(NewsNation) — Are Americans losing their religion?

A recent poll by The Wall Street Journal and NORC, a research institution at the University of Chicago, found that 39% of Americans surveyed currently view religion as “very important.” That’s a drop from 1998, when 62% did.

However, theologian and author Candice Marie Benbow sees things differently.

“People are really interrogating their faith beliefs and detaching them from things that we thought were synonymous with faith,” she said. “You’re seeing people who are questioning and pushing back on misogyny, sexism and homophobia, and really asking what it means to be faithful, what it means to be a person of faith and really hold institutions accountable for systemic harms.”

In addition, the way people are practicing their faith isn’t the same as it was 25 years ago, either, Benbow pointed out. Many people are seeing themselves as “spiritual” instead.

“There is actually an increase in spiritual hybridity and multi-religious engagement,” she told “Morning in America.” “So people are pulling from different spiritual traditions to really form who they are.”

Another institution people are questioning is the church itself, especially after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public gatherings, such as religious services, were restricted. Another survey taken by the Pew Research Center showed the share of U.S. adults typically attending religious services at least once a month dropped from 33% in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, to 30% in 2022.

“We’re seeing people say, ‘What does it mean to be faithful and not necessarily be tethered to an institution?'” Benbow said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.