Charlie Kirk’s Death Prompted More Spiritual Responses, Especially Among Young Adults

December 8, 2025

The Barna Group has released a poll that suggests a rise in spiritual activity across the U.S. in the wake of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

Christianity Daily reports that the survey of 5,003 U.S. adults ages 18 and over, took place roughly a month and a half after Kirk was shot and killed at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University, on Sept. 10.

Researchers say one in four respondents said they took some sort of action following Kirk’s death, with spiritual responses beating political ones.

According to the survey, 71% of U.S. adults reported taking no action following Kirk’s assassination, with 18% saying they took a spiritual action, 5% saying they engaged in political activity and another 6% saying they did both.

Researchers said the data shows that younger Americans and practicing Christian were most likely to have been inclined to respond spiritually.

According to Christianity Daily, 22% of Generation Z and Millennial respondents chose spiritual action over political activity while 40% of practicing Christians said Kirk’s death prompted them to take a spiritual step in response.

Barna Group CEO David Kinnaman said,  “There has been some discussion about Charlie Kirk’s passing as directly responsible for a surge in church attendance.”

Kinnaman added, “Barna research does not confirm that direct connection, although there had already been positive research showing that Millennials and Gen Z were returning to church well before Kirk’s passing.”

Pastors around the U.S. reported seeing a temporary uptick in church attendance with a noticeable increase in participation from young adults.

Photo: top, Credit: Facebook/Charlie Kirk