American Bible Society today released the fourth chapter of the 12th annual State of the Bible report, which highlights cultural trends in the U.S. regarding spirituality and Scripture engagement. Today’s release shows that people who are regularly reading the Bible assign greater importance to prosocial behaviors—like being a good neighbor and befriending people of other races and religions—and report a higher awareness of civic and governmental issues. The first four chapters are available to download at StateoftheBible.org.

“In a ruthless cycle of news headlines showing suffering and disruption, people are longing to return to neighborliness—desperately hoping for compassion and to see that neighbors will gladly help neighbors when needed. Our research shows that regular engagement with Scripture brings hope and healing for people. And it also suggests that those who seek to actively live their life according to the Word of God are prone to exhibit kindness and neighborly qualities. To show a hurting world what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must turn to the pages of the Bible,” said Dr. John Farquhar Plake, Director of Ministry Intelligence for American Bible Society.

The State of the Bible 2022 findings come from a survey in January 2022 conducted by American Bible Society in collaboration with NORC at the University of Chicago, which produced 2,598 online or telephone responses from American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Key findings analyzed in Chapter 4: A Nation of Neighbors

• Those who are Scripture Engaged assign more importance to prosocial priorities—welcoming immigrants, befriending people of other races and religions, caring for those in prison and for the environment, advocating for those who are oppressed by society, and being a good neighbor—than those in the Movable Middle or those who are not engaged with Scripture (page 85).
• Generation Z gives higher ratings to caring for those in prison and welcoming immigrants. Elders are far more likely to affirm the importance of being “a good neighbor” (page 87).
• People who regularly read the Bible report higher engagement and awareness of government issues and policies, and they also report a significant increase over the Bible Disengaged when it comes to submitting to government leaders (page 93).
• When measuring “intellectual humility” (page 94-95), Scripture Engaged people scored higher, suggesting those who seek to actively live out the teachings of Jesus have more winsome qualities (page 96).
• When it comes to displaying love for others, there is a great distinction between the three older and the two younger generations. The younger generations report significantly lower scores about volunteering or helping in their communities (pages 99-101). While this could be due to greater money and time among older generations, it may also indicate that a spirit of service is less commonly found among younger people (page 101).

Between August and December 2022, American Bible Society will release five new chapters in the State of the Bible 2022 story—including reports on the tools and technology people are using to engage with the Bible, faith across generations with interesting findings on Generation Z, and the influence of the Bible on philanthropy.

To download the first four chapters of the State of the Bible 2022 ebook, visit StateoftheBible.org.

*Scripture Engagement is defined as consistent interaction with the Bible that shapes a person’s choices and transforms their relationships with God, self, and others. For descriptions on how Scripture Engagement was measured and reported, please see page 33 of the ebook available for download at StateoftheBible.org.