In April last year, Bible Society published a report called The Quiet Revival, and I interviewed the main researcher behind it, Rhiannon McAleer. The report made a number of claims, based on research by YouGov, including both a significant change in attitude amongst young people, and a significant change in church attendance. It provoked much discussion and encouragement, but also was challenged by others, not least on the basis of the ‘gold standard’ British Social Attitudes Survey.
But it was announced this week that YouGov, who conducted the survey, made major failings in the way they handled the survey, so that the quantitative findings do not stand up to scrutiny. Bible Society put out a statement yesterday.
I was able to ask the CEO, Paul Williams, about this news, and what it means for Christians, churches, and church leaders. And below that I post comments from Revd Dr Robin Ham, who had previously written about the Quiet Revival, on what it means for us on the ground.
IP: The Quiet Revival report created quite a stir from all quarters. But it turns out that there is a problem with some of the statistics. What are those problems, and what does it mean for the findings of the report?
PW: YouGov has a sophisticated set of anti-fraud tools at its disposal which are designed to screen out respondents who might be ineligible to contribute to its polls, for instance because they live in an area outside the survey area or answer randomly or fill in forms multiple times. Normally these tools are very effective.
The Quiet Revival report was based on two surveys, one in 2018 and one in 2024. There are no concerns about the first survey, but when they conducted the second survey not all of these tools were activated due to human error. This means that enough of the respondents were bogus to cast doubt on the survey as a whole, so we withdrew the report.
It’s important to say that the fact that the data set was corrupted doesn’t mean that the broad narrative of the report was wrong – it’s just that we can’t support it from the YouGov data. There’s a lot more evidence in support of a genuine change in the spiritual climate, which we’ve brought together in a new report, The Quiet Revival one year on: what’s the story?
IP: A number of people—including some with a vested interest in refuting it—were very critical of its findings. Were their responses fair?
PW: It’s been very interesting to see the responses during the last year! We’ve always been open to engaging with people who’ve argued in good faith that the evidence doesn’t support the idea that numbers attending church have increased (actually a small part of the report, but understandably that’s what people latched onto). We had good answers for them, and as I’ve said, we do believe that there’s a real change going on.
There were other critics who were ideologically opposed to the idea that the Church might be growing because they were committed to the discredited secularisation thesis, or hadn’t read the report carefully, or had simply misunderstood it – for instance, saying our report claimed there was massive growth in the CofE, which was absurd. So some responses were fair, but some were definitely not.
IP: On the Bible Society website, you mention that the Quiet Revival report was only one of a number of other pieces of research that painted a wider picture. What were those, and what were they demonstrating?
PW: It’s been fascinating to see the amount of corroborative evidence accumulating during the past year. Aside from the testimonies from churches, our own Gallup poll shows that younger Christians are warmer to the Bible than older generations. So we’re looking at a decline in nominal Christianity, but an intensification of religious identity and practice particularly among the young. We’ve also analysed a significant Pew probability survey (the 2024 Spring Global Attitudes Survey) that shows younger non-religious people are more likes to have spiritual beliefs – including belief in God and life after death – than older people. They also have far more positive views of religion.
There’s also a ‘Bible boom’, with record Bible sales, and more people are now searching for the Bible than for Harry Potter, according to Google Trends. And there’s a very marked rise in Christian conversion. In the Catholic Church in 2024 there was a 21% rise in the number of people baptised over the age of seven. The Baptist Union of Great Britain says 57% of its churches are growing, and they had 800 more baptisms last year than the year before – unprecedented in recent times. There’s plenty more in our new report!
IP: Despite the need to withdraw the QR report, there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence of change on the ground—in my church we have seen young people, especially men, simply turn up for no obvious reason, and I know we are not alone in that. How widespread is that phenomenon?
PW: It seems to be very common, from the stories that are coming in to us. Of course churches have always had good news stories to tell and there has always been growth, but one of the interesting things about The Quiet Revival report is how it seems to have given a name to what people were really feeling and seeing. Your church’s experience can be multiplied many times over. We’re creating an online space where these stories can be collected and shared, and we welcome contributions – please email us at [email protected]
IP: What does your new report contain, and what evidence does it offer?
