According to a new report from Pew Research Center, a growing share of US adults say religion is gaining influence in American life. Recent news bears this out:
Young adults are flooding churches after Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The faith arm of his organization, Turning Point USA, has doubled its church network in the month after his death and gained 200,000 new Christians.
We are seeing a resurgence of Gen Z and Millennial men returning to church.
This is good news for society: According to Dr. Lisa Miller, a senior clinical psychologist at Princeton, there is compelling evidence that individuals who cultivate a healthy spiritual life and maintain a connection to the divine are 80 percent less prone to struggle with addiction, 80 percent less likely to engage in socially destructive behavior, and 60 percent more likely to lead personally fulfilling and socially constructive lives.
Scientific studies help explain why: there is a neurological link between prayer; controlled breathing; and the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter essential for regulating mood, emotional balance, and overall mental health.
In How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist, Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman note that engaging in twelve minutes of prayer and reflection a day improves cognitive skills, helps prevent cognitive decline, and builds neural circuits of compassion for others.
But these are the side effects of religion. Its greatest significance comes when our religion is a transforming relationship with the living Christ.