In short
About 63% of US adults do at least one spiritual activity for spiritual reasons weekly, according to Pew Research Center. The most common are listening to music (48%), looking inward or centering (40%), and exercising (30%). Beyond formal worship, 62% feel strong gratitude weekly and 40% feel deep spiritual peace. National health data show 18.3% of US adults meditated in 2022, up from about 7.5% in 2002. Peer-reviewed meta-analyses find small but real wellbeing associations from gratitude practice and mindfulness apps, framed as association, not cure.
- Spiritual practice is mainstream and informal: two-thirds of US adults do something weekly, but often music or centering rather than formal worship.
- Meditation more than doubled in two decades and is now the single most-used complementary health approach in the US.
- The age gap in spirituality is far smaller than the age gap in traditional religiousness: young adults believe in the spiritual almost as much as the old.
- The wellbeing evidence is real but modest and correlational, not proof that practice causes flourishing.
About 63% of US adults do at least one spiritual activity for spiritual reasons at least once a week, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. That includes listening to music (48%), looking inward or centering themselves (40%), exercising for spiritual reasons (30%) and meditating (23%). Beyond formal worship, 62% of Americans feel a strong sense of gratitude weekly and 40% feel a deep sense of spiritual peace weekly. Separately, national health data show 18.3% of US adults meditated in 2022, and peer-reviewed meta-analyses find small but real wellbeing gains from gratitude practice and mindfulness apps. The marquee sources are Pew Research Center, PNAS, and the NIH National Health Interview Survey.
of US adults used meditation in 2022
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults doing a spiritual activity weekly | 63% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who pray at least daily | 44% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who used meditation | 18.3% | 2022 | Scientific Reports (NHIS) |
| US adults who feel strong gratitude weekly | 62% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who are spiritual but not religious | 21% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who believe in something spiritual | 79% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
How many Americans practice weekly
The headline picture is that roughly two-thirds of US adults do some spiritual activity every week. Pew measured six activities and counted them only when done specifically for spiritual reasons, so the tally leans toward informal practice rather than formal worship.
The share of US adults who do at least one of six measured spiritual activities, for spiritual reasons, at least once a week is 63% (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center. The six activities are listening to music, looking inward or centering, exercise, meditation, visiting nature, and yoga.
Weekly participation in at least one spiritual activity is 71% among religiously affiliated US adults versus 45% among the religiously unaffiliated (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who listen to music for spiritual reasons weekly | 48% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who exercise for spiritual reasons weekly | 30% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
Prayer as a daily practice
Prayer remains the most common formal practice, though fewer than half of Americans pray every day. Scripture reading outside of services is rarer, and both drop sharply among the youngest adults.
The share of US adults who pray at least once a day is 44% (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who read scripture weekly outside services | 22% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Daily prayer, ages 18-24 vs 74 and older | 27% vs 58% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
Meditation and mindfulness
Meditation has moved from the margins to the mainstream. National health data show it more than doubled in twenty years and is now the single most-used complementary health approach in the US, ahead of yoga and chiropractic care. Note that this any-meditation figure is broader than Pew's spiritual-only measure.
The share of US adults who used meditation was 18.3% in 2022, about 60.53 million adults, up from roughly 7.5% in 2002, according to a Scientific Reports analysis of the National Health Interview Survey. This measures any meditation, not only spiritual meditation.
Meditation was the single most-used complementary health approach among US adults in 2022, ahead of yoga (15.8%), chiropractic care (11.0%) and massage (10.9%), according to the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who practiced yoga | 16.8% | 2022 | Scientific Reports (NHIS) |
| US adults who meditate for spiritual reasons weekly | 23% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who practice yoga for spiritual reasons weekly | 7% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
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Gratitude and everyday awe
Some of the most common spiritual experiences happen outside any formal worship. Strong gratitude is felt weekly by a clear majority, and sizeable shares report wonder, peace, and reflection on the meaning of life on a weekly basis.
The share of US adults who feel a strong sense of gratitude or thankfulness weekly or more often is 62% (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center.
