A new study recently offered a beacon of hope for Americans disillusioned with Gen Z. A report from the American Bible Society revealed that members of Gen Z have the highest stress level of any age group, but those who read the Bible regularly score higher on a happiness and mental health scale than Millenials and members of Gen X. The State of the Bible 2024 report found that Gen Z scored 12.9 on a stress scale, far higher than Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millenials.

However, on the flip side, members of Gen Z who are “Scripture engaged,” meaning they regularly read their Bible and say it impacts their lives, scored high on the report’s “human flourishing index,” which gauges an individual’s mental health, happiness, and social relationships, among other factors. Gen Z members who are Scripture-engaged scored an 8.0 on the human flourishing scale, higher than Millenials and Gen X and equal to Boomers. The takeaway: Gen Zers who read the Bible say it has life-changing power. The report said, “We need to acknowledge that many in Gen Z are Bible disengaged, and they have the lowest flourishing numbers on the board (6.0). But that subset of Scripture-engaged Gen Z-ers has the highest number (8.0). This suggests they are living with purpose, character, and happiness.”

A full 55 percent of Gen Z members answered “yes” when asked, “The message of the Bible has transformed my life.” John Farquhar Plake, the American Bible Society’s Chief Innovation Officer and the editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series said the data is positive for Generation Z. Plake said, “For the last few years, we’ve reported some rather troubling statistics about Generation Z. As a group, these 18–27-year-olds are less connected with the church and the Bible than older generations. They also experience more stress and less hope.”

He continued, “But what about those in Gen Z who do engage with Scripture? They score higher on the human flourishing scale than other young adults who don’t read the Bible and have the highest score of any generation. There’s more research to be done here, but this suggests that a regular connection with God in Scripture counters the unique challenges keeping young adults from flourishing.”