Nearly three in 10 US adults now believe a spiritual revival could sweep the country within the next year, according to new research from Barna Group — and among Gen Z, that number climbs to 38%.
“Yet, it reveals something worth paying attention to: a large number of Americans believe one is possible—and for younger adults especially, that belief is being forged in some of the most difficult circumstances of their lives,” said David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group.
The research, released March 30 as part of Barna’s 2026 State of the Church initiative with Gloo, draws on survey data from more than 6,000 US adults collected in October 2025 and February 2026. By Barna’s own conservative estimate, roughly 80 million American adults now anticipate some form of spiritual awakening.
Prayer topped the list of reasons revival-minded Americans gave for their optimism, cited by 46% of respondents. Close behind were young generations turning toward God (44%), a search for meaning and purpose (41%), people experiencing God firsthand (39%) and a broader hunger for God (37%). Even encounters with miracles made the list, at 30%.
Spiritual hunger wasn’t the only motivator. Roughly a third of revival-minded adults also pointed to hardship — mental health struggles, economic uncertainty and political division — as forces pushing Americans toward faith.
That split breaks down sharply by generation. Forty-two percent of Gen Z respondents named mental health challenges as a driver of potential revival, the highest share of any age group, with 35% citing anxiety specifically.
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Boomers see it differently. Sixty percent point to young people turning toward God as their top reason for expecting revival, while 57% cite a broader search for meaning and purpose among younger generations.
Movieguide® has tracked this generational shift for months. Fox News co-host Lawrence Jones released REVIVAL WITH LAWRENCE JONES this spring, a FOX Nation documentary series chronicling what he calls America’s “spiritual comeback.”
“I really did feel like the Church itself, not faith, but the Church was kind of dying,” Jones told the Christian Post, “and I left with this renewed sense of hope.”
Last summer, CBN’s THE REVIVAL GENERATION told a similar story, following Tonya Prewett and the student-led UniteUS movement that began with a 2023 prayer gathering at Auburn University. The documentary premiered at the Kennedy Center, where Christian Broadcasting Network leaders compared the moment to the Azusa Street revival of the early 1900s.
Barna’s report suggests those stories reflect something broader than a media narrative. Younger Americans, researchers found, appear to be turning to faith “not only as a source of spiritual meaning but as an answer to the instability and isolation many have experienced coming of age in an era of pandemic, political fracture and social disconnection.”
Kinnaman said that distinction should shape how church leaders respond. “When a generation turns toward faith not out of tradition or habit but out of a genuine drive for something deeper — stemming from anxiety, isolation and disruption — the Church’s response to that search may prove more consequential than any single cultural trend,” he said.
Barna is careful to note the survey doesn’t forecast revival, only belief that one could be near. Still, with tens of millions of Americans, many of them young, expecting a spiritual shift, the data suggests something worth the Church’s attention, whether or not it arrives on schedule.
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