A new report highlights a surprising phenomenon unfolding quietly on college campuses: while overall religious identification among young Americans continues to fall, a smaller but highly committed group of students is pursuing faith with unusual intensity. The Washington Post recently documented this trend through conversations with chaplains, students, and religion researchers who describe a growing desire among young adults for meaning, truth, and authentic community.
According to the Post, one example is the University of Maryland’s Catholic Student Center, where weekly Mass attendance has risen to more than 500 this fall—double the attendance of the past five years. The center’s chaplain, Rev. Conrad Murphy, told the Post that students today are not coming out of obligation but out of a search for something deeper. He described what he hears from students as “a desire for deeper meaning, more authentic community (especially as compared to the online communities they have been exposed to) and a desire for truth,” according to the report.
The article features students who were raised in a variety of religious or secular backgrounds but who are now embracing rigorous faith practice. One student, 19-year-old Aidan Brant, attends multiple weekly gatherings at the Catholic Student Center and told the Post that he is seeking worship that is rooted in prayer and clear teaching. “There’s nothing more rewarding than chasing God,” he said, according to the Post.
The report notes that a similar search for grounded tradition has led other young adults toward Catholicism. The Post spoke with Dana Kang, a graduate student who grew up without religious practice in Korea and was drawn to Catholic worship during college. She told the Post that people today are “looking for a place for refuge amid so much uncertainty, war and political instability,” and added that she values the Church’s consistency over the centuries, saying “it feels more real,” according to the article.
Although these stories point to renewed fervor among subsets of young adults, national data presents a more complex picture. The Post cites Pew Research Center findings showing that 56 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds identified with any religion in 2023–2024, down from 74 percent in 2007. Gregory Smith, a senior researcher at Pew, told the Post that “the main thing about young adults is that they are way less religious than older people, full stop,” and that longer-term declines are likely to continue unless something shifts.
Yet other indicators suggest that committed practice may be strengthening among a smaller group. Gallup polling, cited by the Post, shows weekly worship attendance among adults under 30 rising from 19 percent in 2020 to 25 percent this year. Chaplains at multiple universities told the Post they are seeing greater engagement not only among Catholics, but also among Protestants, Muslims, humanists, and students exploring non-traditional spiritual paths.
At American University, chaplain Eric Doolittle described increased participation across campus religious groups. He told the Post that those who are involved “seem to be more heavily involved,” driven by a search for “deep connection points.”
The report also describes how some young adults are turning to spiritual practice after confronting anxiety, nihilism, or a sense of meaninglessness in an overwhelming digital culture. One student, Gibson Murray, told the Post that living in “a world of fake news” led him to seek stability in Christian belief. He said that for many, a book “unchanged for 2,000 years” has become a source of “peace and purpose and truth,” according to the article.
Sociologists quoted by the Post argue that beneath declining institutional affiliation lies a broader spiritual hunger fueled by cultural fragmentation, rapid technological change, and an absence of shared meaning. Christian Smith of the University of Notre Dame told the Post that “our broader mainstream culture is a dead zone of larger meaning,” and that humans will inevitably seek purpose beyond the commercialism and careerism that saturate modern life.
For Catholics, the report offers a window into both challenge and opportunity: although fewer young adults claim religious identity overall, those who do are often seeking depth, clarity, tradition, and community—realities the Church has offered for centuries. As campus chaplains continue to welcome students who are “asking hard questions,” the landscape of young adult faith in America may be shifting not toward broad revival, but toward intentional and committed discipleship among those who seek it most.
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