As a researcher, I like to describe myself as a professional explainer. And as a former pastor, I’m always thinking about how the data I’m sifting through can serve my community.

That’s why our recent research on human flourishing and Scripture Engagement is so fascinating to me—and why I think it matters urgently for the church today.

Alongside my colleague Dr. Jeff Fulks, I gather, study, analyze, and report on data for American Bible Society. We explore the needs, habits, and attitudes of the American people and, of course, their relationship with the Bible and Christian faith. The insights we gather help our ministry—as well as other ministries and churches—make informed, smart decisions.

Over the past few years, our research has started to reveal the concerning effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media culture, and mental health struggles among Generation Z youth.

How do we begin to explain or understand the impact of these findings? What do they mean for our culture? And can the Bible make a difference?

A recent partnership with the Human Flourishing program at Harvard University has helped us uncover the current state of well-being and human flourishing across generations. And, as you’ll see, there’s reason for hope.

Human Flourishing and Abundant Life

Recently, we became interested in groundbreaking research on “human flourishing” from Harvard University’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health. For centuries, science has looked at health from a negative perspective: What is the ailment that’s making you sick? But this newer approach measures positive factors that help people thrive. For me, the idea of human flourishing instantly brought to mind Jesus’s promise to give us life “more abundantly” (John 10:10 KJV).

I understand that the Harvard scholars aren’t looking for overtly religious factors, but I am impressed with their emphasis on wholeness. For example, their model of flourishing includes “meaning and purpose” as well as “character and virtue.” In one study they examined the impact of religious participation.

Beginning in June 2020, we included several questions focused on human flourishing in our State of the Bible survey. We continued to use the Human Flourishing Index in our annual poll in 2021 and 2022, cross-tabulating it with demographic (such as age of respondent) and religious factors (such as Scripture Engagement). The changes we saw from year to year have been telling.

Then, this year, we made a connection with the leader of the Human Flourishing program at Harvard University, Dr. Tyler VanderWeele, a biostatistician with a seminary degree.

As we discussed human flourishing, Dr. VanderWeele brought in two other researchers from the Harvard program: Ying Chen and Richard G. Cowden. Using data from our 2022 State of the Bible survey, Jeff Fulks and I collaborated with those three experts on an article now published in JAMA Psychiatry, a leading academic journal.

The article, “National Data on Age Gradients in Well-being among U.S. Adults,” focuses on generational differences in well-being.

In short, the data showed evidence of “a mental health crisis and rise in loneliness in the U.S. that disproportionally affects young adults.” Citing a warning from the U.S. Surgeon General, we expanded it: “Protecting the mental health of young people is regarded as a national emergency; and this study suggests other facets of their well-being likewise need attention.”

Previous studies on well-being from the early 2000s showed a U-shaped curve for human flourishing. High-low-high. Young people had little to worry about. Mid-life brought problems of career and family life. Retirement was easy.

Our research reveals a very different graph, a straight upward trend line of flourishing. Gen Z (25 and younger) is at the bottom, and the chart goes steadily up from there.

It sounds an alarm. As a father of two Gen Z teens, I’m paying attention.

A Generation in Crisis

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic did significant damage across generations. Because of this, it can be easy to overlook its unique impact on people under 25.

Significant life events—graduations, proms, college visits, job interviews, weddings, and more—were lost. Opportunities were disrupted. Dreams were shattered. Increasingly, young people saw themselves as objects of a narrative constructed by forces beyond them, rather than engines driving their own story. The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12 NIV). This generation has become heartsick.

In addition to traversing the pandemic years, young people are leading the way in exploring a brand-new world: social media. There are exciting opportunities here, but also disappointments and dangers. Bullying, for example, is more prevalent and more destructive than most older adults think.

Over the past several years, a unique combination of pandemic isolation and social connectivity drove a whole generation into this alternative universe without a game plan. Now, we’re seeing the consequences.

As a parent, my plea to other parents of Gen Z kids—and to their friends, teachers, or pastors—is simply this: Don’t minimize their problems.

Many of us in older generations have a good perspective on life. We have learned how to deal with adversity through our experiences, and we have earned our grit over time. We know that young people tend to think that their problems are worse than anything in the history of the world. But in this case, Gen Z does seem to be facing unprecedented challenges: a pandemic, with all its associated deferred hopes, and the uncharted territory of social media.

For many young people today, this isn’t simply a bad mood, a passing phase, or youthful rebellion. Our research shows that mental health issues like loneliness, meaninglessness, stress, anxiety, and depression are hitting this generation in a major way.

A Note of Hope

With that alarm still ringing in my heart, I want to offer a note of hope. The Bible helps. Specifically, Scripture Engagement helps.

At American Bible Society, we define engaging with Scripture as more than just regular Bible reading—although that’s part of it. We also look at the centrality and impact of God’s Word in people’s lives.

When people are consistently interacting with God through Scripture and allowing the Word to challenge and change them, they flourish. The statistics show this. Across the board, both in the positive aspects of the Human Flourishing Index and in struggles with stress and trauma, we see a huge difference when people engage with the Bible.

This held true across the generations as well. While we found disturbing levels of anxiety and depression among Gen Z, and especially among Gen Z females, the levels were normal for those who were Scripture Engaged.

As a researcher, I don’t want to minimize the problems facing us in our modern culture or present God’s Word as a magical cure-all. But the evidence shows that a relationship with the God of Scripture, developed and nourished through regular and meaningful Bible engagement, helps people live better lives.

The Life of the Spirit

So, what’s next?

Our research continues. We have other journal articles in development. And, through our work at American Bible Society, we hope to contribute more to the understanding of how people thrive, or don’t.

Without an understanding of the human spirit and how its health impacts human flourishing, we can’t expect much to change. But when we give God’s Word our attention, we can tend to our spirit. We can remind ourselves of what God says about us and about the challenges we experience—no matter our age. And we can face the future with hope.

Explore the latest insights from State of the Bible today!