In short
About 27% of US adults ages 18 to 24 pray daily, compared with 58% of adults ages 74 and older and 44% of all adults, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Daily prayer rises steadily with age, and no birth cohort has become more prayerful as it aged. But younger adults are at least as likely as older ones to report a deep sense of wonder, and Springtide finds 47% of Gen Z pray at least weekly. Pew's December 2025 analysis finds religious decline has stabilized but shows no clear nationwide youth revival; Barna reports rising Bible reading and faith commitment among younger adults, which we flag as one firm's framing.
- Daily prayer rises steadily with age, from 27% of the youngest adults to 58% of the oldest.
- The gap widened because young women pray far less than they did in 2007, not because young men pray more.
- Praying less is not the same as feeling less: young adults report as much wonder as older adults.
- Pew finds decline has stabilized but no clear youth revival, tempering the Barna resurgence figures.
About 27% of US adults ages 18 to 24 pray daily, compared with 58% of adults ages 74 and older, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Younger adults pray less often, but the story is not simply "less spiritual": Pew finds young adults are at least as likely as older adults to feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe, and Springtide Research reports many still pray weekly. The marquee sources here are the Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study (published February 2025), Pew's December 2025 stability analysis, Springtide Research Institute, and Barna Group. Overall, 44% of US adults pray daily. This page maps the age gradient in prayer and how younger adults engage spiritually in different ways.
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily prayer, ages 18 to 24 | 27% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, ages 74 and older | 58% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, all US adults | 44% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Gen Z who pray at least weekly | 47% | 2022 | Springtide Research Institute |
| Christian identification, ages 18 to 24 | 46% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Nationwide young-adult religious revival | No clear evidence | 2024-25 | Pew Research Center |
The age gradient in prayer
The core pattern is a steady climb: daily prayer rises with age, from about a quarter of the youngest adults to nearly six in ten of the oldest, per Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
Daily prayer among US adults ages 18 to 24 is 27% in 2023-24, according to Pew Research Center. "Daily" means praying at least once a day, self-reported.
Daily prayer among US adults ages 74 and older is 58% in 2023-24, according to Pew Research Center.
Daily prayer among all US adults is 44% in 2023-24, down from 58% in 2007 and stable since 2021, according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily prayer, ages 24 to 34 | 31% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, US women | 50% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, US men | 37% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
How the gap widened over time
Today's young adults pray less than young adults did a decade ago, and no birth cohort has become more prayerful as it aged. The young-adult gender gap has narrowed as young women's prayer fell, not as young men's rose.
Daily prayer among US women ages 18 to 24 fell from 54% in 2007 to 30% in 2023-24, according to Pew Research Center. This decline among young women, not a rise among young men, is what narrowed the young-adult gender gap.
No US birth cohort became more prayerful as it aged between 2007 and 2023-24, according to Pew Research Center. This is an association across survey waves, not a within-person longitudinal panel.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily prayer, women ages 18 to 24, 2007 | 54% | 2007 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, women ages 18 to 24, 2023-24 | 30% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, men ages 18 to 24 | 26% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, young adults born 1995 to 2002 (vs 59% of oldest adults) | 30% | 2024-25 | Pew Research Center |
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Affiliation and attendance among the young
Prayer tracks with lower Christian identification, higher unaffiliation, and lower service attendance among young adults. Pew's December 2025 data shows the decline stabilizing but finds no youth revival.
Christian identification among US adults ages 18 to 24 is 46% in 2023-24, compared with 80% among adults ages 74 and older, according to Pew Research Center.
There is no clear evidence of a nationwide religious resurgence among young US adults, according to Pew Research Center's December 2025 analysis. Religious decline appears to have stabilized, but polling shows no youth revival.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religiously unaffiliated, ages 18 to 24 (vs 13% of oldest adults) | 43% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Monthly-or-more service attendance, ages 18 to 24 | 25% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Monthly-or-more service attendance, ages 74 and older | 49% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Religious identification, born 1995 to 2002 (vs 83% of oldest adults) | 55% | 2024-25 | Pew Research Center |
Spiritual but different: how young adults engage
Praying less does not mean feeling less. Young adults report as much or more wonder, similar spiritual peace, and more interest in non-institutional practices. Where Pew reports the age split from its interactive tables rather than the article body, we note the direction and cite the confirmed overall figure.
