Half of Americans say they witness a miracle at least a few times a year: study

September 25, 2026

Researchers say a new study shows bout half of Americans say they experience or witness a miracle at least a few times a year even as they hold a variety of views about organized religion and the afterlife.

The Christian Post reports that the findings come from part one of the four-part Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University’s “Survey of Lived Religion,” released Thursday.

Wheatley Institute researchers found a changing but thriving spiritual life among Americans in its survey of 2,005 adults across major religious traditions, despite several studies suggesting the growth in the religiously unaffiliated reflects increased secularization.

Researchers explained, “American religion is changing, not disappearing. The doom-and-gloom headlines capture something real about declining affiliation, but they miss the deeper story: Americans still live in a spiritually charged world,” concluding, “Even many who claim no religion have not become flatly secular; they remain open to belief in God, spiritual experiences, sacred meaning, and life beyond this one.”

According to the Christian Post, researchers found roughly three-quarters of Americans place at least some importance on religion, with 43% thanking God multiple times a day.

The study also showed that only about a quarter of the religiously unaffiliated believe death is simply the end.

About 10% of respondents said they experienced or witnessed what they consider a miracle more than once a week.

Another 9% say they do so once a week, 11% once or twice a month and 20% a few times a year.

26% of respondents said they “seldom” experience a miracle, while 24% said they “never” have experienced a miracle.

According to the report, 68% of Americans say they have had a spiritual experience, including 46% who had one within the past month.

Researchers also found that much of Americans’ spiritual life takes place outside churches and in solitude.

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