The American Bible Society has released the fourth chapter of its 13th annual study “State of the Bible 2023.” The results show that Black Christians are more engaged in their faith and the Bible than other ethnic groups of people.
Black churches tend to offer a greater number of community programs and mental health services than white churches.
In addition, African Americans are more likely to attend church on a more regular basis.
The study is divided into segments, one dealing with Bible use and understanding and another on “Spirit Vitality.” The Spirit Vitality Guide measures an individual’s spiritual health on a scale of 0 to 100 based on self-identified Christians’ “answers to nine questions focusing on beliefs, spiritual practices, and faith in action.”
Black Christians had an average Spiritual Vitality score of 79 compared to 69 for whites and 68 for Hispanics.
John Farquhar Plake, ABS chief ministry insights and innovation officer, said Black Americans lead the way in nearly every measure of holistic spiritual health.
“In our evaluation, we found that Black Americans significantly outscore white and Hispanic Americans on this measure of Spiritual Vitality.
“This should not surprise us. The fact is, Black Americans lead the way on nearly every measure of spiritual life we have. People in this group are more likely to attend church weekly, to read the Bible, to be Scripture Engaged, to be “Bible Centered,” and to display Spiritual Vitality in their lives.
…21% have a “naturalist” temperament, meaning they connect best with God when “surrounded by nature — the mountains, the forests, or the ocean.”
According to the study, Black Americans are 44% more likely than all other Americans to attend church at least monthly and 59% more likely than other Americans to be “scripture engaged.”
According to the study, Black Americans (57%) are most likely to be Bible Users, while Asians (27%) and Whites (35%) are least likely.
Regarding religious identity, Evangelical (70%) and Historically Black (68%) Protestant denominations lead the way in Bible Use. Catholics (37%) are low.
Among historically Black Protestant respondents, 23% fall into the “ascetic” category, meaning that they “connect best to God or the supernatural when” they are “alone and reading the Bible or praying.”
An additional 21% have a “naturalist” temperament, meaning they connect best with God when “surrounded by nature — the mountains, the forests, or the ocean.”
The report also includes excerpts from a 2020 article about religion’s impact on mental health among minorities written by Ann W. Nguyen and L.P. Sands of Case Western Reserve University.
“Religion has been an important source of resiliency for many racial and ethnic minority populations,” they wrote.
“In Black communities, religion and the church serve many functions above and beyond spiritual sustenance. Historically and contemporaneously, the Black church, in addition to being a religious institution, is a social, cultural, civic, educational, and political institution that is central to Black communities.
“Because of social, economic, and institutional disenfranchisement, Black Americans have traditionally had difficulty accessing public and private services. As a result, Black churches tend to offer a greater number of community programs and mental health services than white churches.”
The American Bible Society collaborated with NORC at the University of Chicago to design and field a nationally representative survey of American adults on topics related to the Bible, faith, and the church.
The study produced 2,761 responses from a representative sample of adults 18 and older within all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study ran from January 5–30, 2023.