To find it interesting how the UK is apparently having a 'Christian revival'?

[BonxBonx]

I was watching the news the other day and they were talking about how there has been a big increase in church attendance over the past couple of years, particularly among Gen Z. Anecdotally, I have seen a few friends (in our mid-to-late 20s) 'find God' and start going to church over the past couple of years. Not just passively attending either; actively engaging in Bible classes and retreats. My TikTok is also showing me a lot of this - British 20-somethings talking about their Christianity.

I find it really interesting, especially the timing of it. With the advances in science and us having been a pretty atheist society for a while now, I am surprised. Is it a consequence of being on the back end of the pandemic followed by a cost-of-living crisis that people are looking for answers outside of themselves? I know when things get hard I find myself praying, even when I don't believe in God. Is this an example of that kind of thinking but on a bigger scale?

I think people have looked for meaning in lots of places and found them lacking, plus I think there is more understanding and respect that most of the world has a religion it's not that strange

Can I ask your opinion on a couple of things? I've seen quite a lot of your posts on FWR & always find your posts interesting & well argued.

I get your argument about non physical realities being a question for philosophy not science. The issue to me, which recently made me lose my faith, is according to the Bible, these realities have sometimes been visible in the physical world, eg. Most obviously Jesus' resurrection. And since that was a visible, witnessed event, allegedly, that means it's also possible to find scientific explanations. I can imagine you'll say that it's still a matter of faith...

the issue I find is that Christian faith relies on discounting any scientific explanation for the Resurrection sightings and taking a giant leap of faith that all the modern knowledge of science that can explain away ghosts, sightings, faith healing, NDEs and pretty much all supernatural events doesn't apply to arguably the Supreme historical example of a widely believed supernatural event. (as well as discounting much historical analysis of the evidence- eg, if the Resurrected Jesus really was appearing to crowds of people as stated, why is there no Roman account of this?)
Moreover, a lot of the historicity of the OT is v debatable. The revelation at Sinai, upon which the Jewish faith is based, and which Jesus would have followed, is v dubious historically, as is the doctrine that the Torah was infallibly passed down when there's much evidence of competing sects, writers' agendas etc

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/lifestyle/church-christianity-gen-z-easter-b2736265.html

Interesting points from Humanists UK on possible chinks in the church revival narrative: obvs bias ofc, but worth reading.

https://humanists.uk/2025/04/10/gen-z-religious-revival-the-evidence-is-incomplete/

https://humanists.uk/2025/04/17/young-brits-are-searching-for-meaning-not-religion/

I live in Ireland, and the churches in my area were nearly empty for a long time. I don't know anyone who goes to Mass apart from my brother, and he has noticed an increase in attendance in recent years.

I have no religious belief, and am a trained physicist specialising in cosmology. I hear again and again how my area of science has "disproven" God. It hasn't. God doesn't come into it one way or the other. There is no more of a conflict between science and faith than there is between science and poetry.

Now when it comes to the interpretation of religious texts such as the Bible, some people have beliefs that are incompatible with evidence, but others, such as the Catholic Church, have no conflict with scientific knowledge.

Frankly, this is very unsurprising.

The younger generation has been dealt a terrible hand. Before they were equipped to deal with difficult topics, they've grown up speedily by watching on their smartphones and in society the rise in the extremes of life - addiction, suicide and self-harm, pornography, cancellation, obesity, neoliberal greed, etc (gosh, sounds a bit like the deadly sins) - and some have rightfully concluded that it's no way to live. So they find meaning and solace in the gym, in teetotalism, and in being straight-edge, in kindness towards the planet and animals through increased veganism and environmentalism. Healthy body, healthy soul, healthy mind. The young generations are traumatised from a short lifetime of explicit content thrust on them from an obscenely young age and are looking for ways to heal and soothe. Religion gives them a reason to pursue a purer life. And Christianity, having been out of fashion with the elites for a while and much-derided, is now ripe to be rebelliously claimed as fashionable once again. Everything occurs in cycles.

These younger generations have strong morals and a desire to enable change - in a world that's made them financially powerless and in a society that only values money. They have no money but a desperate need for stability in a country with alarmingly fast-changing demographics. They've grown up with plastic people on social media being fake and hawking materialism as a lifestyle. Then there are the perennial struggles for jobs and homes. A sharp rise in income inequality. You may be poor but religion is free and has always, like the socialism they so admire, condemned the rich. It also offers a shortcut to community, which isolated, tech-addicted youngsters are desperate for. Religion lets them be useful in their powerless world, by getting involved in charity and local issues. If they're the "woke" type of youngster, they can also just call themselves religious the same way they can stick on the wrong pronoun and expect the world to be awed by their uniqueness. Either way, the lives of younger generations will be one of turmoil and unfairness. Their elders have let them down badly. In rocky and uncertain times, no wonder they turn to traditions and tales that have survived millennia.

