At a Glance

• Faith’s importance has dropped 20 percentage points since 2000—more than any other Christian commitment measure.
• Practicing Christians have declined from 46 percent to 24 percent of U.S. adults over the past 25 years.
  
• Only one in three Christians says they strongly feel a responsibility to share their faith—a long-term downward trend that has only recently stabilized.

In recent reporting, Barna has reported encouraging signs of spiritual openness in America—especially among younger adults. Interest in Jesus is rising, more people are engaging Scripture and church attendance has seen a modest rebound. Yet when we widen the lens, a more complex picture emerges. Barna’s analysis of data from 2000 to 2025 shows that several core indicators of Christian conviction—the importance of religious faith, Christian identity, monthly church attendance and evangelism efforts—have weakened.

As part of the ongoing State of the Church initiative with Gloo, this article looks at those long-term trends to offer a clearer, more grounded view of American faith today. “We’re seeing hopeful signs that the narrative may be shifting,” says Daniel Copeland, Barna’s Vice President of Research. Still, Barna’s new data adds notes of caution and raises important questions about what’s happening more broadly with Christianity in America. 

A 25-Year View: Four Core Measures of Christian Conviction Are Down

Barna’s analysis of data in 2000 compared to 2025 highlights four key indicators of Christian commitment, and all four have declined:

1. Self-identifying as Christian (-12 points)
2. Attending church monthly (-7 points)
3. Prioritizing evangelism (-4 points)
4. Noting religious faith as important (-20 points)

That final measure, faith’s importance, has seen the most dramatic drop. As Copeland points out, “Over the past 25 years, the most significant and potentially overlooked change in faith life has been the declining importance of Christians’ faith—down 20 percentage points.”

Importance of Faith: A Steep Decline

In 2000, nearly three-quarters of Christians (74%) strongly agreed that faith was central to their lives. Today, that number sits closer to half (54%). By comparison, Christian identity dropped 12 points in the same time frame, and monthly church attendance dropped 7 points. In short, while many still claim the Christian label or attend church, fewer are orienting their lives around their beliefs.

This decline matters because perceived importance is closely tied to lived discipleship. When belief ceases to carry weight in a person’s worldview, Christian practices, such as church engagement and evangelism, tend to follow suit.

Practicing Christians: A Shrinking Share of the Population

Barna defines practicing Christians as those who:

• identify as Christian
• attend church at least monthly
• agree strongly that faith is very important in their lives

These metrics capture the intersection of identity, belief and behavior. Yet today only one in four (24%) U.S. adults meets all three criteria for being a practicing Christian—a 22-point decline over 25 years.

Because “importance of faith” is a defining component of this group, shifts in identity and church attendance move with it. As Copeland explains, “Those are actually two linked concepts. The growth of unengaged, non-practicing Christians is explicitly tied to the declining importance of Christians’ faith.” When fewer people say faith truly matters, fewer claim Christian identity with conviction or show up consistently to church.

Even so, the most recent years of data shows a slight uptick across these measures—a hopeful shift Barna will continue to monitor. 

Evangelism & Faith Priority: Still Low, But Stabilizing

Christians’ evangelistic efforts have also eroded over 25 years. Today, only three in 10 Christians (31%) strongly agree they have a personal responsibility to share their faith. This mirrors the overall decline in faith’s importance, and like the other measures, shows a modest rise from 2024 to 2025.

A Hopeful (and Cautionary) Moment

The data presents a nuanced picture. Bible reading, interest in Jesus and church attendance are rising. Younger adults, in particular, are showing increased levels of spiritual curiosity not seen in years past. Yet many traditional indicators—worldview formation, daily faith practice and deeply integrated faith—have not rebounded to where they were over two decades ago.

Taken together, these trends show that two realities can coexist: spiritual openness can rise while key markers of Christian conviction remain flat. It’s a moment worth celebrating and a moment that calls for caution. “The data reminds us that American religion is resetting,” says Copeland. “There are encouraging signs, but the broader story of Christian faith in the U.S. is still unfolding.”

Copeland points leaders to three numbers worth watching closely:

1. How many people have made a commitment to follow Christ?
2. How many people say their faith truly matters to them?
3. How many people have been so transformed by their faith that they feel compelled to tell others?

“The question before us is what kind of change we desire,” he suggests. “Do we simply want more people in church? Or do we want people, and the world, transformed?”

For church leaders, this tension underscores a meaningful opportunity: to recommit to intentional discipleship and help people move from curiosity to conviction—from Christian in name only to fully engaged, deeply devoted followers of Jesus. Ultimately, the findings suggest that spiritual renewal may be emerging, but it is not yet solidified. The Church has a vital opportunity to guide a spiritually curious generation toward deep, integrated, lived Christian faith.