The religious decline in America is over for now. After years of decreasing church attendance, a recent report shows steady turnout rates since 2020.

Thirty-four percent of adults in the U.S. said they attended religious services in person over the last month, according to a June 2026 Pew Research Center survey. Forty-five percent said they either attended religious services in person or watched them online or on TV during the last month. The data shows both statistics at their highest levels since 2020. 

“The latest Pew Research Center findings are encouraging in so far as they suggest that the decades-long decline in religious identification and practice may be leveling off,” David Closson, director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. 

“For years, Americans have been told that secularization is inevitable and the Christian influence in public life will continue to diminish. These findings complicate that narrative. However, we should still be careful not to confuse religious identification with genuine Christian discipleship. From a biblical perspective, the most important question is not simply how many Americans identify with a religion, but whether people are repenting of sin, trusting in Christ, and ordering their lives according to God’s word.”

The study also points to a resurgence of faith among young people. Pew reports that 41% of young adults between the ages of 18-22 say they go to services at a church, synagogue, mosque, or other house of worship at least once or twice a month. Data also shows reasonable levels of stability in the religiosity of the age group since 2014. 

“The relatively high rates of religious attendance among the youngest adults are encouraging, even as the broader data reveals a more complicated picture. My hope is that we are witnessing the beginnings of a renewed openness to Christianity among Gen Z, which has grown up amid significant moral and cultural confusion,” Closson continued. 

“But increased church attendance must be accompanied by sound biblical teaching and a willingness to embrace the authority of Scripture, especially when the Bible’s teachings conflict with prevailing cultural assumptions. A renewed commitment to biblical Christianity would have implications far beyond Sunday morning worship, including how Americans approach the moral questions confronting our nation.”

For the cohort of young adults born between 2000-2003, Pew reports a slightly higher religious attendance rate than in 2022. “The 2022 reading may reflect a pandemic-era low point in religious attendance among members of this group. All the other indicators show no notable change in either direction. Estimates vary from year to year, but the percentages of people who say they pray daily, that religion is very important to them and that they identify with a religion are all about the same today as in 2022,” the report explains. 

Those born in the 1990s show similar statistics. People aged 27-36 are somewhat more likely to say religion is very important in their lives in 2026 than in 2020.

Closson underscored that these numbers don’t necessarily point toward growth or regression in faith, which should serve as a reminder to pastors who have accepted the role of shepherding God’s flock. 

“Pastors and ministry leaders should be heartened that the decline of church attendance has evidently leveled off, but we cannot mistake a higher church attendance among young adults as an overall leveling off of the decline in church attendance as necessarily evidence that the church’s mission is being accomplished,” he shared. “Ultimately, fidelity to God’s word and theological conviction is what’s most important. Pastors should take renewed confidence in aspects of this report and recommit to ensuring that their teaching points people to God’s inerrant, infallible, and unchanging word.”