A recent report by the Bible Society stating that the UK Church is experiencing a period of “rapid growth” has come under scrutiny by Humanists UK.
The Quiet Revival report, released in April, was based on a YouGov survey that suggested monthly church attendance had risen by 50 per cent in six years—from 8 per cent of the population in 2018 to 12 per cent in 2024. The Bible Society described the findings as evidence of a revival, particularly among the Gen Z population.
However, Humanists UK has pointed out that the findings appear to contradict other reputable data sources, including the British Social Attitudes Survey and church attendance figures from major denominations.
A separate YouGov poll—commissioned by the British Election Study (BES) around the same time—found that just 6.6 per cent of the population were attending church monthly, down from 8 per cent in 2015. That poll used a larger sample size and was based on a long-standing panel.
When asked to explain the conflicting data, YouGov acknowledged that the likely cause was “survey design and weighting”—highlighting how different sampling techniques and demographic adjustments can produce different outcomes. While the Bible Society’s survey was weighted for age and ethnicity (factors often linked to churchgoing), the BES was weighted based on political engagement, which can also impact religious behaviour.
Professor David Voas, a leading expert on religion and society, wrote in The Conversation UK: “Quota samples do not give each person a known chance of selection, and findings cannot be reliably generalised. The notion that these surveys offer a 1 per cent margin of error at a 99 per centconfidence level is misleading.”
Voas also raised concerns that younger adults—those most often portrayed as a ‘spiritual generation’—are harder to reach in online polling, and thus results concerning them may be less reliable.
Humanists UK has called on the Bible Society to retract its conclusions, stating that presenting the data without acknowledging contrary evidence has had a serious impact on public perception and debate.
However, the Bible Society has not backed down. It said in a statement to Premier Christian News: "Along with YouGov, we stand by the results of The Quiet Revival survey and are confident that our work reflects the reality on the ground."
The organisation said it's familiar with critiques of the report and created a FAQ section on its website to address concerns.
It states that although no survey, apart from an exhaustive census, can provide perfect accuracy, due to exhaustive checks, the data in the report is trustworthy and shows "genuine change".
"...our findings were so surprising that as well as additional checks employed by YouGov, we also asked them about other possible methodological causes, such as possible disproportionate dropout from non-churchgoers and response bias (for instance, where churchgoers might be more likely to fill in the survey). None of these were found by YouGov to be significant, and they could see no methodological explanation for why we have ended up with such a different result. This strongly suggests we are observing a genuine change, not a methodological error," the website reads.
In May, Alpha, the internationally recognised Christian course designed for exploring faith, reported its most successful year since its inception in 1977.
In 2024, more than two million people participated in Alpha courses around the world.
For more news, comment and analysis on "the quiet revival" see premierchristianity.com/renewal
