CURRENT RESEARCH
A study of 81 countries finds that the growth of Internet diffusion is associated with religious decline, supporting previous U.S.-based research on the secularizing effect of the Internet.
The study, conducted by Miran Lavric and Tibor Rutar (University of Maribor in Slovakia) and published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (online September), analyzed a panel of 81 countries across six waves of the World Values Survey. Secularists and prominent atheists have long argued that the Internet would be a significant agent of secularization, as the technology would expose organized religion to doubt and scrutiny. The researchers found that countries located in the highest Internet-diffusion countries exhibited markedly lower average religiosity than in low-Internet diffusion countries. In looking at specific dimensions of religiosity negatively affected by Internet connectivity, denominational belonging and self-identification as a religious person showed the highest associations. Internet diffusion’s associations with congregational attendance and confidence in churches were weaker and insignificant. Lavric and Rutar conclude their study by noting that these associations don’t prove causality (that Internet diffusion is causing religious decline), but that their findings do “strengthen the case that digital connectivity may be one salient component of the broader late-modern transformations accompanying secularization.”
The theory that novel forms of religion grow in places where traditional religion has declined is supported in a recent analysis by sociologist Sean Everton in his Substack newsletter God, Politics, and Baseball (September 30). While a good deal of research and commentary has been focused on the rise of the “nones” and secularism, there has also been an attempt to look at how alternative forms of spirituality are replacing institutional religion. Earlier research using state-based data has looked at, for instance, how strong negative correlations exist between church membership rates and participation in untraditional forms of belief, such as Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Scientology, and Astrology. Everton updates this research by collecting Google Trends data to compare the proportions of searches (from 2021 to 2026) by state for “Churches” with those for “Astrology.” He finds that the lower the proportion of searches for churches by state, the higher the share of those for astrology (as particularly seen in Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado).
In addition to comparing Google searches for churches with those for astrology, Everton also compared them with “New Age,” “Psychics,” “Yoga,” and “Zen” searches. He found negative correlations (in red) between Google searches for churches and searches for Zen, yoga, and psychics, but not for New Age. These results are also consistent with Stark and Bainbridge’s hypothesis. Everton also found that in states in which people searched a lot for yoga, such searches were highly correlated with astrology searches. Searches for Zen and psychics also exhibited a high correlation. Everton writes that his findings may show that Americans are adopting what scholars call an “intuitional” or “unbundled” religion over institutional religion. “However we choose to describe it—switching, mixing, or unbundling—American society isn’t necessarily becoming less religious. Rather, it seems to be becoming less traditional in how it is religious,” he concludes.
The Southern Baptist Convention is registering a record number of adult baptisms, even as it has recently been losing members. Recent statistical reports indicate that baptisms in Southern Baptist congregations rose for a fifth consecutive year, with 263,075 recorded in 2025. The largest share of those baptized is composed of adults aged 30 and older. This contrasts with a previous pattern of the church baptizing more children and teenagers than adults. The shift toward the baptism of children and teenagers had “buffered the SBC from some of the worst statistical patterns,” but in 2025, 53 percent of those being baptized were over 18. The SBC has experienced a downward trend in attendance and membership, though the denomination’s megachurches have flourished. Writing in First Things magazine (September 11), R. Albert Mohler notes that “other important factors [are in the statistics], such as the remarkable number of men, especially younger men, who are embracing Christianity—solid high-octane Christianity.”
A study of evangelicals in the United Kingdom finds that they are “younger, more ethnically diverse, and more likely to be male than the wider population.” The study, cited by Christian Today magazine (September 18) and published by the Evangelical Alliance UK, found that adults under 35 are the age group most likely to identify as evangelical and adhere to evangelical beliefs. One-third of the most committed evangelicals come from ethnically diverse backgrounds, with 60 percent of the evangelicals being male. A total of 12.3 million people in the UK were identified as either evangelical or as holding to evangelical beliefs or both. Of practicing Christians, two-thirds are identified as evangelical in terms of identity and beliefs.
As to the various classifications of evangelicals, 11.4 percent identify just as evangelicals; 7.9 percent are defined as “broad evangelicals,” those who both hold evangelical beliefs and identify as an evangelical. A minority (3.8 percent) are “classic evangelicals”—those holding strongly to evangelical beliefs, identifying as evangelical, and being part of Protestant traditions. Over a quarter of classic evangelicals are black. Pentecostals form the largest denominational group among classic evangelicals, at 29 percent. Anglicans make up 17 percent of classic evangelicals and 24 percent of broad evangelicals. Catholics make up 19 percent of broad evangelicals, despite evangelicalism traditionally being understood as a Protestant movement. The survey was conducted by Whitestone Insight between February 25 and March 8, drawing on responses from 8,407 UK adults, including 3,804 people who identify as Christian
Digital religious engagement is reshaping religious leadership and trust in China, writes Ming Fu in the journal Social Compass (online in September). Rather than just extending religious communication into online spaces, digital religious involvement is challenging the authority of China’s religious leadership, eroding traditional charisma and giving laypeople greater power and choice in their religious lives. Fu conducted interviews, textual analysis of digital texts, online religious texts, and historical documents in four major areas: Beijing, Guangzhou, Xi’an, and Chengdu, involving 52 Buddhist monks, Daoist priests, lay believers, and platform managers. The researcher found that recent scandals involving Buddhist monks and Daoist priests were rapidly circulated, discussed and even treated satirically online, highlighting how a crisis of trust in contemporary Chinese religious authority can be amplified.
“Historically,” Fu adds, “religious leadership has relied on legitimacy grounded in tradition, charisma, and institutional authority. In China, religious leaders also function as cultural symbols and intermediaries linking the state, local communities, and believers. Under conditions of algorithmic governance, enhanced digital visibility through live steaming and short form video coexists with new risks, as popularity metrics increasingly compete with traditional religious credentials.” Fu concludes that while these algorithmic systems “can foster perceived intimacy through sustained digital presence, they also intensify doubts about authenticity when digital visibility conflicts with expectations of religious seriousness and moral authority.”