The American Bible Society has released the first installment of its State of the Bible USA 2024 report. The first chapter, titled “The Bible in America Today,” examines the incidence of Bible usage and Bible reading in the United States in addition to sampling respondents’ views on the effects of the Bible on their lives.
One question included in the 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%) either “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed that the Bible had a transformative effect on their lives compared to 2023 (57%).
The percentages of Gen Xers 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 Gen Z that cited the Bible as a source of transformation in their lives increased from 50% in 2023 to 54% in 2024.
Baby Boomers 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 “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed that the Bible had such an effect on their lives in 2024, a 5% jump from 2023. On the other hand, the percentage of millennials who either “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed that the Bible transformed their lives dropped from 50% in 2023 to 48% this year.
