If you’re praying for a miracle in 2025, chances are you’re not alone.
Belief in miracles has seen a significant increase over the past few decades, specifically among Evangelicals and those with graduate degrees in the United States, according to a recent survey.
The findings, which were summarized in a report last September from statistician and pastor Ryan Burge and drawn from the U.S. government’s General Social Survey, suggest significant shifts in how Americans view the supernatural, with notable increases in belief among Evangelical Protestants, black Protestants and individuals with higher education.
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In 1991, Evangelical Protestants and black Protestants were the most likely groups to report strong belief in miracles, with around three in five (60%) expressing definite belief, while Catholics and mainline Protestants were less inclined to believe. In fact, only 43% of Catholics and 35% of mainline Protestants reported that they “definitely believe” in miracles, the survey found.
However, between 1991 and 1998, the period marked a noticeable increase in belief in miracles across all Christian groups. Evangelicals experienced an 11 percentage point jump from 60% to 71%, while Catholics and mainline Protestants reported increases as well. Mainline Protestants, for example, saw a significant rise from 35% to 48%.
For Evangelicals, the belief in miracles continued to grow throughout the following decades, the analysis shows.
By 2008, 79% of Evangelicals reported a strong belief in miracles, and that number climbed to 81% by 2018, marking a sharp 20-point increase from 1991 to 2018 among Evangelicals. Similarly, belief among black Protestants also grew substantially, jumping 18 percentage points from 60% in 1991 to 78% in 2018.
The trend for Catholics and mainline Protestants, however, was slightly different. Both groups saw their peak belief in miracles in 2008, but belief receded somewhat by 2018.
Catholics, for instance, dropped from 53% in 2008 to 51% in 2018, while mainline Protestants experienced a decline from 60% in 2008 to 55% in 2018. Despite this, the data still indicates that both groups reported higher levels of belief in miracles in 2018 compared to the early 1990s.
Burge’s analysis highlights the generational aspect of belief, showing that older generations report increased belief in miracles as they age. For example, individuals born in the 1930s had a 56% belief in miracles in 1991. By 2018, that number had grown to 66%.
This data, Burge wrote, indicates that belief in miracles can strengthen over time, especially for older generations.
“The data points to a pretty nuanced picture regarding how belief in miracles changes across the life course,” wrote Burge, an associate professor at Eastern Illinois University. “It does look like the older generations did report an increase in belief as they aged.”
Perhaps even more surprising is the rise in belief in miracles among highly educated Americans, who are traditionally seen as more skeptical of supernatural beliefs. According to the report, in 1991, only 45% of Americans with a bachelor’s degree said they “definitely believe” in miracles. However, by 2018, that number had risen to 63%.
The increase was even more dramatic among those with graduate degrees: in 1991, just 30% of individuals with at least a master’s degree reported belief in miracles, but by 2018, that number had surged to 61%.
“In the early 1990s, folks with college degrees were significantly less likely to believe in religious miracles than those with a high school diploma,” Burge wrote in a tweet. “That’s not true anymore. There is no statistical difference between definitely believing in miracles across levels of education.”
In a Jan. 8 report, The Colson Center’s Breakpoint noted that while a rise in secular beliefs in miracles can often pave the way for an openness to the supernatural — a belief that, if exploited, could result in massive deception.
“Secular spirituality is far from revival,” wrote Breakpoint’s John Stonestreet and Shane Morris. “Christians know of these other forces capable of counterfeit ‘miracles’ but that lead away from the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This should cause us to cry out for mercy for those who are being deceived.”
