Gen Z is the most likely generation to believe a spiritual revival is coming to America, according to new data from the Barna Group released this week — and the reasons they give for why it’s coming say as much as the expectation itself.
In a February survey of 1,073 U.S. adults conducted as part of Barna’s 2026 State of the Church initiative, 38% of Gen Z respondents said they believed revival would “definitely” or “probably” happen in the next 12 months. That figure outpaces millennials (25%), Gen X (29%) and boomers (28%), and at the most conservative population estimate, it represents roughly 80 million revival-minded Americans.
The gap between generations widens when you ask why. In a separate October 2025 survey of 2,927 adults, older generations pointed to prayer and young people turning to God as the primary catalysts for a coming awakening. Meanwhile, Gen Z named mental health challenges (42%), anxiety (35%) and job loss (29%).
“Younger generations appear to be looking 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,” the Barna report said.
Barna CEO David Kinnaman stopped short of predicting what that expectation would produce.
“The research doesn’t predict a revival,” he said. “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.”
The initiative’s broader findings complicate any straightforward narrative of resurgence. Gen Z churchgoers now attend an average of 1.9 weekends per month — the highest frequency of any generation, up from just over once monthly during the pandemic lows, and what Barna called “the highest rates of church attendance among young Christians since they first hit our tracking.” But long-term formation indicators — consistent attendance, prioritizing faith in daily life, evangelistic engagement — have not yet followed. Kinnaman noted that “churchgoing alone does not in itself create devoted disciples.”
The same initiative surfaced a data point that should unsettle any church leader who hasn’t been paying attention: nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults now say they trust spiritual advice from AI as much as advice from a pastor. Among Gen Z and millennials, that figure rises to 2 in 5.