PW: There’s a comprehensive foreword outlining what went wrong with the 2024 survey and YouGov’s response when it found that it had made some fundamental errors. Aside from that there are five sections to the report. We’ve found that the culture’s changing – from footballers to philosophers, believers are talking openly about their Christian faith. We also find that religious identities are more important – nominal Christianity’s declining, but younger Christians are far more likely to practise their faith. Young people are also a more spiritual generation, widely engaged in spiritual practices and open to faith.
We also outline the evidence for a Bible boom – sales have soared, and Google searches for it have overtaken searches for Harry Potter. Also, very significantly, there’s a rise in conversions, as I’ve already said.
IP: How do you think local churches should respond to what is happening in their thinking and practice about evangelism, outreach, welcome, and nurture?
PW: In important ways, that answer hasn’t changed from The Quiet Revival report. We still want to stress the importance of the Bible in nurturing and discipling new believers and giving them firm foundations for a lifetime of faith. Churches should see the Bible as their number one resource, not as some kind of barrier or hurdle. But we’d also encourage churches to prioritise mentoring relationships between older and younger Christians, and to encourage real inter-generational conversations.
IP: What future research are Bible Society planning over the next couple of years?
PW: We’re going to update the report later in 2026. We’ll using YouGov to run a survey using the same methodology as we did in 2024, on the understanding that they now have all the safeguards in place that ought to have been there originally. We’re also looking at other providers who can run probability surveys – that is random samples rather than panel-based – so that when we produce our next report, probably in October, we’ll be able to offer a rounded and thorough picture of Christianity and the Bible in England and Wales, which isn’t open to the sort of criticisms that have been levelled at The Quiet Revival. We’re committed to serving the churches in their mission and ministry, and this will be an invaluable tool for them.
IP: Thank you very much Paul. I look forward to seeing the new report—and thank you for all the work you and Bible Society are doing. It is invaluable for the local church.
As a reflection at the local level on what this means, Robin Ham comments:
A Quiet Revival? 6 Reflections After the Retraction
News of a serious error in the original 2024 YouGov dataset has meant the Bible Society yesterday withdrew their much heralded report. In some ways, it brings a kind of temporary closure to a dialogue that had raged ever since the report came out – especially for those who felt the remarkable findings were not always matched ‘on the ground’.
But what does this mean in practice—especially for churches, Christians and pastors?
Should it change whether we feel our culture is ripe for the gospel? Have we over-egged the Church’s sense of worth in wider society in this cultural moment? Does it nullify stories of change and conversion from up and down the country?
As an ordinary pastor of a beautifully average church in a fairly normal place, here are six initial reflections:
1. The Quiet Revival report didn’t create this spiritual moment—it named it.
Ever since the Quiet Revival report came out, I’ve noticed a strange cocktail of reactions in my own heart. There was excitement and longing, but also, if I’m honest, traces of scepticism, comparison, and even a fear of missing out.
And yet the phrase “Quiet Revival” rapidly became part of the national conversation—first in the church and then even beyond.
But as I reflect on the significance of yesterday’s news, I think it’s been less a case of the report giving us misplaced hope, and more a sense of it giving us the language to capture our shared experiences. Did I want to believe this report? Well, of course. But I think it’s real power came in the way it locally resonated.
As Paul Williams put it, “we may have given it a name, but the Quiet Revival has come to represent much more than a single survey.”
2. The “R-word” was always doing some heavy lifting, but national trends still suggest a spiritual awakening.
Even before yesterday’s news, there had been significant debate around the appropriateness of the specific language of ‘revival’. Even with the ‘quiet’ qualifier it was a hefty theological claim, and inevitably placed considerable pressure upon the data.
My observation is that as the last year unfolded, church leaders became more comfortable using the language of an awakening, or openness, or spiritual hunger. Something was different in the wider culture, but it didn’t seem to be manifesting itself as a typical revival.
Along the way there has also been a gathering snowball of various surveys, statistics and ‘anecdata’ that fit this wider narrative—Bible sales, Alpha course sign-ups, young people professing faith in God—even the prevalence of elite footballers identifying as Christians.
These ‘converging signs’ are certainly worth noticing, naming and giving thanks to God for.
As Paul Williams said yesterday, even without the survey data, ’something is definitely happening’.
