For someone who has been quite involved in surveys about the UK Christian scene since the 1980s, here is the most extraordinary piece of research I have ever seen.
It was published by the Bible Society on the day that the Archbishop Justin Welby resigned, and that news overshadowed this news. It should have been the other way around.
Bible Society did a survey of church attendance and attitudes in 2018 and then repeated the survey in 2024. These were national surveys conducted by YouGov with more than 10,000 participants each time.
The 2018 picture was one we have grown very familiar with: 8% of UK adults were attending church at least monthly — 6% of British men, 9% of British women. Older people (14% of all the old were attending monthly) were much more likely to show up in the pews than under 35s (4% attending monthly).
- The 2024 picture, post-Brexit and post-covid, is a different story.
- 12% of British adults are attending church at least monthly.
- 33% of British churchgoers are aged 18-34
- and the revival is led by men: 21% of British men aged 18-24 are regular churchgoers.
- Church attendance in Britain has increased by half in six years. The increase is led by younger people and more by men than by women. Male churchgoers (13% of the population) now outnumber female churchgoers (10% of the population).
Allow me, if you would, an extended quote from the Baptist Times1:
The report’s co-author Dr Rhiannon McAleer said, ‘These are striking findings that completely reverse the widely held assumption that the Church in England and Wales is in terminal decline.
‘While some traditional denominations continue to face challenges, we’ve seen significant, broad-based growth among most expressions of Church – particularly in Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism.
‘There are now over 2 million more people attending church than there were six years ago.’
There are now over 2 million more people attending church than there were six years ago.
Some of the increase in churchgoing has been driven by an increase in the ethnic minority population across England and Wales – among whom churchgoing rates tend to be higher – resulting in greater ethnic diversity in the Church. Today, around one in five churchgoers (19 per cent) are from an ethnic minority. Among 18–54-year-olds that figure rises to one in three (32 per cent), pointing to a Church which is increasingly diverse, and more so than the general population. However, there has also been a significant increase in churchgoing among the white population.
Dr McAleer said: ‘The stereotype of churchgoers is that they are predominantly old, white and female. Increasingly, that is no longer the case. We’re seeing increasing ethnic diversity, but also large numbers of younger people from all ethnicities and many more men attending church.’
Alongside this significant demographic change within churches, the report highlights evidence of ‘an active and vibrant Church’, said Bible Society. Both Bible reading and confidence in the Bible have increased among churchgoers compared to 2018, ‘indicating that new attenders are even more engaged in Christian belief and practice’.
Furthermore, the report identifies both a greater openness to faith and spirituality, and to churchgoing in general, even among non-churchgoers. Younger people are particularly warm to spirituality, with 40 per cent of 18–24-year-olds saying they pray at least monthly and 51 per cent saying they’ve undertaken a spiritual practice in the last six months – the highest of any age group.
Among non-churchgoing 18–24-year-olds curiosity about Christianity is also typically higher than average, with 34 per cent saying they would attend church if invited by a friend or family member and a quarter (25 per cent) saying they would be interested in discovering more about the Bible – again, the highest of any age group.
The report also shows how churchgoing affects both individual wellbeing and the local community.
The report’s co-author, Dr Rob Barward-Symmons, added: ‘With much of the population struggling with mental health, loneliness and a loss of meaning in life, in particular young people, church appears to be offering an answer. We found that churchgoers are more likely than non-churchgoers to report higher life satisfaction and a greater feeling of connection to their community than non-churchgoers. They are also less likely to report frequently feeling anxious or depressed – particularly young women.’
Communities are also impacted, as churchgoers are more likely to participate in activities that benefit their neighbourhoods than either other religious groups or the general population. The report found that churchgoers are more likely to volunteer, donate to foodbanks and give to charitable causes. For instance, 18–34-year-old churchgoers are almost twice as likely to donate to a food bank as their non-churchgoing peers.
Dr McAleer said: ‘Our report does not challenge the well-established fact that fewer people in England and Wales are choosing to identify as Christian.
‘However, it is the first large-scale study to concentrate not on self-declared Christian identity but on actual Christian practice. By this measurement, the Church is in an exciting period of growth and change.
‘The findings of the report should change how we think about faith in England and Wales, and particularly about Christianity. It should encourage church leaders and decision-makers to plan for growth rather than decline, and it should challenge the media and civic society to engage with and represent this significant and growing section of the population.’
Bible Society’s chief executive Paul Williams said,‘This is a highly significant report which should transform the perception of Christianity and churchgoing in England and Wales. Far from being on a slippery slope to extinction, the Church is alive and growing and making a positive difference to individuals and society.’