The share of U.S. adults who believe religion is gaining influence in American life has more than doubled in the past two years, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. The survey found that 37% of respondents believed religion’s influence is on the rise, up from 18% in 2024. A little more than half (52%) see these developments as positive, with around a quarter each saying they are negative (23%) or that they have a neutral opinion on religion’s rise in influence.
One element that has gained national attention in the conversation about religion in America has been Christian nationalism, the belief that God and the founders intended the United States to be a Christian Nation. As people have become more aware of Christian nationalism, their opinions of it have hardened.
In Pew’s 2022 survey, 71% of respondents said they were unsure or unclear on their views of Christian nationalism. This year, that rate dropped to 59%, with respondents being more certain in their views.
In 2022, 24% of survey participants had an unfavorable view of Christian nationalism, and 5% had a favorable view. In this year’s study, the unfavorable rate has risen to 31%, while the favorable rate has doubled to 10%.
This increase in favorability for Christian nationalism has led to a rise in the rate of U.S. adults who believe Christianity should be named the official religion of the country. In 2024, only 13% of respondents held that view. This year, the rate has risen to 17%.
The survey also measured attitudes on whether the Bible should influence U.S. law, whether the government should enforce the separation between church and state, and the partisan differences between these views. Links to these data sets and the survey’s methodology can be found here.
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