Something is stirring among America’s youngest adults — but whether it amounts to a genuine spiritual revival remains, at best, an open question.
That is the central finding of a sweeping new report from Dr. George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. Analyzing data from three separate national surveys conducted between 2022 and 2026—including a close examination of the eight months surrounding the September 2025 assassination of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk—the report tracks 32 indicators of faith, belief, and worldview among Gen Z adults, currently ages 18 to 23.
The study finds that Gen Z is moving in two opposite spiritual directions—both toward faith and away from it at the same time.
More Gen Z adults are calling themselves Christians, reading the Bible, and attending church than four years ago. At the same time, belief in moral absolutes has not budged, support for traditional marriage has eroded sharply, preference for socialism over capitalism has surged, and the share of the generation holding a fully biblical worldview sits at a historic low of just 1%—unchanged from 2022 and 2026, as Gen Z continues to mature into adulthood.
According to Barna, the data gives “a lukewarm affirmation of revival, at best.”
As the veteran researcher explains, “While the survey findings so far are unpersuasive regarding an outbreak of revival within Gen Z, those disappointing outcomes may point us to a more important question. Are American Christians prepared to enthusiastically and thoroughly evangelize and disciple the young people who demonstrate authentic interest in biblical Christianity?”
Across the 32 worldview indicators tracked, the CRC identified eight statistically significant shifts in a biblically positive direction, seven in a negative direction, and 15 that showed no change at all.
Only one positive change came in biblical beliefs—the percentage of Gen Z who contend they were created by God, in His likeness, but are undermined by sin and need to be saved increased by 10 percentage points. Other shifts between 2022 and 2026 came in movement toward biblical activity:
- The share of Gen Z adults who describe themselves as Christians rose five percentage points.
- The proportion claiming to be deeply committed to practicing their religious faith jumped 17 points.
- Weekly Bible reading increased 10 points.
- The share saying they rely primarily on the Bible for moral guidance rose 9 points, to 28%.
But the negative shifts are equally significant. The share of Gen Z adults who view traditional marriage as simply a personal preference—not God’s design, or a superior moral option—rose 18 points. Preference for socialism over capitalism climbed 17 points, from 22% to 39%. The proportion who say they receive helpful guidance from their horoscope rose 13 points. And the share who believe Jesus sinned while on earth increased 5 points.
Meanwhile, among the 10 foundational worldview beliefs tracked—including understanding of God, the nature of humanity, and the Bible—not one showed a statistically significant change. The proportion of Gen Z holding a complete biblical worldview has remained stuck at 1% throughout the four-year period.
The Kirk Effect: Real, But Modest
The report also analyzes a tighter window: the eight months between the CRC’s May 2025 survey and its January 2026 survey, which bracketed the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September 2025. Media accounts had widely suggested that Kirk’s death was catalyzing a spiritual awakening among young people, with reports of surging Bible sales and packed church services.
The data offer a more measured picture. Weekly church attendance among Gen Z increased five percentage points in that window, and the share who report never reading the Bible declined by five points. Fewer young adults said they never take time to seek God’s will or never offer thanks and praise to God. These are genuine, if incremental, movements.
Set against those gains, however, were some of the study’s most alarming single-period shifts: a 21-point surge in Gen Z adults who prefer socialism over capitalism, an 18-point rise in those who believe there are no moral absolutes, and an 18-point increase in those who believe Jesus sinned while living on earth.
Behavior Without Belief
According to the report, when it comes to the question of revival, the most optimistic view may be that Gen Z seems to be spiritually open and actively seeking, but as a generation, there currently are few signs of deep or lasting positive shifts in their biblical foundation or overall worldview.
As Barna noted, “Spiritual transformation may be introduced by changes in religious behavior, but for those behavioral changes to become rooted, there must be an understanding of why such behaviors matter. Without making the connection between beliefs and behaviors, unrooted behaviors will revert to prior habits.”
Barna contended that the Church’s readiness meet Gen Zers where they are is the critical variable in any potential revival.
But, for the existing Church to evangelize and disciple outside its walls, it needs revival inside them. As Barna explained. “The Church must be prepared to not only teach biblical truth and call for repentance, but to also model a robustly biblical way of thinking and living that is profoundly different than what the world has to offer.”
The full report, American Worldview Inventory 2026: Report #3: “Examining the Recent Spiritual Progress and Regress of Gen Z.” is available here.
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About the Research: The report draws on three surveys conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University: surveys fielded in 2022, May 2025, and January 2026. All surveys examined Gen Z adults, defined as individuals born between 2003 and 2021, with the current study focusing on those who have reached voting age (18 to 23). The January 2026 wave of the American Worldview Inventory was conducted approximately four months after the Kirk assassination.
The American Worldview Inventory (AWVI) is the only nationally representative annual tracking survey that measures both biblical and competing worldviews among U.S. adults. It was created by Dr. George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. AWVI research reports are available free of charge to the public on the CRC Research page.
The American Worldview Inventory 2026 was conducted in January 2026 among a sample of 2,000 adults. The study includes 53 worldview-related questions examining beliefs and behaviors across eight categories of life application. Interviews were completed via telephone and online, with a margin of sampling error of approximately ±2 percentage points.
About the ACU Worldview Assessment: More information about the Arizona Christian University Worldview Assessment, the online assessment developed by Dr. George Barna, is available at www.ACUWorldview.com. The ACU Worldview Assessment is designed to measure the worldview of adults and in a group setting. The K-12 school version of the assessment is designed to measure the worldview of students in grades 4, 8, and 12.