Claims of a Christian revival in Britain have been challenged after new findings suggested church attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels, with little evidence of a surge among younger generations.
The latest British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey found that just 5% of people in Britain attend church weekly, down from 8% in 2018. Among under-35s, weekly attendance stood at 4%, a figure researchers said remains broadly unchanged from previous years.
The analysis concluded: “New findings from the latest survey confirm that church attendance among Christians in Britain has not recovered to pre-Covid levels, and that younger people show no signs of a religious revival.”
Political scientist and professor Sir John Curtice said the pandemic “appears to have had a more lasting effect on religious practice in Britain than many had hoped and that extends to faith communities beyond Christianity too”.
The findings appear to challenge claims made in last year’s The Quiet Revival report, which suggested that church attendance among Gen Z had risen significantly. In March, the statistics linked to the report were deemed unreliable after YouGov, which carried out the research, apologised for major flaws in its data collection.
However, Paul Williams, CEO of the Bible Society, which commissioned the report, maintained that there are still signs that point to a revival.
He highlighted several developments over the past year as evidence of growing interest in Christianity, including rising Bible sales, increasing numbers of baptisms, greater participation in the Alpha Course and record levels of confirmations within the Catholic Church.
Additional research has also suggested signs of spiritual curiosity among younger people. A Savanta ComRes study last year found that 12 per cent of non-Christian students said they read the Bible at least once a week. Separate findings from the research firm showed that half of all students viewed the Bible as relevant, while 44 per cent considered it reliable.