Is a spiritual revival coming to America? New data from Barna, presented in partnership with Gloo as part of our 2026 State of the Church initiative, finds a consistent pattern across multiple rounds of research: a growing share of Americans—especially younger adults—believe a spiritual revival is coming.

The numbers only tell part of the story. Two questions may matter more: What’s driving the expectation of revival—and is the Church positioned to meet it?

Do Americans Think Revival Is Coming?

In a survey conducted in February 2026, nearly 3 in 10 U.S. adults (29%) say a spiritual revival could be coming, with Gen Z the most likely of any generation to anticipate such a movement (38%). These figures reflect Barna’s most conservative population estimates of renewal—and even at that level, they account for roughly 80 million revival-minded adults.

Across repeated studies, the directional finding holds: tens of millions of Americans—especially younger adults—believe a spiritual revival may be near.

Even when revival is difficult to define or predict, the belief that spiritual change is possible signals a meaningful shift in cultural posture—from indifference and resistance toward openness and curiosity.

What’s Driving “Revival” Expectation?

The belief that revival is coming doesn’t emerge from optimism alone. When Americans who expect a spiritual revival explain why, they point to a mix of spiritual hunger and cultural hardship.

Across all adults, the top reasons are deeply spiritual in nature. Prayer leads the list, cited by 46 percent of revival-minded adults, followed by young generations turning toward God (44%), a search for meaning and purpose (41%), people experiencing God (39%), and hunger for God (37%). Miracles rounds out the spiritual category, cited by 30 percent of respondents.

Alongside these signs of spiritual hunger, Americans also point to disruption as a catalyst. Mental health challenges, economic uncertainty, and political division each register with roughly a third of revival-minded adults, while the lingering effects of the pandemic and the rise of godlike AI trail further behind.

Spiritual openness today is not rooted in optimism alone; it is emerging from dislocation and a deepening search for grounding and hope.

What those conditions look like, however, depends considerably on which generation you ask.

The Same Hope, Different Roads

For younger adults, the disruption factors just cited carry particular weight. Forty-two percent of Gen Z cite mental health challenges as a revival catalyst—the highest rate of any generation—alongside anxiety (35%). 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.

For older adults, the drivers skew toward more traditional spiritual categories. Boomers are considerably more likely than younger generations to cite young generations turning toward God (60%), a search for meaning and purpose (57%), and prayer (55%). Where younger adults sense the conditions for revival in their own struggles, Boomers are more likely to see it in the spiritual movement happening around them—particularly among the young.

Something Is Stirring

David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna, added, “The research doesn’t predict a revival. And respondents were not given a specific definition of revival, so we anticipate that people have a wide range of ideas of what that might look like. 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.”

“That matters for Christian leaders. 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.”

Cultural openness to spiritual change often comes before revival does. Whether this moment produces lasting transformation will depend, in part, on whether church leaders are prepared to recognize and meet the spiritual stirring that is happening now.

About the Research