3 reasons why we’re confident a quiet revival is taking place

Some have doubted the much-discussed Bible Society research which found the number of people regularly attending church is now increasing. But Dr Rhiannon McAleer says the study is sound, and a quiet revival really is taking place

Commissioning polling can be nerve-wracking. It’s expensive, and the results you get might not be what you expected, or want. So when the 2024 results of the re-run of our 2018 large Bible attitudes tracker came back we were both stunned and delighted with what we saw. The data showed remarkable openness to the Bible and Christianity among young non-churchgoing adults, growing Bible confidence among Christians, and evidence of the positive impact churchgoing makes to individuals and communities.  

But this is not what grabbed the headlines. The survey also showed a remarkable rise in the number of people saying they regularly go to church, from 8% in 2018 to 12% in 2024. While also seen in older adults, this rise was particularly notable among both men and women aged under 35. It was also seen at scale among the white population, suggesting it’s unlikely to be caused by immigration alone.

This finding has been met with everything from jubilation to cautious optimism to outright scepticism. We too have wrestled with it, but here are three reasons we believe the quiet revival has begun…