A deep sense of wonder about the universe at least weekly is reported by 41% of all US adults, according to Pew Research Center. Younger adults report wonder at least as often as older adults, one of the few spiritual measures where the young do not trail.
A strong sense of gratitude or thankfulness at least weekly is reported by 62% of all US adults, according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious | Over 20% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Consult astrology, tarot, or a fortune teller at least yearly | 30% | 2024 | Pew Research Center |
| Rely at least "a little" on astrology or tarot for major decisions, ages 18 to 29 (vs 6% of adults overall) | 13% | 2024 | Pew Research Center |
| Consult tarot cards yearly, ages 18 to 29 (vs 3% of adults 65 and older) | 24% | 2024 | Pew Research Center |
Gen Z in their own words
Springtide's research on ages 13 to 25 shows most Gen Z still identify as spiritual and count prayer among their practices, an approach it calls "Faith Unbundled." These figures come from Springtide's 2022 report and predate Pew's 2023-24 wave.
Weekly prayer among Gen Z young people is 47%, according to Springtide Research Institute's State of Religion and Young People report. Springtide surveys ages 13 to 25, and this figure predates the 2023-24 Pew wave.
Among Gen Z young people, 68% identify as at least slightly religious and 77% as at least slightly spiritual, according to Springtide Research Institute.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen Z who consider being in nature a spiritual practice | 40% | 2022 | Springtide Research Institute |
| Gen Z who say religious or spiritual practices matter for their mental health | More than half | 2022 | Springtide Research Institute |
Signs of renewed engagement
Barna reports rising Bible reading and commitment to Jesus among younger adults since 2024. We label this Tier 2, from a Christian research firm, and note that Pew finds no clear nationwide young-adult revival, so treat it as one firm's read.
Weekly Bible reading among Gen Z rose to 49% in 2025, up from about 30% in 2024, according to Barna Group. Barna is a Christian research firm; the figure is self-reported weekly engagement, framed as a "reset," not a full revival.
Personal commitment to follow Jesus among US adults rose to 66% in 2025, up from 54% in 2021, according to Barna Group. Barna reports the rise is driven partly by younger men.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly Bible reading among Millennials (up 16 points since 2024) | 50% | 2025 | Barna Group |
| Commitment to follow Jesus, Gen Z men, 2019 to 2025 | +15 points | 2025 | Barna Group |
| Weekly scripture reading among all US adults | 22% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
How we compiled these statistics
Every figure on this page is traced to a primary source and dated to the year the data was collected. Age, gender, cohort, prayer, attendance, affiliation, and spiritual-experience figures come from Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (published February 2025) and its December 2025 stability analysis. Weekly-prayer and Faith Unbundled figures for Gen Z come from Springtide Research Institute's 2022 State of Religion and Young People report (ages 13 to 25). Bible-reading and commitment-to-Jesus figures come from Barna Group, which we label Tier 2 as a Christian research firm. We present astrology and tarot data comparatively and factually without endorsement, frame the Gen Z mental-health figure as respondent-reported association rather than cause, and hedge the Barna resurgence figures against Pew's finding of no clear nationwide youth revival. We exclude the retracted UK Quiet Revival data.
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Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Pew Research Center, Decline of Christianity in the US has slowed, may have leveled off (2023-24 Religious Landscape Study)
- Pew Research Center, Prayer and other religious practices among Americans
- Pew Research Center, Is There a Religious Revival Among Young US Adults? (December 2025)
- Pew Research Center, Feelings of spiritual peace, wonder, and gratitude (2023-24 Religious Landscape Study)
- Pew Research Center, 3 in 10 Americans consult astrology, tarot cards, or fortune tellers
- Springtide Research Institute, Gen Z and Religion, What the Statistics Say
- Barna Group, How Millennials and Gen Z Are Driving a Bible Reading Comeback
- Barna Group, Belief in Jesus Rises, Fueled by Younger Adults
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