31% of U.S. adults say religion’s influence in society is increasing — up from 18% in 2024 and the highest share in 15 years, Pew Research Center found.
59% of Americans now view religion’s influence on society positively, a steady rise from 52% in 2019 and 49% in 2022.
White evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, Catholics, Republicans, and older adults are among the most likely to say religion positively contributes to society.
For the first time since 2020, most Americans say they feel tension between their religious beliefs and mainstream culture, a view shared across nearly all major groups.
New levels of Americans say that religion is gaining influence in society, while the majority of adults say that religion has a positive influence on American culture, a recent Pew Research Center report discovered.
Pew found that a minority of U.S. adults (31%) say that that religion’s influence is increasing. However, that figure is not only up from 18% recorded in 2024, but is the highest level recorded by Pew in 15 years.
Pew specifically asked respondents about Christianity’s influence on American culture. Nearly half (48%) said Christianity’s influence is decreasing, 27% said its influence is increasing, and 24% considered its influence to be fairly stable.
In addition, Pew measured public perceptions of religious influence, finding that 59% of adults say they have positive views; some said religion’s influence is growing, which they considered a good thing; and some said religion’s influence is declining, which they considered to be bad. The 2025 levels demonstrate a shift toward favorable opinions about religion in society, Pew reported, noting that this year’s numbers are up significantly from the levels recorded in 2019 (52%) and 2022 (49%).
White evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, Catholics, and white nonevangelical Protestants were the most likely religious demographics to say that religion positively contributes to society. Republicans were nearly twice as likely as Democrats to say the same. The majority of Americans aged 65 and older also had positive views of religion’s influence on society, whereas just under half of those aged 18 to 29 agreed.
Pew noted, “However, compared with 2019, the share of Americans who have a positive view of religion in 2025 is up at least somewhat across all age groups and among people who identify with, or lean toward, both political parties.”
Only 20% say they have unfavorable views of religion’s influence on society, either saying that religion’s influence is growing, of which they do not approve, or that religion’s influence is declining, which they consider to be good. Twenty-one percent had unclear or neutral views.
Pew also found that for the first time since 2020, when the research organization began asking about tension between religion and society, the majority of Americans now say they feel a conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream culture. The sentiment is shared across all political parties and age groups, and nearly every religious group, except those who say their religion is “nothing in particular.”