3. Let’s be humble in our claims, without being hesitant in God’s mission
By all accounts, Bible Society haven’t put a foot wrong in the way they worked with YouGov. They seem to have been as misled as the rest of us. And it must be hugely frustrating and disappointing for them.
But if this moment exposes anything, it is probably the need for humility in how we handle and respond to statistics, even when they seem like a firm foundation for an encouraging hypothesis.
Has there been an overconfidence in our claims of what God is doing across the land? Perhaps. Have we put our confidence in the statistics, rather than God himself? That’s one to ponder.
But ultimately a dose of humility and a healthy checking of our hearts, shouldn’t lead to hesitation in mission. After all, hope rooted in God’s activity does not depend on a single dataset. The Church’s zeal should never ultimately rest on polling, however encouraging that may be.
4. Real stories still cut through statistics
Statistics are something, but they are never the whole story. Time and again, what has cut through the headlines, numbers and graphs are the stories: people turning up, asking questions, encountering faith in unexpected ways.
As wider media conversations have shown—including reflections from Emily Maitlis on The News Agents podcast last summer—lived accounts carry a weight that data alone cannot.
As I first read through the initial Quiet Revival report, I remember finding myself flicking through names of people in my head that I knew and who seemed to fit this narrative. That young woman who came to faith online then had the courage to come to church. Or the couple who were brought to church by their child’s spiritual interest. Or the young man who had ‘tried everything else’, but felt Jesus was what he was looking for.
Yesterday’s news does not invalidate those stories, each one a precious testimony to God’s transforming power and grace.
5. The deeper question remains: what are we meant to do with this?
To me, the shift from “Is this happening?” to “What should we do?” always felt like the right move. And I don’t think that’s changed.
Even if we now know the data is uncertain, the pastoral and missional task is not. We are still called to fervent prayer, to radical welcome, to fresh clarity in teaching, to patient discipleship.
My sense is that the events of the last year has led to churches feeling more confident in ‘full fat Christianity’. There’s a fresh resolve to be on the front foot, rather than hiding in the corners and shadows. And yes, maybe we’ve got there the wrong way, but it seems like a healthy place to end up nevertheless. Let’s not go back to flattening the faith; let’s keep offering fullness of life.
6. Our calling is not seasonal
Ultimately, the Church’s calling does not rise and fall with a set of data about spiritual interest or church attendance. We are not chasing revival, but seeking the kingdom.
As I wrote for Premier Christianity in May last year:
Let’s remember our missional calling as the people of God isn’t seasonal. It doesn’t depend on the cultural climate or the latest stats. Our task remains: sow the gospel, water it in prayer, and trust God to give the growth.
So we stay faithful. Not because the times are favourable, but because the King is worthy.
The true fruit of any spiritual renewal, or awakening, or time of openness is not ultimately seen in numbers, but in lives shaped by Jesus. That is the goal.
Today is still the day of salvation – and yesterday’s data doesn’t not change that! In a week we’ll be celebrating the historical reality of an empty tomb. Our hope is not in trends or data, but in a risen Saviour who still draws near, still saves, and still reigns.
If something is stirring, it is because Jesus is still building his Church.
So preach him. Pursue him. Fix your eyes on him.
Revd Dr Robin Ham is lead minister at St Paul’s Barrow in the Diocese of Carlisle and a member of the Archbishop’s College of Evangelists.
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“My sense is that the events of the last year has led to churches feeling more confident in ‘full fat Christianity’”
Indeed:
“PREDESTINATION to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God be called according to God’s purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God’s mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity…” Article XVII
“The Baptist Union of Great Britain says 57% of its churches are growing, and they had 800 more baptisms last year than the year before – unprecedented in recent times.”
This is true. Last year’s general assembly showed that for the first time in decades the general decline had (very slightly) reversed. Decline had been steady and consistent for decades, but over the last couple of years the decline had started to level off, seemingly plateauing post-covid and then every so slightly up-ticking.
That said, as you well know there are a great many variables behind this. Many of which are shared with the CofE.
For a start, growth is definitely not equal across BUGB, with some regions doing much better than others. Second, we have a very similar issue with training for accredited ministry being at an all time low, despite the clear need, and the changing face of ministry training that goes with it.
