According to a recent PEW Research poll, Americans’ views about religion in public life are shifting. A growing share of the public now takes a positive view of religion’s role in society.
From February 2024 to February 2025, there was a sharp rise in the share of U.S. adults who say religion is gaining influence in American life.
While this remains a minority view, it is increasingly held by adults across several demographic groups – with gains of at least 10 percentage points among Democrats and Republicans, adults in every age category and in most large religious groups.
The new survey also finds that in recent years, a growing share of the public takes a positive view of religion’s role in society.
In a February 2024 Pew Research Center poll, 18% of U.S. adults said religion was gaining influence in American life. That was the lowest level we had seen in more than two decades.
A year later, in a February 2025 survey, 31% of U.S. adults said religion was gaining influence in American life – the highest figure we’ve seen in 15 years.