, Gen Xers and men.
Geographic shifts were also recorded. Bible users in the Northeast and West rose by 18%, while the Midwest saw a 15% rise. The South remained unchanged. In the San Francisco Bay Area, younger residents were more likely than national averages to engage with Scripture despite the region’s historically low religious affiliation.
Among Bay Area millennials, 40% identified as Bible users, surpassing the national average of 39%. Gen Zers in the region reported 37% engagement, compared to 36% nationwide. In contrast, only 19% of Bay Area adults over 60 read the Bible, compared to 46% of seniors nationally.
The State of the Bible report defines “Bible users” as those who read Scripture outside of religious services at least three or four times per year. It also classifies “Bible engaged” individuals — totaling 52 million — as those whose consistent Scripture interaction shapes their choices and relationships.
According to the ABS, roughly 71 million Americans fall into the “movable middle” — those who are curious about Scripture but not yet actively engaged. Many are non-practicing Christians open to revisiting the Bible, especially when guided in understanding its larger narrative.
