Religious affiliation and participation in the United States have remained largely unchanged in recent years, marking a shift from decades of declining religious engagement, according to new findings from the Pew Research Center.
The latest analysis, published Wednesday as part of Pew’s “Comparing Results Across Religious Landscape Studies,” found that 70% of American adults identified with a religion in 2026, nearly matching the 71% recorded in 2020.
Although religious identification remains below the 83% reported in 2007 and 77% in 2014, the findings suggest that the prolonged downward trend has slowed considerably.
Researchers noted that "steady percentages” of Americans “identify with a religion, pray daily, consider religion to be very important in their lives and attend religious services at least monthly."
Other measures of religious commitment showed similarly little movement. The proportion of Americans who reported praying daily edged down from 48% in 2020 to 47% in 2026, while those describing religion as “very important” in their lives declined slightly from 45% to 44%.
Attendance at religious services also showed signs of stability, although participation patterns have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2026, 34% of respondents said they had attended an in-person religious service within the previous month, while 45% reported participating either in person, online or through television.
By comparison, just 13% attended services in person during pandemic-related closures in 2020, although 41% participated through at least one of the three formats.
Among younger Americans, however, Pew identified "mixed signals" regarding a possible revival of religious interest, particularly amid reports of renewed engagement "especially young conservative men.”
The youngest adults surveyed appeared more likely to attend religious services than some of their slightly older counterparts.
“On the one hand, as the very youngest adults (born from 2004 to 2008, now roughly ages 18 to 22) come of age, they are reporting relatively high rates of attendance at religious services,” Pew said.
At the same time, researchers found that Americans in their mid-20s displayed notably lower levels of religious identification and personal religious commitment.
“On the other hand, young adults who are only slightly older (born from 2000 to 2003, now roughly 23 to 26) are the least religious age group when it comes to how often they pray, how important religion is in their lives and how many of them identify with a religion.”
The findings come amid growing evidence that the expansion of religiously unaffiliated Americans, often referred to as religious “nones,” may have leveled off after years of growth.
Earlier research from the Public Religion Research Institute’s (PRRI) 2021 Census of American Religion found that the proportion of Americans without a religious affiliation declined from 25.5% in 2018 to 23.3% in 2020, offering additional evidence that the country’s changing religious landscape may be entering a period of relative stability.
