The hidden story behind America's religious revival

 

Jun 15, 2026

The polling firm Gallup found that the share of young men in America — across various faiths — who said religion was ‘very important’ to them had jumped from 28 percent to 42 percent in just two years. But recently, professor and data scientist Ryan Burge found something surprising in those numbers. A large part of the rise in people saying religion is very important came from people who do not attend weekly services. He calls this phenomenon ‘belief without behaviour.’ In this episode, Katty Kay talks with Ryan Burge about what’s going on in the numbers — and why the headlines of a religious revival in America are more complicated than they might seem.