‘A blessing’: Study confirms reading the Bible is better self-care than exercise

A new in-depth study of Americans by the American Bible Society reveals that self-care involving exercising, meditating and spending time with friends all help a person’s outcome.

So does Bible reading, which has even more impact that the above-mentioned factors.

That’s according to John Plake, an officer for the ABS and editor-in-chief of the organization’s State of the Bible series.

Its newest report, “State of the Bible USA 2025,” confirms those perspectives, he said.

“Our research confirms that all the things that people do to improve their general well-being — exercise, seeing friends, and so on — are statistically associated with fuller lives. So is Bible reading,” Plake told CBN about the study and its results.

It is the 15th annual report in which ABS researchers look at common self-care activities including “exercising, spending time with friends, volunteering in one’s community, meditating, and praying” and assess how they affect people’s stress, anxiety, loneliness, and hope.

And they looked at how reading the Bible impacts.

In many of the study’s charts, a lower number is better.

CNB reported, “Individuals who read the Bible weekly, or even more frequently, experienced stress levels of 8, compared to 9.6 for those who didn’t read Scripture. Anxiety registered 4.3 among readers compared to 4.8 for non-readers for those who read the Bible at least weekly. Loneliness came in at an 11.1 on average, compared to 11.8 among non-readers; and readers registered 18.6 on the hope scale [where a higher number is better], compared to 16.8 for non-readers.”

“Those who keep coming back to Scripture find reassurance in stressful times, hope for the future,” Plake told CBN, “and a growing relationship with the God who knows them intimately and loves them deeply.”

The ABS said, “Even flourishing is not an end in itself. It is a blessing God provides when we trust him and walk with him. Scripture often reminds us that our connection with God brings about abundant life, great joy, peace that passes understanding, rich blessing, and even flourishing.”

The study, in conjunction with NORC at the University of Chicago, worked with 2,656 responses from American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Explaining its conclusions, the study said, “We theorize that regular interaction with God—not only in prayer but in meaningful Bible interaction and worship— should result in less stress and anxiety. We also believe that God’s regular reminders that he is with us may ease feelings of loneliness and the biblical vision of a glorious future may bolster hope. While the Self-Care section of our survey focused on five specific actions, asking if people had done them the previous seven days, we also have a lot of data on Bible reading. Could we compare, say, the stress levels of those who report using the Bible at least weekly with those doing Self-Care activities within the past week? The results are strong.”

It continued, “Nominal Christians (who say they’re Christians but rarely attend church) have nearly the same levels as Non-Christians. They report slightly more anxiety and less hope. Casual Christians show significantly better numbers across the board, and Practicing Christians (who attend church and also consider their faith very important) display even better scores in every category. In fact, these are better numbers than any of the Self-Care activities have. So, if you want to ward off stress, anxiety, or loneliness, or if you want to nourish your sense of hope, you could go out for a jog or chat with a friend. Those Self-Care activities are indeed associated with better scores in all those areas. But according to these numbers, it would be even more beneficial to gather regularly with a church that reminds you how important your faith is.”