I contributed the Thought for the Day on Radio Ulster on Monday 28 July.
You can listen here, or read the text below.
The Quiet Revival?
Have you heard about the Quiet Revival?
Recent headlines suggest that churchgoing in England and Wales has increased. A survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Bible Society, reports monthly attendance rising from 8% to 12%. It also remarks on increased sales of Bibles, not just in the UK but also the United States and other countries.
Despite such claims, other research, including attendance numbers gathered by the churches themselves, have not confirmed the Bible Society findings.
Any talk of revival may come as a surprise to churchgoers in Northern Ireland. On a typical Sunday morning, there are now more empty pews than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here, monthly church attendance has fallen from 47% to 41% over the same time, with the steepest declines among Catholics. In the Republic of Ireland the drop has been even more precipitous, from 35% to 25%.
Certainly, more research is needed to understand any renewed interest in British Christianity. The Bible Society’s report notes that the greatest gains have come among ethnic minorities and men within Catholic and Pentecostal churches, with the Church of England experiencing no growth at all.
Some commentators have claimed that the pandemic has inspired a search for meaning among people whose social connections and mental health suffered during lockdown, prompting them to explore Christianity.
In contrast, my research has found that religious leaders on our island believe the pandemic has accelerated Christianity’s decline. In a 2024 survey, 35% agreed that the increased availability of online opportunities, begun during the pandemic, had resulted in decreases in attendance.
In Poland, the Catholic Church has addressed this perceived problem by stopping most of its online services. But attendance has still declined, especially among young Poles.
Critics of the Quiet Revival have emphasized that church attendance is a poor proxy for true revival, which results in the love of God spreading outside church walls, transforming not only individual lives but whole communities.
That’s the kind of revival worth shouting about.