However, I think it would be hard to overstate how hopeful this has made ministry. There were cheers at GA when we were shown a graph that wasn’t going down! 🙂 In my own region (the EMBA), an air of cautious optimism and courage pervaded our minister’s conference in February, and much of the strategic vision at a regional level is about releasing resources for growth and evangelism.
That is really interesting, thanks.
One of the things that has annoyed me is that people like Voas and even Tim Wyatt say ‘There is no revival; look at C of E stats’. They seems to think that the C of E is the C in E.
We are a much more mixed denomination than you are, and we are seeing some areas of significant growth, and many areas of serious, even imminently fatal decline.
Here there is real strength amongst the Pentecostal churches, particularly those coming from and serving specific ethic groups, which have significant numbers of young adults. They have an energy about them which is not always evident in the C of E.
They do. And too many of our structures and practices protect people who lack vision and energy which we desperately need.
At the Unite the Kingdom carol service in December, a long list of all the churches people were encouraged to join (i.e. most of the main denominations) was read out. Only one exception was made, and on this occasions explicitly made: the Church of England.
The reason for this was not that they did not like the Church of England. It was that the Church of England had (by and large, and in quite public and vociferous ways) made it clear to them that they were not welcome.
Absolutely right of the CofE. As anyone knows, God only works through the usual channels; just ask any first century scribe or pharisee. We can’t have the likes of Tommy Robinson becoming an evangelical Christian – he might end up preaching something new, radical and anti-Establishment. Good heavens: he was an aircraft fitter, not a PPE graduate from Oxbridge. Just the wrong sort.
The Pope is hardly pro the Nationalist right either, nor are Methodists, Lutherans and black Pentecostals. You might get a few white Baptists or white Orthodox fans of Tommy Robinson but that is about it
Define Nationalism. It is an extremely good thing for people to be extremely and actively proud of their own beautiful countries and cultures. That does not mean that they do not intensely value other countries and cultures too, and by the law of averages they will generally agree that some of those are better than their own. As though that made their own bad.
Also it is more complex – how can it be all or nothing? I may hate the PC that dominates Britain at this particular slice in history and also simultaneously love the villages and heritage.
The Quiet Revival report was the Bible Society’s analysis of YouGov data and, as is always the case, the researchers are responsible for proper processes to ensure the conclusions they reach can withstand scrutiny.
To highlight just a couple of their headline findings: the report claimed that church attendance among 18–24-year-olds has risen nationally from 4% in 2018 to 21% in 2024 — a 524% increase. It also suggested that nearly half of Black 18–34-year-olds attend church at least once a month.
These findings were always clearly untrue — common sense and basic observation make this plain. A few outlier churches have seen dramatic growth; in the Church of England about 15% of churches are growing, and in free churches and some other denominations, such as Elim, most churches are growing. But given the large number of churches in the UK, claims about averages and totals seeing dramatic change are bold, given that most churches in historic denominations are in steady decline.
It is notable that no respected researcher ever backed their claims; in conversation, all — like me — were deeply sceptical from the outset.
What is odd is that the Bible Society now seem to be saying they are the victim of bad data, and that response sufficiently sums up the problem. Anyone involved in empirical research will not be convinced by that. I’m afraid my respect for the Bible Society as researchers has dropped significantly; they had an opportunity to address this in their statement this week, but chose instead to present themselves as innocent victims of YouGov’s mistakes.
Nevertheless, something is happening — and for this we can give thanks. Growing churches seem to be growing faster, and people are coming to faith and attending church in greater numbers than in recent decades. Praise God.
I think the statement from the Bible Society is helpful, and what has been written here more accurately reflects what I am seeing in my context. Yes, there is a revival in interest in faith, and younger adults are reading the Bible and coming along to ask questions. But that’s not (yet) translating into people actually making a commitment. That’s why I have been sceptical about some of the claims made since the publication of the initial report, whilst recognising that something is stirring. Let us indeed be humble in our claims.
But note *some* denominations are seeing that translate into attendance.
I think there still was something in the ‘Quiet Revival.’ Note David Voas, the academic who was most critical of it and the Yougov data, is hardly a champion of Christianity
https://europeanvaluesstudy.eu/david-voas-the-power-of-nones-why-secularization-matters/s
May I suggest that more prayer is needed – and the belief that nothing is impossible with God -that every word of God proves true- as I know in my own personal life.
Yes, but I think a bit more honesty and actually believing the teaching of Jesus would help too.
