Gen Z men are experiencing the greatest “identity crisis” of any age group, according to new data from the American Bible Society’s 15th annual State of the Bible report.
The sixth chapter of the 2025 report, released Sept. 10, examines self-image, beliefs, and priorities across generations and genders. Only 30% of Gen Z men — those in their early teens to late 20s — reported having a strong sense of identity, compared to 41% of Gen Z women. More than half of men and women in the Boomer+ generation reported a strong sense of identity.
The findings also show that religious individuals, not just Christians, are more likely to report a strong sense of identity.
“Identity levels are strong among people who practice religion—and not just Christianity,” said John 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.”
To measure identity, researchers asked respondents three questions: “I know who I am,” “I always have a good sense about what is important to me,” and “I know what I believe or value.”
The State of the Bible findings come from a nationally representative survey conducted for American Bible Society by NORC at the University of Chicago, using its AmeriSpeak panel. The data came from 2,656 online interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, collected Jan. 2–21, 2025.
Among respondents who follow non-Christian religions, 40% said their faith is very important to them, and 67% were in the “strong identity” category. This suggests that it’s not simply identification with a religion that shapes a person’s identity, but how important that faith is to them, according to the American Bible Society.
The chapter reported 63% of “Scripture Engaged” individuals ranked at the highest level of strong identity, with only 9% at the weakest level.
The report also found that a stronger sense of identity correlated with lower levels of loneliness.
89% of strong-identity men and 81% of strong-identity women reported low or moderate levels of loneliness.
91% of practicing Christians agreed that they “exist to know, love, and serve God,” but 19% of nominal Christians disagreed with this statement.
To download the sixth chapter of State of the Bible 2025, visit StateoftheBible.org.
