Americans See Religion Gaining Ground in Public Life, Gallup Finds

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – In a striking shift after more than a decade of steady decline, a growing share of Americans now say religion is becoming more influential in American society, according to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday.

The survey found that 34% of U.S. adults believe religion’s influence is on the rise — up from just 20% a year ago and nearing the highest levels recorded since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of Americans who say religion’s influence is waning has dropped sharply from 75% last spring to 59% today.

This marks a reversal of a 15-year trend Gallup has tracked since 2009, when most Americans consistently reported that religion was losing ground in public life. The question has been asked regularly since 1957.

One factor behind the shift: a wave of Christian revivals that have swept across several U.S. college campuses over the past year, drawing national attention. From Asbury University in Kentucky to Lee University in Tennessee and Texas A&M, students have packed auditoriums for extended periods of worship, prayer, and repentance — events that have spread organically through social media and word of mouth. Many saw the revivals as a grassroots response to cultural turmoil and a renewed hunger for spiritual meaning among younger generations.

Although personal religiosity remains unchanged — with 47% of Americans saying religion is “very important” in their lives, the same as last year — public perception of religion’s role appears to be shifting.

Analysts also point to the 2024 Republican sweep of Congress and the White House as a contributing influence. Gallup noted similar movements after previous GOP victories, such as the congressional takeover in 1994. In contrast, public perception of religion’s influence hit record lows after major Democratic wins — just 16% in 2021 following the Democrats’ unified control of government.

Republicans saw the sharpest rise in perception, with 35% now saying religion is becoming more influential — up from just 11% two years ago. Democrats also saw a 9-point increase to 41%, and independents rose 10 points to 31%. That narrowed the partisan gap from 21 points to just 6.

Surprisingly, the perception of growing religious influence is not limited to traditionally religious groups. Forty-three percent of liberals, 41% of Democrats, and 40% of young adults now say religion is gaining ground. Older Americans (28%) and rural residents (29%) were the least likely to say so.

Views were also consistent across religious affiliations. Protestants (33%), Catholics (35%), and even the religiously unaffiliated (36%) reported nearly identical levels of agreement. Similarly, perceptions did not vary significantly based on church attendance, whether weekly, occasional, or rare.

While long-term trends still show declining religious participation — fewer Americans identify with a faith, attend services regularly, or belong to religious organizations — Gallup suggests that public perceptions are shaped less by personal behavior and more by political and cultural visibility.

Events such as the campus revivals, national political shifts, and a rising emphasis on faith in conservative circles may be contributing to a sense that religion is reclaiming cultural territory. Similar surges in perceived influence occurred after the 9/11 attacks (71%) and in April 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic (38%).

In a society navigating moral confusion, political polarization, and generational change, Americans may be seeing faith — even if imperfectly practiced — reemerge as a visible force in the public square.

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