'Faith is in fashion': Return to tradition leads religious revival in the US
The growing weight of Christians is not just in numbers, but in "strength of identity." The CEU CEFAS report "argues that, in the process, tradition has become the main factor of religious vitality."
Pilgrims at Tor Vergata wave an American flag as they wait for Leo XIV.
The numbers continue to confirm a religious revival on a global scale, and within U.S. borders in particular. Moreover, according to the CEU Cefas report from a Spanish university, "far from a homogeneous decline of faith, the country is experiencing an internal reconfiguration of the religious fact where the key is not so much numerical growth as the strength of identity. This report argues that, in the process, tradition has become the main factor of religious vitality."
Catholicism is currently in a key moment, both for keeping its numbers stable at around 20% of the population and for the involvement of its followers. "Moreover, almost one out of every two American adults today claims a personal or family connection to Catholicism, revealing a cultural and social presence far beyond its strictly demographic weight," the document notes.
"Faith is in fashion. This quantitative trend is accompanied by relevant qualitative transformations. Although there is no significant increase in the number of baptisms, there is a progressive recovery of organized religious practice. After the collapse caused by the pandemic, Sunday Mass attendance has shown a steady recovery, especially in parishes with a clear liturgical identity. In parallel, other elements of the faithful life, such as confession or participation in parish life, have experienced sustained growth, pointing to an internal consolidation rather than a superficial boom."
Young people are embracing their faith
Studies had been indicating a drop in the number of Christians in the country, a trend that seems to be reversing, moreover, with large numbers of young people embracing their faith. According to the most recent studies, 62% of the U.S. population claims to be Christian, compared to 7% who identify with other religions and about 29% who say they have no religious affiliation.
These figures must be seen in perspective. For example, data from the "Religious Landscape Study" by the Pew Research Center indicates that Christianity, from Catholicism to the various Protestant denominations, has managed to maintain, with moderate variations, its relative weight in the population as a whole. The report says:
"If we look in greater detail at the internal composition of that 62% of Americans who declare themselves Christians, the religious map reveals significant nuances: 23% of the population identifies with evangelical churches, while 11% belong to mainline churches, historically dominant but today in clear decline. In addition, 5% are linked to black Protestant churches, 2% recognize themselves as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and, especially relevant, a growing 19% identify themselves as Catholics."
"Supernatural surge"
This is something that the study sees as one of the keys to understanding "this wave of supernaturalism."
"It's not that religion is growing, as a trend without last names, edges or a brand of its own. It is not that people are approaching the enigmatic figure of Christ with renewed admiration. In the numbers of this religious renaissance, the return to tradition plays a leading role: while one part of Christianity has opted for adaptation to the times, another has chosen fidelity to tradition. Therefore, it is not the case that religiosity is increasing indiscriminately, but rather that the more radical confessions, in their precious etymology of returning to the roots, are experiencing prosperity, while the denominations that are more accommodating to the challenges of our times are diluted in a kind of devotion based on sentiments and good intentions."
Protestantism: More traditional currents continue to be a driving force of faith
This return to tradition can also be seen in the ranks of Protestantism. While it has been observed that the large "mainline" Protestant branches, which have embraced with impetus the cultural assimilation of modernity, have experienced strong losses of followers. In contrast, the more traditional streams of Protestantism continue to be an important engine of faith, precisely because they have maintained a clear theology, orthodox doctrine and committed communities.
Thus, according to the latest data, evangelicals have gone from 26.3% to 23.1% of the adult population between 2007 and 2023-24, maintaining a strong presence and influence in the country; "Mainline" Protestants have dropped from 18.1% to 11.5%; and historically black churches have also dropped from 6.9% to 5.4% in the same period.
CEU Cefas further highlights the following points that confirm that religion in the country is on the upswing:
- A modest but steady recovery of attending Sunday service, concentrated in communities that more closely follow the liturgical tradition, as opposed to the stagnation or decline of churches marked by relativistic positions.
- Clear signs of vocational vitality in specific dioceses, where the number of seminarians and ordinations far exceeds the national average, confirming a direct correlation between doctrinal identity, liturgical life and vocational fruitfulness.
- The growth of lay and university movements, especially among young people, in a context in which sociological studies show that the younger generations are not attracted by ambiguous religious proposals, but by firm and coherent communities.
- The decisive role of Hispanic immigration, which has contributed both to the maintenance of Catholicism's demographic weight and to the renewal of its community fabric. The Catholic Church in the United States has thus become younger, more familiar and participatory, in contrast to the religious aging of other Western nations.
- The growing presence of Catholics in the public sphere, from the Supreme Court to Congress and the federal administration. Moreover, according to recent data, some 87% of members of Congress declare themselves to be Christian, which contributes to maintaining a public space familiar with religion.
Charlie Kirk tributes, an example of public faith
In addition, the report gives examples of how faith is lived naturally in the country. It notes the tributes following the murder of Charlie Kirk or the public prayers by Donald Trump and his cabinet:
"It is easy for an example of this faith lived naturally to come to mind. The tributes and ceremonies that followed the recent murder of Charlie Kirk have served as a reminder of the public visibility of the faith. Hearing a prayer on the news from the mouth of the Vice President of the United States, among so many others, is nothing more than the consequence of a phenomenon of de-complexity that has intensified in recent years. From judges to academics, from senators to journalists, America is experiencing a growing public presence of Catholics in areas of power. And while this alone does not account for Catholic vitality, it does contribute to making the voice of Catholics more clearly heard in certain forums. ... The horizon of the faith in the United States has become more and more clear.
"The horizon of faith in North America is hopeful"
The report's conclusion is blunt: "The United States is not witnessing the end of faith, but its redistribution. The apparent religious decline masks a change of hands, in which tradition is no longer perceived as a burden but as a source of renewal. The American experience, in short, confirms that in a country that seemed destined to embody perfect secularization, tradition has become the engine of a religious renaissance that grows not upward, but inward, and which demonstrates that only he who learns to sink his roots can rise again."
Thus, "The horizon of faith in North America is hopeful. As we have seen, this religious renaissance is not the fruit of a communicative strategy, nor of a liturgical nostalgia, nor even of a political reaction: it is the result of a growing number of concrete communities that have rediscovered the Christian way of living in the midst of the inclemency of modernity. In a time marked by inconsistency, tradition has once again shown itself to be a map capable of orienting our life. Tradition, once again, not as a trench, but as a proposal, not as resistance to the world, but as a way of inhabiting it with meaning."
LATEST
