Christians who are only moderately engaged with their faith may have a harder time forgiving themselves and others than those who regularly practice their faith, according to new research from the American Bible Society.

The findings come from the latest installment of the organization’s “State of the Bible: USA 2026” report, which examined forgiveness among 2,649 U.S. adults surveyed in January. Researchers looked at Americans’ ability to forgive themselves and others, as well as whether they believe God can forgive them.

“We see that those who are committed to their faith and to reading the Bible are more likely to give and experience forgiveness,” John Farquhar Plake, American Bible Society’s chief innovation officer and editor-in-chief of State of the Bible, said. “This makes sense, given the centrality of forgiveness in the message of the Bible.”

One of the clearest differences emerged among Christians with varying levels of faith involvement.

The report defines “casual Christians” as people who identify as Christian and attend church at least monthly but do not strongly agree that their faith is important to them. Among that group, 38% said they have difficulty accepting themselves after making a mistake — higher than both nominal Christians (30%) and practicing Christians (23%).

Similar differences emerged in forgiving others. Among nominal Christians, 40% said they continue thinking badly of people who mistreat them, compared with 39% of casual Christians and 24% of practicing Christians.

Casual Christians were also more likely to believe they had done something God could not forgive. Nineteen percent expressed that belief, compared with 11% of nominal Christians and just 3% of practicing Christians.

Bible engagement showed another notable divide. Nearly half of Bible Disengaged Americans (48%) said they struggle to forgive others, compared with 21% of those classified as Scripture Engaged.

Researchers suggested that those with faith engagement somewhere between strong and minimal may face a particular challenge.

“We suspect that, in both cases, this middle position — somewhat engaged, somewhat practicing — creates an awareness of God’s standards without a full understanding of his mercy,” the report stated.

The findings also showed a connection between forgiveness and overall well-being. People who had little difficulty forgiving themselves or others scored higher on measures of human flourishing and hope. Those struggling with self-forgiveness also reported considerably higher levels of stress and loneliness.

Stress scores were more than twice as high among people who struggled to forgive themselves, averaging 14.4 on a 40-point scale compared with 6.9 among those who did not.

Millennials and Generation Z reported the greatest struggles with self-forgiveness, at 36% and 35%, respectively.

Plake said the findings present an opportunity for churches to address forgiveness not only as a biblical teaching but as something Christians must learn to both extend and accept.

“While those who hold on to resentment are weighed down, forgiveness brings freedom,” he said. “This opens an important conversation for the Church and its leaders to help equip our communities to both give and receive forgiveness.”