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?

People are seeking a spiritual life, with the stress of everyday life and evil around us everyday, it isn't surprising.

Many rehab recovered addicts are better people from following a spiritual life. There is 100s of social spiritual clubs for all walks of life.

I've always had a belief, nowI'm find myself wanting to live a more peaceful life, helping people less fortunate

Looking forward to bringing the children to the new religious movie.

Why do they hate SEN kids? Where's the justification for that in the Bible? Hardly 'Suffer the little children and forbid them not to come unto me', is it? Some ''Christians'!

From talking to US Christians from various denominator online, they seem to follow the Bible less and more the particular ideology of their denom, which is often far removed. Also odd how so many Christians there are anti vax, not sure how the Bible promotes that..

I do recommend reading the Bible. There is a lot of good in there, esp NT. Psalms are v soul soothing too to read imo.

Tradcaths sounds like an ancient method of removing urine from ones bladder.
Do we have 'modcaths' now, ones which reduce the risk of trauma and infection?

It also sends out the message that your status in life is defined by your level of material comfort. Even the 'simple life' involves living in a cottage somewhere idyllic which isn't actually that cheap. Many social opportunities with friends involve money. It's all very well for young urban professionals who earn enough to afford rent somewhere bougie or have parents paying their rent in the early years, who have above average looks/desirability so even when seeking a partner at 33 (after 10 years on the career ladder, travelling and having fun) , they can find someone good and then buy a lovely house in the suburbs, start a family. To such people, religion has limited relevance and may even be a hindrance at least until they need to get their kids into the local CofE school .

I definitely probably was more drawn to religion when I was a 25 year old living with my inlaws and saving to buy. I did notice I went to shul a lot less after I moved into my own place though I am still religious, a big part is I want my child to grow up in the faith and jewish school is one of the options I am considering.

But for many people they will never have the well paid job which affords them lots of disposable income to go out with friends or date. Postponing marriage doesn't have the same effect of increasing your income if you aren't a professional,it probably does delay you buying or renting your own place. So I can see why religion may be appealing cos traditional religion at least seems to allow you to value your life based on other metrics.

I shouldn't sneer but they really get on my nerves. The reddit Catholics, similar or worse, are something else. Cruel & sanctimonious. Quite a few were actually praying for the Pope to die when he was ill recently! They think he's sent by Satan or some such rubbish.

I really admire the Pope, he's fighting all the time w incredibly bigoted Cardinals (many in the closet according to Frédéric Martel's investigation)

I was driven out of the baptist church I went to when DS was young. I was pretty much ghosted by the married couples. The last straw was Xmas when not ons single person spoke to me even to say happy Xmas. I'd been baptised there and had been a member for 3 years.
After few years after leaving I found the pagan community who were warm and loving and I'm still with them 20 years on. I forgot to add I was a single mum through no fault of my own. It was DV.

I find it disheartening that when people discuss Christianity, they take the wildest excesses of every sect and amalgamate it into one extraordinary and twisted faith that all everyday CofE members believe.

The truth is, that every group of people from atheists to agnostics, musicians to roadsweepers, has a mixture of people and practices within it.

Christianity is the same. Yes, there are churches in America that preach prosperity as a reward and think they can usher in the second coming by consumerism, war mongering and prayer. Yes there are churches in the UK that preach that’s a misunderstanding and a fallacy.

The point of establishment churches is to preserve ‘doctrine’ from the weird distortions mankind is prone to run with, given the opportunity.

The Old Testament- clue is in the name- is overwritten by the New Testament. The core teaching is to love your neighbour as yourself.

Demonising people who don’t look or live like you is not Christianity.

I'm not sure if that was partly due to me, or not, but I want to clarify that I know that many/most C of E people do not believe in any of these extreme things. It's more that I know there is a push online for lots of them, and Gen Z has been much influenced by online stuff. But hopefully the C of E will stand firm & change them rather than vice versa. I think increased religiosity is good, as long as it doesn't start tipping into the above issues I mentioned. it is worth noting that a lot of the Gen Z rise is Catholic & pentecostalist as pp said, not C of E. If it were just C of E I'd worry less.

