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A recent report finds that engaging with Scripture and giving charitably are central to human flourishing.

New data from American Bible Society’s “State of the Bible” report outlines a surprising—and in many instances, encouraging—series of trends among American givers. The report’s ninth chapter looks at philanthropy and financial giving based on a variety of attributes, such as income status and level of Scripture engagement. It also includes data regarding the effect that generosity has on happiness and life satisfaction levels.

One of the most striking trends the report documents is that among those who give, lowest-income households are by far the most generous by percent of income. ABS found that their giving often exceeds 10% of their income.

ABS further found that while the number of Americans contributing to charity dropped slightly from 2022 to 2023, charitable contributions grew in average size by $600.

This report comes after a year of widespread concern about personal and national economic futures. Almost three-quarters of Americans, regardless of their financial status, cited the economy as a significant source of stress. It’s not a year that most would expect charitable giving to be a priority for many families, yet philanthropy at every level stayed strong.

The report’s findings suggest, in aggregate, that charitable giving isn’t driven by a family or nation’s material wealth. Charitable giving is driven by engagement with Scripture.

“People who consistently read the Bible and live by its teachings are more likely to give to charity,” said John Farquhar Plake, PhD, American Bible Society’s chief innovation officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series. “Our data shows that they also give far more—not only to their churches, but also to religious and non-religious charities. At a national level, we could say that Scripture Engaged people form a massive engine of generosity and philanthropy.”

In fact, the State of the Bible found that nearly all (94%) of “Scripture Engaged” Americans are considered charitable donors. Nearly three-quarters of the same group had given in just the past year, and about one in six report a gift upwards of $10,000.

And this kind of generosity isn’t solely beneficial to the recipients. The State of the Bible 2024 research underscores just how important engaging with Scripture and giving charitably are to human flourishing.

The report used the Human Flourishing Index to measure flourishing among Americans, with one of those six life domains being “Happiness and Life Satisfaction.” The report notes that among those who give, the satisfaction score was nearly 7.2. Strikingly, people who made no donations scored a full point less (6.1).

“At every level of giving, those who gave more had higher satisfaction scores,” the report states.

In speaking about an earlier State of the Bible 2024 chapter, Plake remarked that “Nones score decidedly lower [on the Human Flourishing Index] than Practicing Christians on every factor.” He then went on to pose the question: “Can the Church help them ‘flourish’ by drawing them into a deeper connection with Jesus, the Bible, and the church community?”

These findings indicate a unique opportunity to step in to serve those in need and, as a result, bless them and be blessed by giving. The future of philanthropy is optimistic, and churches and communities have a chance to participate in this upswell of flourishing.