Religious Trends

“Religious historians will look back at 2006 as the absolute peak of denominationalism in the United States….Then the cracks started to form. Slowly at first, and then the pinholes became the size of golf balls and the hull of the SBC began taking on water in an incredibly rapid fashion.” - Ryan Burge

“More regular attenders say they hear messages from their clergy against abortion than in support of abortion rights” - Pew

“Some of the discrepancies may be because both growth and decline are happening in different demographics, the numbers for which end up canceling each other out.” - Veith

“There are sharp partisan divides on whether religion’s influence is good or bad and how far that influence should go.” - Pew Research

Also: Most Americans say religion plays positive role in society - CPost

“Our analysis…found that roughly 12% of all adults who attend services go to multiple congregations ‘regularly’ and 45% attend multiple congregations ‘occasionally.’ Of those who attend multiple congregations, 73% attend two congregations and 27% attend three or more, at least occasionally.” - RNS

The “new report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows signs of a shift — for the first time in two decades, attendance is up. More people are volunteering, and there also seems to be a renewed sense of optimism among pastors and other clergy.” - MinistryWatch

“Women have long been more religious than men. But a new study finds the gap closing as more young women under 30 identify as ‘none’ — unaffiliated.” - RNS

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just reported its highest convert growth in history.” But… “In the United States at least, fewer adults are self-identifying as Latter-day Saints than at any other time since the survey began nearly 20 years ago.” - RNS

“New data from Barna, presented in partnership with Gloo as part of our 2026 State of the Church initiative, finds a consistent pattern across multiple rounds of research: a growing share of Americans—especially younger adults—believe a spiritual revival is coming.” - Barna

“The percentage of Americans who say religion is ‘very important’ in their lives has leveled off at 47% in 2025. (It’s been up or down 1 percentage point since 2021.) Religious service attendance reveals a picture of steady decline. A majority of U.S. residents—57%—say they rarely or never attend religious services.” - RNS