DENVER — According to Gallup, about 30% of Americans who say they regularly attend a church, synagogue, mosque or temple have gone in the past seven days. That is 10% lower than 2012 and about 20% lower than at the end of the 1950s.
Americans are worshiping in person less, but anecdotal evidence suggests that prayer — or at least spiritual curiosity — is on the rise.
The 123 million people who watched Super Bowl 58 in February saw a commercial for Hallow, a prayer app. The spot featured Mark Wahlberg asking you to pray with him. The big game also saw a couple of ads for He Gets Us, a campaign promoting the teachings of Jesus.
Christy Cobb, an assistant professor of Christianity at the University of Denver, said this does seem to show a renewed interest in spirituality.
"I think so. It's been a really stressful decade — five to 10 years — with the pandemic, political divide, rising cost of inflation and cost of living. I think people are feeling anxious and stressed and are looking for ways to mitigate that. I think faith is perhaps one of them," said Cobb.
Hallow claims it has been downloaded 14 million times and used for 464 million prayers and counting. Cobb said this seems to indicate a desire for the spiritual but also a convenient way to get to it.
"I don't think church attendance is increasing right now. I think it's the accessibility piece. If you can get an app on your phone that you can download and you have with you during your busy times that can guide you through a meditation or do a prayer in a moment of stress for you, then that's a much easier way for you to tap into faith," said Cobb.
On my way to meet with Cobb, I came across a group of teenagers handing out flyers for an Easter church service. They said people their age want a spiritual element to their lives and often use prayer to find it.
"I just feel like prayer can bring people together and unite people," said Connor Hawkins.
"This is like a broken world we live in. And people are struggling in their own personal ways. And just to know that someone out there actually cares and sees them really does stir in people's hearts in a way that you wouldn't think," 17-year-old Gracie Henderson added.
Whether it's a moment or a movement, something seems to be going on. Right after the Super Bowl, Hallow claims it reached number one on Apple's app store.
There is also a car being driven at 180 miles per hour promoting the humility and humanness of Jesus. Ty Gibbs is driving the number 54 "He Gets Us" car in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.
Forbes reports the "He Gets Us" campaign plans to advertise in other big cultural moments this year, including the Paris Olympics, NFL draft and the Republican and Democratic national conventions. According to the Associated Press, the campaign's website saw 715,000 views in the 24 hours after the Super Bowl commercial aired.
