What the Baylor survey found#
Roughly 28 percent of people who attend religious services and believe in God also hold magical beliefs, the Economic Times reports, a finding the paper says challenges the assumption that trusting science crowds out supernatural belief. Researchers set that scientific-authority measure against belief in six supernatural phenomena, including ghosts, curses and communicating with the dead, along with belief in miracles tied more directly to God and religion, according to the paper.economictimes.indiatimes… 1 source for this line, starting with The Economic Times
The findings suggest some Americans do not abandon spirituality when they grow skeptical of religious institutions, instead assembling their own beliefs, the Economic Times reports. The paper notes the research cannot establish whether overall spirituality is rising, even as formal religious belonging declines nationally.economictimes.indiatimes… 1 source for this line, starting with The Economic Times
A broader pattern of religious decline#
A cross-national study covering 81 countries from 1990 to 2022 found that rising internet access is linked to falling religious affiliation and self-identification as religious, according to PsyPost, which reported the research appeared in Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review. Led by Miran Lavrič, a sociology professor at the University of Maribor, the study found internet penetration is "strongly and negatively associated with religiosity," the researchers wrote, as cited by Deseret News. Institutional belonging and self-identification as religious showed the largest declines, while the effect on attending services and confidence in churches was "smaller and often statistically insignificant," Deseret News reports the researchers found.alittlesparkofjoy.com 1 source for this line, starting with A Little Spark of Joy
In Canada, forthcoming research from the University of Waterloo shows immigrants' children are more religious than the rest of society but still become less religious than their parents over time, according to Jacob Legault-Leclair, the study's author. "Immigrants are not exempt from religious decline," he said. His data, covering Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, found first-generation immigrants' religiosity stays fairly stable regardless of how secular their new country is, suggesting earlier religious upbringing leaves a lasting effect, he said.canadianaffairs.news 1 source for this line, starting with Canadian Affairs
The Catholic Church's shifting numbers#
Even as belief patterns shift, the worldwide Catholic population is growing, according to Fides News Agency statistics released ahead of World Mission Sunday on October 18, 2026. The Americas remain the largest Catholic region with 678,869,000 Catholics, followed by Africa with 288,312,000, which has now surpassed Europe's 287,240,000, the agency reports. The number of diocesan priests rose to 279,238, while religious priests fell to 128,183, and the number of major seminarians declined by 2,891 to 103,604, with Africa the only continent to see an increase, the Fides data show.fides.org 1 source for this line, starting with Agenzia Fides
