Young Israelis Are Strengthening Their Faith

By Asif Efrat

In recent months, public attention has increasingly focused on the phenomenon of religious strengthening among Israelis following the war. The Institute for Liberty and Responsibility was the first to highlight this phenomenon through public opinion surveys we conducted during the war. In these surveys, we found that nearly one-third of Israelis report that the experience of war strengthened their faith in God, and more than a quarter report that they drew closer to religious tradition. We also found that the growing closeness to religion in the shadow of war is particularly noticeable among young people.

These findings led us to attempt to map more precisely the terrain of religious faith in Israel. We did this through a survey conducted in July 2025 among a representative sample of 800 Israelis (648 Jews and 152 Arabs). In this survey, we asked participants about their beliefs at the time the survey was conducted, without comparison to beliefs they held before the war. The survey, therefore, does not directly measure the war's impact on the religious faith of Israeli citizens, but it does indicate strong faith among broad segments of the Israeli public, particularly among young people. We believe this  reflects, at least partially, the impact of the war.

According to the survey, 78% of Israeli citizens believe in God. This is a high rate of belief in God, which has also been identified in previous surveys. But we asked a follow-up question: To what extent does God have importance in your life? 69% of survey participants reported that God has importance in their lives. This means that most Israelis do not believe in God merely symbolically and superficially; to them, God plays a significant role in their lives. Most Israelis—59%—report that, beyond religious faith, religious customs also have importance in their lives.

High levels of religious faith are also evident in more focused questions. According to the survey, 60% of all Israelis believe in the existence of heaven; 54% believe in the existence of hell; and 50% believe in the coming of the Messiah. It should be noted that on these questions, large gaps were evident between Jews and Arabs. For example, 44% of Jews believe in the existence of heaven, compared to 90% of Arabs. But even a belief rate of 44%—nearly half the Jewish public—is high.

We also found that many Jews believe in divine promise or divine intervention. Most Jews in Israel—57%—believe that Jews have a right to the Land of Israel by virtue of divine promise. According to many, the Israeli attack on Iran in June 2025 succeeded not only thanks to the boldness and sophistication of the security forces: 39% of Jews believe that the attack succeeded thanks to a divine miracle.

Of course, the strength of religious faith varies among different groups in Israel. As we described above, Arabs in Israel are more devout in their faith compared to Jews. Right-wing voters – including Religious-Zionists and ultra-Orthodox – hold deeper faith than center-left voters.

But the most interesting finding relates to the age distribution of faith. Our previous findings revealed that the war strengthened religious faith primarily among young people. The current findings clearly indicate strong religious faith among Israel's young population. For example, 76% of those aged 18-34 report that God has importance in their lives, compared to 51% among those 55 and over; 71% of those aged 18-34 believe in the existence of heaven, compared to 32% among those 55 and over; and 59% of those aged 18-34 believe in the coming of the Messiah, compared to 27% of those 55 and over.

The closeness of the young Israeli generation to religion contrasts with the familiar trends in many countries around the world, where the older generation is closer to religion. The closeness of young people in Israel to religion was identified even before the war, and it has strengthened, apparently, following two years of difficult and painful war. Today, a large majority of young Israelis report on the importance of God in their lives. This reality reflects, at least partially, the trauma of prolonged war.

Prof. Asif Efrat is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Liberty and Responsibility at Reichman University