“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” Those are the words of Viktor Frankl.

Welcome to The Soul Podcast. I'm Stacey Wheeler.

Today I want to talk about something I’ve been watching closely — a quiet but important shift happening in our culture. A few years ago, I released an episode exploring the decline of organized religion and the rise of personal spirituality. I touched on it again the the two-part series, The Spiritual Revolution. The trend was measurable and very real. But now, something new is and interesting is starting to emerge.
We’re seeing early signs that the long decline in church attendance is leveling off and, in some places, it's reversing. Median congregation sizes have grown for the first time in 25 years. Gen Y, Gen Z -and especially young men- are showing up in greater numbers. What’s more interesting is that religion and spirituality seem to be walking hand-in-hand again for many people. Today I'm going to explore the reasons it's happening and talk about why it matters.
So the natural question is — why? Why now?
Sometimes it takes our darkest moments before real change begins. The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk last September appears to have been one of those moments. Pastors, priests and other clergy across the US reported a noticeable increase in attendance in the weeks that followed, especially among people who hadn’t been to church in years. Charlie Kirk's death seems to have inspired many to pause and ask themselves hard questions about life, faith and the nature of hate. And in this moment, some found they were lacking a sense of true community. 
Beyond that singular event, we’re seeing broader forces at work. Years of digital isolation, endless scrolling, and shallow online connection have left a generation hungry for real community and deeper purpose. The pandemic also forced churches to adapt, and those that survived came out more resilient and mission-focused.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” We all feel a deep desire in some space inside of us. It's always been there, yet it may rarely examined. We're born with it. And that deep longing never really went away. It has simply been looking for somewhere honest to land.
Here’s what I believe we’re witnessing: the same spiritual hunger that once pulled people away from organized religion is now drawing many of them back — not to empty tradition, but to something that feels alive and meaningful.
As we move forward, perhaps the path isn’t about being right or winning arguments. It’s about embracing our own spiritual growth while extending genuine love and understanding to others. Because at our core, we are all spiritual beings searching for meaning, connection, and something greater than ourselves.
That’s what gives me hope. 

I feel we'll be diving into this topic more as things continue to unfold. 

 Between now and then I'll share an encore edition of the two part series The Spiritual Revolution. Enjoy!