On the OT, I would question that it doesn't apply now. Jesus said he came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, but not abolish them.

Tbh, I have no problem with faith.
Organised religion is another matter though.

I could join you in a technical chat about whether a fulfilled law still needs devotion, @AliasGrace47, but it would be a diversion!

Theology and Philosophy are really interesting, and a world away from science. They just aren’t the same conversation, so one can’t disprove the other. I really enjoy conversations with educated atheists, who understand the argument they are engaged in.

That's horrible, I'm so sorry. My mum attended a Baptist church w me for years, & while we did often feel outliers amid huge families, they never once gave her shit for being a single mum, even tho they probs disapproved. Makes me wonder how common that is tho...

I get why the Church promotes marriage & it is good imo, but there can be a nasty edge definitely.
One good thing about some forms of Christianity is the emphasis that people can be called to singleness and still be worthy contributors to society. That can get lost in a lot of secular natalist etc groups, where a lot of men are just there to snipe at childess/single women as 'cat ladies' 🙄.

Louise Perry gets a lot wrong, but she is right that some aspects of Christianity have def been good for women. Eg. Opposed to men visiting prostitutes (thiugh not always helping women ofc )& educating women in convents. (So many nuns who achieved great things tho ofc it came at the cost of family life, tho some may not have wanted that)

I must say I struggle with organised religion despite being in leadership in one. The problem is without establishment you have no framework to protect religious ’truth’ and to protect people. The establishment may have made appalling errors with safeguarding but nothing like as bad as no safeguarding would be.

And ‘life is a vale of tears but you will have your reward in heaven’ is a stronger basis for a fulfilled life? Because I’m the product of generations of people who believed this with every fibre of their being. It’s not a route to fulfilment, either.

Well there's certainly no revival around here as all the smaller churches are closing by 2027 to amalgamate with the biggest one. We have an average Sunday congregation of 20 to 30 and as older members die, nobody replaces them.

Good point. Cults usually start when people break away & there is no safeguarding. It's v important there are organised versions to guard against people seeking faith and getting trapped by snake oil or abusive types.

That would be v interesting- maybe I could pm you later? I know there are different arguments on that line, tho not sure which I agree with.

I'm honestly not sure if I'm atheist...I don't want to be.. I think soon I'll probably take a leap of faith (possibly into Judaism though) bc the idea of no redemptive/protective force watching over the world seems so spiritually depressing. Intellectually I find it hard but spiritually I want to believe..

I think that for about 20 years, people thought that the best way to get on with people of other religions was to not belong to one ourselves. But the Islamic folks are happily still enjoying being muslim and so I think it makes sense for the Christian people to go back to being Christian.

We just started going back to church. It's a bit of a struggle just now because there are so few people in the church to keep the buildings going, and a lot of very vulnerable people who are there because they have nowhere else to go.

The general swing to the right in society and politics.
School admission.
New British citizens originally from stronger religious traditions.
A general decline in critical thinking.

Are you actually saying that former Christians stopped practising because they thought it helped them ‘get on with’ people of other faith backgrounds, and they assumed everyone would eventually join them in being secular, but now that Muslims haven’t stopped practicing Islam, the Christians are saying ‘Ah well, worth a try — let’s go back to church, seeing as the Muslims are still going to the mosque’?

Yes, the Bible sanctifies suffering, misery and poverty.

Handy, for those of a certain political bent.

Why is it terrifying.? Christians don't hate single parents or children with SEN. I'm a, Christian and work in a SEN School. Most of my colleagues are also Christians. Family values aren't a bad thing to promote, why not promote family values within different types of families? Family values mean different different things to different families
A Christian society is fundamentally a caring one.

Family values is used to describe the nuclear family and to shame single mums as being sluts

They also look down on our SEN kids who are 'missing a dad' and 'out of control'

Terrifying time

I guess if you are in poverty already, that might be comforting? Idk how to solve the problem of poverty in the uk and no one knows how to either. Reeves is now axing disability benefits cos of the bond markets and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. Successive governments will only continue this.

The answer to poverty is the restructuring of wealth and power. A soothed, pacified population are far less likely to demand such.

I find it pretty worrying too, it's patriarchal which is not good news for women.