Study Verifies Power of Bible in Lives of Scripture-Engaged Americans: ‘Transforms Their Relationships With God, Self, and Others’

Another day, another survey pointing out the Bible’s innumerable, transformational benefits.

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The American Bible Society’s 13th annual “State of the Bible” report reveals “Scripture-engaged individuals were shown to have the highest levels of persevering hope.”

These results are important to distill and understand in a beleaguered and chaotic culture — one in which hope is often lost or fleeting.

Scholars involved in the study created a Persevering Hope metric, including four questions measuring people’s hope levels.

Responses helped researchers discern how increased Bible engagement impacts this measure.

“Overall, there was very little variation among demographics, an American Bible Society statement read. “However, Scripture-engaged people averaged a score of 4.1, which significantly exceeds the overall average.”

For context, Scripture Engagement is defined by the American Bible Society as “consistent interaction with the Bible that shapes a person’s choices and transforms their relationships with God, self, and others.” Plainly stated: a Scripture-engaged person allows the Bible to permeate his or her life.

A majority of those who read Scripture said they turn to the Bible because it helps bring them “closer to God.” Dr. John Farquhar Plake, American Bible Society’s Chief Ministry Insights and Innovation Officer, said engagement in the Bible yields undeniably positive results in these arenas.

“Positively, Americans who are Scripture engaged show significantly higher levels of hope than their neighbors,” Plake said in a statement. “Although our society faces challenges on many fronts, the Bible provides hope and help to those who explore its truths.”

Read more about this data in the “State of the Bible Report.”

As CBN’s Faithwire has reported, numerous studies show the power and importance of faith in Americans’ lives.

A past Barna Group survey exposed a stunning relational disparity between practicing Christians and U.S. adults more generally. While 61% of practicing Christians said they are flourishing in friendships and relationships, just 28% of U.S. adults said the same, according to The Christian Post.

Church attendance also seems to yield some intensely positive benefits. Gallup Senior Scientist Frank Newport reported last year on statistics found by his polling firm backing the notion that attending religious services has a compelling impact on people’s life views.

“The January Gallup data indicate that 92% of those who attend church services weekly are satisfied, compared with 82% of those who attend less than monthly,” Newport wrote. “The difference is even more evident in terms of the percentage who report being very satisfied — 67% of those who attend weekly are very satisfied with their personal life, compared with 48% among those who are infrequent attenders.”

Meanwhile, 44% of weekly churchgoers told Gallup they would describe their “mental health and emotional wellbeing” as “excellent.” This compares to 46% who said the same in 2020 and 42% of regular congregants who reported “excellent” mental health in 2019, holding relatively steady.

Read more about the benefits of faith here.