NASHVILLE (BP) — A sense of identity can affect areas of life such as stress, loneliness and spiritual vitality, according to a State of the Bible report released recently through the American Bible Society (ABS).
The study, conducted in January, surveyed responses from 2,565 online interviews with American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is the sixth chapter of the 15th annual State of the Bible report and is available for download at StateoftheBible.org.
Three identity statements were the focus of the study, asking participants to respond with how strongly they agreed with them:
- I know who I am.
- I always have a good sense about what is important to me.
- I know what I believe or value.
Separate questions asked Christians to gauge their levels of identity with their faith. Participants of all religious backgrounds graded higher in having a strong sense of identity, with 40% of those who follow non-Christian religions agreeing that their religious faith is “very important” to them.
“Identity levels are strong among people who practice religion — and not just Christianity,” said John Farquhar Plake, chief innovation officer at American Bible Society and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series.“Something about core beliefs, shared worship and common culture gives people a better sense of who they are. But we find an even greater effect with Scripture engagement. When people not only read the Bible but build their lives on it, they’re far more likely to have a strong sense of identity.”
Sixty-three percent of those considered “Scripture Engaged” possessed a “strong identity” versus only 38% of both the “Bible Disengaged” and the so-called “Moveable Middle.”
The level at which one participates in religious life is important, too.
Unsurprisingly, Practicing Christians appear in the Strong Identity group at a 64% level, much more than Nominal Christians (40%). Those deemed Casual Christians held a strong identity in religious participation at the same pace, 33%, as those with no religion, commonly called the Nones.
“Practicing Christian” is a descriptor for those who say they are a Christian, attend church (either in person or online) at least once a month and consider their faith “very important” to them. Nominal Christians call themselves Christian but don’t attend church even monthly. Casual Christians attend but don’t consider their faith “very important.”
Identity also connected with stress levels. According to the report, those with a strong sense of identity experience stress 63% less than those with a weak identity.
Security in knowing what you believe, who you are and what is important to you also links to community and the loneliness that can occur due to a lack of it.
Only 1 in 9 (11%) of strong-identity men and one in five (19%) of that category of women report high levels of loneliness. Flipped, about 53% of women and 46% of men with a weak sense of identity report high levels of loneliness.
When it came to spiritual vitality, four questions were presented to self-identifying Christians that would generate an “agree” answer, but responses were separated into “strongly” agree and agree at any level. Those questions are:
- “I exist to know, love and serve God.”
- “I know and use my spiritual gifts to fulfill God’s purposes.”
- “I am willing to risk everything that is important in my life for Jesus Christ.”
- “I allow other Christians to hold me accountable for my actions.”
It isn’t a surprise that Christians in the Strong Identity category responded at the highest rate for “Agree Strongly or Very Strongly” with each statement. However, that remained true for the final question on accountability, as 36% of Strong Identity Christians said they would allow other Christians to hold them accountable for their actions, compared to 23% of those with a Moderate Identity and 18% of Weak Identity Christians.
The report stated that Gen Z men face an “identity crisis,” with only 30% reporting a strong sense of identity, compared to Gen Z females (41%). More than half of Boomer men and women hold a strong sense of identity.
Noteworthy, though, is that the study’s age range for Gen Z, 18-29, is a time when many younger people are trying to figure out who they are and where they are going in life.
“It can be argued that young people have permission to be less confident in their identity, since they’re still young,” the report acknowledged. “As we age, we learn more about who we are, what we believe and what we consider important.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.)
