Blog
January 10, 2026
In recent months, public debate in many Western countries has increasingly focused on a question that, until recently, would have seemed counter‑intuitive: is there a religious and faith-based awakening among young people?
The answers offered vary widely from country to country, and even more so depending on the ideological or religious standpoint of those observing the phenomenon. For some commentators, this is evidence of a genuine and structural change; for others, it is little more than a passing trend, or at most a renewed interest in loosely defined, non‑institutional forms of spirituality rather than a true return to organized religion.
Yet beyond interpretations, a growing number of real‑world indicators suggest that something more substantial may indeed be happening.
Signs on the Ground: Empirical Indicators of a Youth Spiritual Revival
Across different cultural contexts, recent years have produced a series of concrete signals that are difficult to dismiss:
- France: The number of young adults baptized between the ages of 18 and 25 rose from around 1,000 in 2022 to approximately 4,000 in 2025. Among adolescents aged 11 to 17, baptisms exceeded 7,400, representing an increase of 33%.
- England and Wales: On 15 March 2025, more than 10,000 young people attended Flame 2025 at London’s Wembley OVO Arena, a major Catholic youth event featuring testimonies, music, Eucharistic adoration, and a message from the Pope.
- United States: From 17 to 21 July 2024, Indianapolis hosted the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, which gathered around 50,000 participants, the majority of them young people.
- Italy: In April 2025, nearly 50,000 young Italians travelled to Rome for the canonization of Carlo Acutis—an event later postponed due to the sudden death of Pope Francis—many of whom also took part in the papal funeral.
- Rome, Jubilee of Youth: Around one million young people participated in the Jubilee of Youth held in Rome in early August.
- University campuses in the United States: More than 200 universities have reported a renewed interest in faith life following the killing of Charlie Kirk. As reported by several university chaplains, “more and more young people we had never seen before have begun attending Mass” (El Debate, 8 October 2025).
These examples could easily be multiplied. Together, they point toward a phenomenon that goes beyond isolated anecdotes.
Cultural, Artistic, and Media Catalysts
This renewed attention to religion and spirituality has also entered the mainstream media agenda, often in connection with successful cultural productions. In Spain, discussions have followed the release of Rosalía’s latest album and the film Los Domingos. In Italy, the unexpected popular success of Checco Zalone’s film Buen camino—despite mixed critical reception—has contributed to public conversations around faith, meaning, and personal journeys. In the United States, high‑profile social and political events, including the killing of Charlie Kirk, have further intensified the debate.
Media visibility, of course, does not create faith. But it does shape the climate of opinion in which young people interpret their experiences and articulate their questions.
Why the Footprints Study Matters
It is precisely in this context that the research project “Footprints. Youth: Expectations, Ideals and Beliefs” becomes particularly relevant. Conducted by eight universities across eight countries, the study offers the first systematic and comparative empirical evidence on how young people today relate to faith, religion, and spirituality.
Rather than relying on impressions or isolated case studies, Footprints provides data that help clarify the scope, direction, and meaning of this much‑discussed “awakening.” This makes the study a valuable contribution to public debate and a practical resource for those involved in youth formation, especially within Catholic contexts.
Key Findings: Challenging the Narrative of Inevitable Secularization
In broad terms, the results of the Footprints study call into question a deeply entrenched assumption in Western public opinion: that secularization is linear, inevitable, and irreversible. Several findings stand out.
1. Growing Interest in Spirituality
Over the past five years: – 50% of young people report an increased interest in spirituality; – 15% report a decrease, resulting in a net positive balance of +35%.
Country differences are significant. In Brazil, Kenya, and the Philippines, more than half of respondents report growing interest, while only about 10% indicate decline. In most other countries, increases range from 10% to 32%. Italy is the main exception, where no clear net change emerges.
These data directly challenge theories of inevitable secularization developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
2. Strong Religious Identity in Non‑Western Contexts
Brazil, the Philippines, and Kenya display robust religious attachment across denominations, with particularly high intensity in Brazil and Kenya.
3. A “Silent” Awakening in Secularized Western Countries
In countries such as Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and—more moderately—Mexico, decades of declining Mass attendance and nominal Christian affiliation are well documented. Yet Footprints identifies signs of reversal beneath the surface.
Nearly 18% of young people in Spain and 16% in Italy report attending religious services or Mass on a daily basis. These findings align with other recent research, including: – A Bible Society–YouGov study in England and Wales showing growth among “intentional Christians,” particularly within Generation Z; – The Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study (2023–2024), which suggests that the decline of Christianity in the United States may be slowing or stabilizing.
Pastoral and Educational Challenges
The Footprints data also highlight important challenges for Catholic pastoral and educational work. In particular, they point to the need for stronger formation in three areas:
- The centrality of the Eucharist;
- The relationship between personal conscience and moral law;
- An authentically Catholic understanding of Scripture.
These are precisely the areas most weakened by superficial catechesis in many Western contexts.
Additional Insights from the Study
Faith and Social Issues
Believers and non‑believers largely agree in condemning war, political corruption, and environmental damage. Divergences emerge around issues such as pornography and surrogacy, which non‑believers tend to accept more readily. Catholics, in particular, show stronger opposition to the death penalty and are less inclined to justify war.
Faith and Prayer
Even among those who identify as atheists, 48% report praying occasionally—62% in times of difficulty, 48% in gratitude, and 47% for everyday problems. Moreover, 42% believe in life after death, and 37% ask believers to pray for them. These findings reveal a striking gap between declared beliefs and lived practices.
Faith, Morality, and Practice
Many young Catholics regularly attend Mass, receive confession, and pray, yet do not consistently follow Church teaching on sexual morality, often privileging individual conscience in ways similar to non‑believers. Conversely, Catholics with deeper doctrinal knowledge show markedly higher levels of religious practice and transmission of faith to their children.
Interpreting Scripture
Only 25% of young Catholics agree with the Church’s teaching that Scripture must be interpreted in reference to Tradition and the Magisterium—an additional area requiring sustained formation.
Methodological Note
The survey involved 4,889 young people across eight countries—Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Kenya (670 respondents), Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, and the United Kingdom—using quota sampling by gender, age, and region. Data were collected via CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing).
The questionnaire was intentionally concise and adapted to a multicultural context, with a pilot test conducted on 10% of samples in each country. Fieldwork was carried out by GAD3 (Spain) between November and December 2023. Initial findings were released in February 2024, and the full comparative and country‑level analyses were published in December 2025 in Church, Communication and Culture (Routledge).
Beyond Fashion: A Question Worth Taking Seriously
Is this renewed interest in faith among young people a passing fashion—or the early sign of a deeper transformation? Footprints does not offer simplistic answers. What it does provide is something far more valuable: solid empirical ground on which the debate can move beyond intuition, ideology, and anecdote.
At a time when many institutions struggle to understand the younger generations, listening carefully to what the data reveal may be the first act of intellectual and pastoral honesty.