How do today’s teens think about Jesus, the Bible and justice?

The Open Generation, Barna’s largest global study created with the partnership of organizations—including Alpha, Biblica and World Vision, with additional support from Christian Vision, Bible Study Fellowship, Christ In Youth and the Association of Christian Schools International—offers responses from nearly 25,000 teens, ages 13–17, in 26 countries and speaking 17 different languages, to answer this question.

About Half of Teens Say Jesus Offers Hope In the first of three journals in this new series, How Teens Around the World Relate to Jesus, teenagers share their perspectives of who they believe Jesus to be and how he impacts their lives.

Data show it’s rare that teens think poorly of Jesus. Most teenagers around the world have a positive perception of him. About half of all teens, across faith groups, describe Jesus as “loving” (49%) and believe he offers hope to (46%) and cares about people (43%). The global impression of Jesus is that he is trustworthy, generous, wise, peaceful… and the glowing list goes on.

84% of Bible-Engaged Teens Say Scripture Helps Them Understand Their Purpose The second journal of the series, How Teens Around the World View the Bible, explores teens’ interest in scripture and how they apply God’s word to their lives, grouping respondents into three categories: Bible engaged, Bible open and Bible unengaged.