Revival or...

Here's what I told the two reporters in the last week who asked me about revival in the U.S. and Europe. 

TLDR: It would be shocking if NOTHING were happening. There are too many good people working too hard that we see every day at Future of Faith for there to be no impact. They are the story. 

Over the past several decades, story after story has documented the decline of religion in the West. But something noteworthy is shifting—and it deserves attention.

In the United States, 31 percent of adults now say religion is gaining influence in American life, up from just 18 percent in early 2024, according to new data from the Pew Research Center (https://lnkd.in/g7kP3fR7). Even more striking, nearly six in ten view that rising influence as a positive development. At the same time, Pew’s February 2025 analysis found that the decades-long decline in Christian affiliation has slowed, and may have leveled off entirely. A recent piece in The Economist anticipated this moment. Its headline: “The West has stopped losing its religion: After decades of rising secularism, Christianity is holding its ground—and gaining among the young.” (https://lnkd.in/gf3vcKmp)

Across the Atlantic, Spain’s El Mundo recently ran a front-page feature under the headline, “Dios vuelve a estar de moda entre los jóvenes europeos”—“God is back in fashion among young Europeans” (https://lnkd.in/g9aAJU9z). It highlighted growing prayer groups and faith communities emerging from places that, a decade ago, were thought to be permanently secular. Christianity Today noted a similar rumbling among evangelicals in Europe (https://lnkd.in/gKNrR5P3) 

None of this means we have a full-scale revival on our hands. But it does mean the ground is moving.

The bigger story isn’t a cultural about-face or a sudden surge of church attendance. It’s the result of years of patient work—leaders, innovators, and everyday people who have kept adapting their tactics while staying true to their mission. At Future of Faith, we see these people every day: ministers experimenting with new forms of community, spiritual entrepreneurs creating spaces of belonging, and researchers re-imagining what faith formation can look like for new generations.

So when reporters ask if I’m surprised by this shift, my answer is simple: It would be shocking if nothing were happening.

I’m not ready to call it a revival yet, but something is happening.

As the prophet LL Cool J once reminded us—

“Don’t call it a comeback. I’ve been here for years.”