{"id":284811,"date":"2026-01-23T08:59:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=284811"},"modified":"2026-03-30T14:33:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:33:52","slug":"has-there-been-a-christian-revival-among-young-adults-in-the-uk-recent-surveys-may-be-misleading","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/01\/23\/has-there-been-a-christian-revival-among-young-adults-in-the-uk-recent-surveys-may-be-misleading\/","title":{"rendered":"Has there been a Christian revival among young adults in the U.K.? Recent surveys may be misleading"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Worshippers
Worshippers attend a service at Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England, in March 2023. (Finnbarr Webster\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many recent surveys have pointed to a Christian resurgence among young adults in the United Kingdom. This narrative, however, may be misleading. These surveys canvass members of opt-in<\/em> panels who have signed up to participate, often in response to website ads or email campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surveys using random samples<\/em> of the population do not show clear evidence of a Christian resurgence. In such surveys<\/a>, you can only participate if the researchers randomly select you to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this analysis, we\u2019ll highlight the results of these recent opt-in surveys and compare them with the results of surveys based on random samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How we did this<\/summary>\n

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis as part of our ongoing research on how the world\u2019s religious composition is changing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post includes new analyses of two U.K. surveys. The Labour Force Survey<\/a> typically conducts interviews with more than 50,000 people each quarter. The British Social Attitudes<\/a> survey is an annual survey of more than 3,000 adults. Both surveys randomly recruit respondents, beginning with a database of all mailing addresses (the Postcode Address File) to choose households. Each survey transitioned away from face-to-face, in-person interviews, at least briefly, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For comparability, analyses of these surveys are restricted to adult respondents living in the island of Great Britain, including England, Wales and Scotland. The British Social Attitudes survey didn\u2019t begin surveys in Northern Ireland, home to about 3% of the U.K.\u2019s population<\/a>, until 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This analysis was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project<\/a>, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts, John Templeton Foundation (grant 63095) and Templeton Religion Trust (grant 34765). This publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Online opt-in surveys find high levels of religiousness among young adults in Britain<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Despite the widely recognized decline of Christianity in the U.K.<\/a>, there have been persistent rumblings of a Christian resurgence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, media stories highlighted the results<\/a> of online opt-in surveys that were commissioned by the Bible Society for a report called The Quiet Revival<\/a>. These surveys found that the share of 18- to 34-year-olds in England and Wales who are regular churchgoing Christians more than tripled between 2018 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other online opt-in surveys<\/a> in Britain have also found high levels of religious activity among young adults in recent years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n