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After years of steady decline, Americans are rediscovering the Bible — and young adults are leading the way.
New findings from Barna’s State of the Church 2025 report, produced in partnership with Gloo, reveal a national rebound in weekly Bible reading.
The report finds that 42% of US adults now say they read Scripture weekly — up 12 points from a record low of 30% in 2024.
That figure rises to 50% among self-identified Christians, marking the highest level in more than 10 years.
Millennials and Gen Z adults are at the heart of this turnaround. Barna’s data shows that Millennials have seen a 16-point rise since 2024, with 50% reporting that they read the Bible weekly.
Gen Z follows closely, leaping from 30 to 49% within a single year.
By contrast, Boomers — once the most consistent Bible readers — now report the lowest rates, with only 3% reading weekly.
Generation X remains largely unchanged, with a modest rise to 41%.
This shift toward younger engagement suggests a reversal of decades-long trends, where Bible reading was strongest among older generations and in decline among youth.
CEO of Barna Group, David Kinnamon, said: “2025 is showing a major rebound of Bible reading, along with a surge in usage among younger generations. This aligns with other signs of spiritual interest and reinforces the finding that Christian faith and practice are experiencing a reset moment.”
Barna’s latest findings also reveal an unexpected twist: younger men are now outpacing women in Bible engagement. In past studies, women consistently reported higher engagement than men in Scripture reading, church involvement, and prayer.
Mr Kinnaman explained: “Women generally have been more religiously active than men. But now, younger men emerge as the most frequent Bible readers. Also, there was a bigger post-pandemic bounce in men’s reading than in women’s usage.”
This trend echoes another recent Barna study focusing on Gen Z, which revealed that nearly 40% of young adult women (ages 18–24) describe themselves as having no religious affiliation or belief in God — the highest rate among any demographic.
At 31%, Gen Z women’s weekly Bible reading falls well below the 41% reported among Gen Z as a whole.
Another Barna study shows that only 36% of women report weekly attendance, while 43% of men do the same.
Researchers link this disengagement to feelings of isolation and inadequate support from older generations – only one-third of Gen Z women believe their parents understand them, and barely a quarter feel backed by their fathers.
However, Mr Kinnaman noted: “Engagement is outpacing conviction. People are opening the Bible more often, but they’re still wrestling with what they believe about it. That gap between reading and trusting is worth paying attention to.”
Only 36% of adults — and 44% of Christians — say they believe the Bible is completely accurate in its teachings, down from 43% in 2000. Barna researchers describe this shift as a “reset”, not a full-scale revival.
Still, they believe it could signal the beginning of a deeper reorientation toward faith — especially among younger generations searching for meaning in an uncertain world.
“We’re not witnessing a sweeping social transformation, but we are seeing Americans move back toward patterns of faith that had been fading. That in itself is hopeful,” said Mr Kinnaman.
For church leaders, the message is clear: curiosity is growing, but conviction needs nurturing.
He added: “We should celebrate the increase of Bible readers in our society. Then, we must commit to help these readers encounter God through the text and integrate what they read into everyday life. That’s where the transformation happens.”