The share of US adults who feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least once a week is 40% (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who think about the meaning of life weekly | 46% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who feel deep wonder about the universe weekly | 41% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who feel deep connection with humanity weekly | 34% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who feel a presence from beyond this world weekly | 33% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
Quiet time and looking inward
Centering and other quiet solitary practices are widespread. Looking inward is one of the most common spiritual activities of all, while retreats are far rarer and more occasional.
The share of US adults who spend time looking inward or centering themselves for spiritual reasons weekly or more often is 40% (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who light candles or incense for spiritual reasons | 20% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who go on spiritual retreats more than once a year | 3% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
Nature and awe
A smaller share seek the spiritual specifically in nature, but the research on time outdoors and wellbeing is notable for its clear threshold. The wellbeing link is an association, not proof that nature causes better health.
People who spent at least 120 minutes in nature per week were significantly more likely to report good health and high well-being than those with no nature time, across nearly 20,000 people (2019), according to a study in Scientific Reports. This is a cross-sectional association, and no benefit appeared below the two-hour threshold.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who visit a nature spot for spiritual reasons weekly | 15% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
Who practices: spiritual, religious, or both
Most Americans describe themselves as at least somewhat spiritual, and a sizeable minority as spiritual but not religious. Belief in something spiritual beyond the natural world is nearly universal, and the age gap in spirituality is much smaller than the age gap in traditional religiousness.
The share of US adults who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious is 21% (2023-24), according to Pew Research Center.
The share of US adults who say they are very or somewhat spiritual is 74% (2023-24), comprising 32% very spiritual plus 42% somewhat spiritual, according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who say they are very or somewhat religious | 58% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who believe in something spiritual beyond nature | 79% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Ages 18-24 who believe in something spiritual (vs 81% of oldest) | ~70% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
Does spiritual practice help? What the research shows
Peer-reviewed evidence points to small but real associations between practice and wellbeing. These come from intervention studies and are best read as correlations, not claims that practice cures conditions. Effects tend to be modest and to vary by person, country, and outcome.
Gratitude interventions produced a small overall increase in well-being of Hedges' g = 0.19 (95% CI 0.15 to 0.22) across 145 papers and 24,804 participants from 28 countries (2025), according to a meta-analysis in PNAS. The effect is an association from intervention trials, is small, and varies by country and outcome measured.
Mindfulness apps produced a small reduction in anxiety symptoms of Hedges' g = 0.28 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.35) across 45 randomized controlled trials (2023), according to a meta-analysis in Clinical Psychology Review. The effect is versus control conditions; apps did not clearly outperform other active treatments.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness apps: reduction in depression symptoms (vs control) | g = 0.24 | 2023 | Clinical Psychology Review |
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. Participation, experience, prayer, and identity figures come from Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study and its 2025 US-Canada practices report. Meditation and yoga prevalence come from a Scientific Reports analysis of the NIH National Health Interview Survey and from the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which we label as any-meditation to keep them distinct from Pew's spiritual-only measure. We note that NCCIH reports an age-adjusted 17.3% versus the crude 18.3% rather than cherry-picking one number. Wellbeing findings come from peer-reviewed meta-analyses in PNAS and Clinical Psychology Review and a Scientific Reports nature study; we frame every one as an association with an honest, small effect size and no cure language. We exclude the retracted UK Bible Society and YouGov "Quiet Revival" report entirely.
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Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Pew Research Center, Spiritual activities (Religious Landscape Study 2023-24)
- Pew Research Center, Spiritual experiences: gratitude, peace, and wonder (2023-24)
- Pew Research Center, Prayer and other religious practices (2023-24)
- Pew Research Center, Spiritual and religious self-descriptions (2023-24)
- Scientific Reports, 20-year trends in meditation and yoga use (NHIS 2002-2022)
- NIH NCCIH, Statistics from the National Health Interview Survey (2022)
- PNAS, Gratitude interventions on well-being across cultures (meta-analysis, 2025)
- Clinical Psychology Review, Mindfulness apps meta-analysis (Linardon et al., 2023)
- Scientific Reports, 120 minutes in nature and well-being (White et al., 2019)
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