A new survey has found that fewer than a third of American parents pray with their children regularly, which has raised concerns about spiritual engagement in families despite many still identifying as Christian.
Researchers said just 29% of parents prayed with their children daily or often.
The findings came from the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible: USA 2026 report, which examined parenting, church engagement and Bible use among families.
The report said 16% of parents prayed with their children daily and 13% often, while 15% said rarely and 35% never prayed together.
John Farquhar Plake, chief innovation officer at the American Bible Society, said: “Most American parents are open to the Bible, but behavior hasn't kept pace with that openness. They're curious but not deeply engaged.”
He added that parents were navigating “the pressures of work, family, and the sheer exhaustion of caregiving”.
The survey also found that just 14% of parents read the Bible with their children daily or often, while a combined 62% said they rarely or never did so.
Despite the low engagement, the report found younger parents were more likely than non-parents to identify as Christian across Generation Z and millennials.
It also found that a majority of practicing Christian parents prayed frequently with their children, with 72% doing so often or daily.
Researchers said spiritual guidance ranked low among parental stressors, with only 10% naming it a top concern, behind issues such as work-life balance and financial pressures.