Is the tide turning? After decades of decline in religious affiliation, 31 percent of U.S. adults in February 2025 said religion is gaining influence in American life—up from just 18 percent a year earlier.

The numbers from the Pew Research Center also indicated “an overall shift toward more positive views about religion’s role in American life over the past five years or so.”

As 2025 began, other reports demonstrated a quiet surge in spiritual curiosity. Bible publishers noted double-digit growth after years of decline—what The Wall Street Journal called “a golden age of Bible publishing.”

The dawn attack on October 7 by Hamas militants took Israel by surprise. Yet continued violence between the Jewish nation and Palestinian extremists should be anything but surprising.

Over the decades, Israel and the Palestinians have been involved in regular wars, barrages of rocket fire, vigilante killings and political clashes. The writing was on the wall in 2022, which the United Nations Security Council called “the deadliest year in the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

Then came 2023. The Hamas surprise attack killed at least 1,405 Israelis and injured around 5,431. As of this writing, Israel’s counteroffensive bombings have killed at least 6,546 Gazans and injured more than 17,000.