I expect church-going to rise significantly over the next decade. A lot of it will be a direct response to the increase of Islam in our cities, and its strong in-built community. There may be some jockeying for position going on, after decades of Christian complacency, now threatened by the "new" kid on the block and with a sudden need to stop slouching and show up. Either way, interesting times ahead indeed.

No Christians would say the world was created in 7 days! It was created in 6 and God rested on the 7th

I'm not a believer - I was brought up C of E, very traditionally, and I still love the old hymns/anthems/prayers etc, but I don't go to church since I have no religious faith. Love a choral evensong, though, either singing or listening!

But I can see why people find a 'church/Christian-shaped' hole in their lives. I think I read about a huge old Victorian church in south London which was being used as a secular church, where people could go along on Sundays for community singing, interesting talks on current matters/ethical subjects etc (rather like a church service). There were also sub-groups and activities, clubs and coffee-mornings, jumble sales in aid of charity, discussion and study groups etc as well as a Sunday-morning creche for children.

It was a secular attempt to provide the sort of coming -together, community feeling and social activities which churches traditionally provide. I don't know if it's still going, but I could definitely see the appeal!

I heard someone saying on the radio that the “Christian Revival” was happening among young people, but it was a rise from a tiny % to a marginally less tiny %….

@XWKD

As a theist myself (not a Christian, but a pagan polytheist who believes in the existence of all deities) it's good to hear a secular physicist saying exactly what you have. Despite the idea that 'science disproves the existence of deities' being a rather common idea, I suspect that many scientists would say the same thing that you have.

I quite happily accept that there's no scientific evidence for the existence of deities; I don't need there to be. But lack of scientifc evidence doesn't equal scientific disproof. As it currently stands, science has nothing to say on the existence of deities one way or the other.

Like you say, some fundamentalist/literalist religious beliefs have indeed been proven to be false - but the existence of deities is not one of those.

@Anycheeeeese thought provoking post. I happened to go into the John Bunyan museum today and was thinking similar things about the rise of Puritanism against an increasingly secular society (and one in which the C of E lost out!)

So it now turns out this was all based on one bogus poll, that the Bible Society have now finally conceded was "faulty and unreliable" and has been pulled.

I find this incredibly surprising. Christianity in the UK is sexist and homophobic. Most religions are not very liberal at all.🤔

This. They aren't addressing the same things at all and aren't especially opposed. Lots of scientists are Christians.

There has been other research suggesting the same thing over the past year or so

Has there?

A couple of recent surveys found a modest uptick in "spirituality" among Gen Z in the UK, but didn't measure it by faith, and I'd wager is very likely attributable to demographic shifts (e.g. increases in other faiths).

According to both the CoE and RCC, attendance at their churches continues to decline.

Well, actually it’s a woman, the first ever female Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Malluly. As a Christian, I like what I’ve heard about her so far. She appears to take safeguarding seriously, which makes a welcome change.

A lot of people are under a lot of stress right now.

The church offers community, comfort, and certainty. The feeling that 'you are not alone'.

What are all those sneering about Christianity (or any religion), offering in its place?

Sounds nice but the central premise of the thread (that there is a Christian revival in the UK) isn't true.

Important to remember the miraculous-but often short term- conversion of many people with very young children……

That's a pretty sweeping statement there. The church I attend is run by women (vicar, churchwardens), and probably two-thirds of the readers, helpers, members of the choir and of the congregation are women. The vicar is very tolerant and pro-love in all its forms. I don't find the atmosphere sexist or homophobic at all. Although this church might be the exception, my experience is that Christians I know tend to be older women (because many of the congregation are widows) and young families.

Do you mean for school places or perhaps family support?

Same here. I’m an atheist but come from a very religious family- Jewish on one side, Anglican on the other. My Gran is a vicar and the only children they see are migrants, almost never British born. Not that this is an issue but she hasn’t seen some random influx of local teens joining or whatever. Big-ish northern city. Judaism tends to be different, in that most stick to it.

I wonder if it’s because it isn’t very easy to convert to Judaism whereas with Christianity you can literally be baptised just in order to become someone’s godparent. I know this because my brother had to be baptised last year to become someone’s godfather.

Most of the dc in the local church are now from migrant families, the demographic in the local area has changed and the dc and families attending have dropped as Christianity is not the main religion in the area itms