Thank you for this, Ian. Two very helpful perspectives. It is important to note that the hostility from people like David Voas has been partisan and vitriolic throughout the last year. Hats off to the Bible Society for the grace they have shown.
Yes indeed. The fact that David Voas does not put up front what his own agenda is, is shocking.
Yougov are going to re rerun the survey with results in the autumn, again working with the Bible Society but also other pollsters, so hopefully those should provide an accurate set of results
https://www.gbnews.com/news/christian-revival-britain-fake-mass-fraud-survey
I hope they’re getting the redo from YouGov for free – it could be very damaging reputationally for the Bible Society given that I’ve heard them often use the lack of bias and serious nature of YouGov to defend their stats. but it’s still nice to see some embracing of statistical analysis and evidence in Christian circles!
On Voak’s bias, I think it’s fairly obvious when you listen to him then google him but it’s the old adage that secularists think they are the neutral middle ground as they are not backing a horse (which is actually total horsemanure).
This is a thoughtful and interesting piece. I would expect no less.
As a former data analyst, I always had some questions about the data behind the report. The fact that it ran contra to other data sets (eg. Social Attitudes Survey) meant that a degree of caution was reasonable from the start. That said, the change of view from YouGov does not mean that the data is wrong, just that it isn’t statistically reliable. And there is nothing wrong with anecdotal data, as long as it is not used to make unfounded claims.
I have been more interested in the debate around re-enchantment. It seems to me that a shift in the zeitgeist has become visible over the last 15 years. Certainly, the very strident “new atheism” that saw significant popularity in the early years of this century seems to get much less traction now. And it feels like more people are attracted to the proposition that “there are more things in heaven and earth”.
I have been running the Bible course from the Bible Society (fronted by Andrew Ollerton) as a lent course over the last 5 weeks. And this does seem to have struck a chord – both with people who are new to church and with those who have been here for decades. The presentation is accessible and it has generated a lot of meaningful discussion and debate. I would recommend it.
Thanks—helpful reflections. And encouraging!
Ive never quite understood so-called ‘revival’. Isnt Aslan always on the move?
If the Holy Spirit has made his home in very single Christian, why are the sort of experiences reported in such ‘revivals’ not the day-to-day experience of the church? And why is it it seems you have to travel to certain churches or places (Toronto comes to mind) for God, who is not spatially limited and again is in every single believer, to be ‘blessed’ or ‘filled’.
All of this goes against my theological understanding!
Because I think the term ‘revival’ has been used for times of *unusual* growth of the kingdom.
This is what the BBC sceptically said in February about the Quiet Revival,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k1jddl51no
and it struck me with regret as incontrovertible. I had similar concerns at the time but limited most of them to private correspondence.
Rather than respond “OK we stuffed up but something is going on”, let’s do some better surveying and find out what the numbers actually are.
Our group of churches consists of mainly ageing, MOTR pensioners. Amazingly, we have young men ( a couple aged just 14) who have turned up and stayed. If God is sending them to the likes of us, He is up to something.
By the way, YouGov are the absolute worst of their kind. They’ve just had to revise Reform’s polling figures upwards. I was registered with them for while some years ago, and it was usually “members” they turned to for polling, presumably because we were all online and they didn’t have to spend time and money going out onto the streets or cold-calling the public.
Paul Williams claims that “the idea that numbers attending church have increased” was “actually a small part of the report”.
Looking back at the report, I simply don’t think that is true at all. They wouldn’t have called the report “The Quiet Revival” if they were simply pointing to “a genuine change in the spiritual climate”. The original report absolutely places the alleged massive increase in attendance front and centre, from the summary on the back cover, Paul Williams’s own Foreword, the summary, the key findings, and all the headlines generated about the report after its publication.
It seems that Bible Society are trying to rewrite the past, so that, if the new surveys show that overall church attendance has actually declined (which is a real possibility), they can still say that they were right all along, there really is a “Quiet Revival” in the sense of “a genuine change in the spiritual climate” (which there certainly is), and although they were wrong about the overall statistics, that is 100% the fault of YouGov, and it was only a minor detail of the original report.
Robin Ham points to “the need for humility in how we handle and respond to statistics”, and I hope we will see some of that humility from Bible Society in the coming months.