Rhiannon McAleer, Director of Research and Impact at the Bible Society, has defended research published last year showing a “quiet revival” in Christianity in Britain.
The research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Bible Society, found that last year around 12% of adults attended church at least once a month, up from just 8% in 2018.
In particular young people were found to be attending church in ever larger numbers, with a fifth of men aged 18-24 attending church at least once a month, up from just 4 per cent of that demographic in 2018. Among women of the same age the figure rose from 4 per cent to 12 per cent.
However, Pew Research has recently cast doubt on the findings, suggesting that the use of opt-in surveys, as opposed to random members of the public, may have skewed the results.
Speaking to Christian Daily International, lead researcher McAleer said, “Our data is robust … YouGov has continued to back it. They are standing by it and so are we.
“We welcome open and genuine dialogue, but we do call for fair standards to be applied … There’s sometimes a bit of methodological sleight of hand where people criticize our methods but not the methods of other datasets they are using to criticize us.”
She added that prior to publishing their research, Bible Society had been hearing anecdotal evidence from churches suggesting renewed interest in faith, particularly among young men. Despite this, she says that her team was not expecting to see this manifested so strongly in the data.
“When you get a surprising result in statistics, you really check the data … So we went back to YouGov, who were the agency that conducted the survey for us, and really checked that the methodology was robust and that there was no methodological issue with the new data we had.”
In short, the anecdotes were backed up by data. Since the publication of the Bible Society’s report yet more anecdotal evidence has come in backing up claims of a “quiet revival”.
Churches up and down the country have reported surges in interest at Easter and Christmas, well beyond the normal seasonal bump. And for some time now, cathedrals have been enjoying strong turnouts.
Speculating on why young men in particular are increasingly going to church McAleer said, “I think many young men in Britain and around the wider world are discontented. We see a crisis in men’s mental health, and we also see shifts in the secular world in how some young men are behaving — around things like gym culture, an interest in stoicism, a search for discipline, and healthier lifestyles.
"You can see it in lots of places — people trying to find new ways of living that lead to flourishing — and, of course, Jordan Peterson is tapping into that desire as well.
“It doesn’t surprise me that in that atmosphere some people would find fulfilment in church.
"It is particularly interesting in our dataset that when we look at non-churchgoers, we asked them, ‘Are you interested in learning more about the Bible?’ Young adults were more likely than any other age group to say yes, but particularly young men who aren’t currently going to church.”
