CHURCHGOING among young people, particularly men, in England and Wales is growing, but not within the Church of England, a new report from the Bible Society suggests.
The report, The Quiet Revival, published on Tuesday, compares two weighted YouGov polls on churchgoing and Christianity, conducted online in 2018 and 2024, of 19,101 and 13,146 adults respectively. This was supplemented by fieldwork carried out between 4 November and 2 December 2024.
Of adults surveyed, 12 per cent reported that they attended a church of any denomination at least once a month last year, compared with eight per cent in 2018. “In numerical terms, that’s growth from 3.7m in 2018 to 5.8m in 2024 — an increase of 56%,” the report says.
This “dramatic growth” is owed largely to younger generations, it says. In 2018, four per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds reported that they attended church monthly, compared with 16 per cent in 2024. For men, this increased from four per cent to 21 per cent and for women, from three per cent to 12 per cent.
“This is now the second most likely age group to attend church regularly.”
The result is a “curve” rather than a straightforward association between age and attendance, the report says, with those in middle age (45–54) the least likely to attend (five per cent). The reversing trend is also true of gender, it says, with overall attendance for men (13 per cent) outstripping that of women (10 per cent).
The shift to younger generations is also increasing diversity in the Church, the report says. While just 19 per cent of all churchgoers are of ethnic minority, among 18- to 54-year-olds this figure rises to almost one third (32 per cent).
Growth among the denominations varies, however. In 2018, Anglicans (Church of England and Church in Wales) made up 41 per cent of all churchgoers. This decreased to 34 per cent in 2024. Roman Catholic churchgoers have increased from 23 per cent to 31 per cent, while Pentecostals have increased from four per cent to ten per cent.
“Again,” the report says, “we see a strong age effect here — among 18–34s, only 20% of churchgoers are Anglican (down from 30% in 2018), with 41% Catholic and 18% Pentecostal.”
The report suggests that the “hostility” and “apathy” to Christianity recorded among older generations is consequently being replaced by “openness”, particularly among Generation Z, who “show above-average levels of warmth to spirituality”.
More than half (51 per cent) of 18- to 24-year-olds said that they had engaged with a “spiritual practice” over the past six months, compared with 42 per cent of the older generations. Forty per cent said that they prayed at least monthly.
Almost one third of 18- to 24-year-olds said that they were curious to learn more about the Bible, but of those who did, 35 per cent said that their faith was “undermined when they think/read about some parts” of it.
This suggests, the report says, that “there is clear need for more discipleship around Scripture. Approximately one-third of churchgoers say they lack confidence in navigating or understanding the Bible and speaking about it with others.”
Of all churchgoing Christians in 2024, 67 per cent said that they read the Bible at least weekly, outside church. The report points to a “clear difference” between churchgoing and non-churchgoing Christians, suggesting that people who do not engage in churchgoing and Bible reading are less likely to identify as Christian. In 2024, 27 per cent of adults identified as Christian, but said that they did not go to church, compared with 32 per cent in 2018.
On openness, 31 per cent of non-churchgoers said that they would attend church if they were invited by friends or family, rising to 34 per cent among 18 to 34 year-olds.
“Relationships,” the report suggests, “are key here: over a fifth (22%) of non-churchgoing 18–34s say they would read the Bible if recommended by a family member or friend they trust, compared to 13% who would if a trusted celebrity or public thinker recommended it.”
Besides a shift in cultural attitudes towards Church and Christianity, the report suggests, is “a deep search for meaning, order, and belonging” related to poor mental health among younger generations.
“With the normalisation of Christianity in culture, and the confidence and comfort of Christian friends to share their own faith experience, a large number of young adults now appear to be looking towards the Church as a space for finding healing and community as well as a deeper sense of meaning in their life.”
The Quiet Revival concludes with four recommendations: the first, for “policy-makers and opinion-formers” to recognise churchgoing Christians in society; and for Churches to work on increasing Bible discipleship, engage in intergenerational conversations within congregations and more widely, and to “recognise the importance and impact of authentic personal relationships”.
In his foreword, the chief executive of the Bible Society, Paul Williams, said: “Our ‘Quiet Revival’ is low key, but it is widespread. It doesn’t draw attention to a particular leadership style, or way of doing church, or political influence.
“Instead, the story told in this report is revolutionary in terms of the public assumptions about Christianity in England and Wales, and transformational in terms of how Christians think about themselves.”
