Thinking about Theology – The Quiet Revolution

Here at MOSAIC, we thought what’s the point of having a CEO doing a doctorate if she cannot encourage the RM network with it?

So, here’s a little something different for this issue. We will take a look at a theological topic and explore current thinking alongside our everyday reality. It’s impossible to cover everything, but opening a door on to current theological conversations encourages us all to ask deep questions and keep on exploring. Sources quoted will be varied, but a citation does not mean that everything the person quoted has said is endorsed by us. It’s over to Jo Allen.

The Quiet Revival: what’s really going on?

The Quiet Revival is a report conducted by the Bible Society, conducted by a team of researchers (McAleer and Barward-Symmons, 2025). In summary, the report suggests there has been an increase in the number of 18 to 44 year olds and 65+ attending church between 2018 and 2024, with the largest increase amongst 18-24 year olds. I recognise that much of the data comes from urban contexts, but I have heard stories from our rural communities, and young people turning to Jesus is encouraging to us all. Two main discussions have emerged: first, the validity of the data in relation to other church attendance statistics; and second, the possible reasons for this reported increase.

The data question

The Bible Society worked with YouGov. The sample size, 19,101 adults in 2018 and 13,146 in 2024, is large enough to identify trends, and YouGov is a respected research agency (McAleer and Barward-Symmons, 2025, p.11). However, research from national surveys over a similar time period shows the opposite trend (Hackett, 2026). Although attendance has risen slightly since Covid, the longer trajectory still appears to be one of overall decline.

So what is happening?

The report highlights that Pentecostal and Catholic churches are seeing the largest increases (McAleer and Barward-Symmons, 2025, p.18). Pentecostalism is widely recognised as the fastest growing expression of Christianity globally, and is a home to ethnic minorities in the UK. The report shows a large proportion of this growth is amongst ethnic minorities, so that finding is unsurprising (McAleer and Barward-Symmons, 2025, p. 6). Growth among Catholic churches is more unexpected, particularly when Catholic internal records show overall decline (Dr Tim Hutchings on Bowring, 2025, 18:27).

Part of the explanation lies in how attendance is measured. The Bible Society focuses on attendance on average over a year, which differs from counting Sunday attendance (Dr Rhiannon McAleer on Bowring, 2025,15:57). These datasets can be compared, but they are not measuring precisely the same thing. It raises further questions: does “attendance” include online services? House churches without formal records? Occasional participation?

There are other methodological considerations. YouGov gathered responses from people who opted in to complete an online survey. Self-selecting samples can introduce bias because people who choose to answer online surveys aren’t necessarily reflective of the general population. Whereas, as the Pew Research Centre states, in British Social Attitudes survey data, they use random sampling and their data shows the decline of church attendance, which is more representative of the population (Hackett, 2026). There are also the usual concerns about the potential use of bots in online surveys. The lead researcher, however, maintains that the responses appear genuine.

The discussions around the data are suggesting that we must therefore ask careful questions about the research, especially when it is mismatched with other data. Yet one clear point remains. As the report notes, young people are willing to say that they go to church and there is spiritual curiosity (McAleer and Barward-Symmons, 2025, p. 8).

So, what are we to make of it?

Beyond the numbers

Whether we fully trust the data or remain cautious, there are increasing testimonies of young people attending church and coming to faith. Apart from the most obvious explanation – that the Holy Spirit is at work – what else might be happening?

Dr Andrew Root is one of the theologians reflecting on the cultural moment in which this so-called quiet revival is emerging. In a recent podcast discussion with Derek Tronsgard, he suggests two dynamics at play across Europe, something I have also witnessed in Romania, though it is perhaps less quiet there.

Young men searching for a bigger story

Root points to significant cultural shifts around feminism and gender equality, and the resulting sense of disorientation some young men experience (‘Podcast – Dr. Andrew Root’, 2025). With an increase in misogynistic and anti-feminist views, I find this deeply troubling. It is possible that some young men are drawn to church because they are searching for a larger narrative within which to locate their identity. Negatively, this could manifest as right wing ideologies finding a home in Christian spaces, just as left wing ones can too. Positively, it presents an opportunity. The church can model how Jesus treats both women and men, and can offer a community in which identity is shaped not by power over one another, but by love and respect for one another.

Pseudo or direct nationalism

A BBC article quoted Gareth Talbot, someone who has recently returned to church for something other than God: ‘It’s not that I’ve found God. I’ve never felt you need to go to church to be a Christian, but it’s always been the Christian religion that’s kept our values and freedoms, and that’s why I need to support it now.’ (Why Tommy Robinson supporters are turning to Christianity, 2025, para. 7)

Alongside genuine stories of encounter with God, there is also a strand of renewed interest in Christianity linked to debates about British identity and the perceived erosion of liberalism. From a historical perspective, historian Tom Holland has written about the deep Christian roots of Western values and the cultural cost of forgetting them (Holland, 2020). However, when Christianity becomes entangled with racism, misogyny, nationalism or the suppression of dissent, it begins to resemble something very different from the kingdom of Christ. Rowan Williams articulates this with characteristic clarity:

‘“Christianity stood out against sacralising the political order from the very beginning… Something about the gospel has always pushed us away from that and said, don’t put all your eggs in the political basket and don’t imagine that you can identify the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world.... The community that exists because of the Word of God is not any nation, it is the body of Christ.’ (Frontiers, 2025, 20:57 & 32:12)

What stands out here is not only the call to be defined by Jesus, but the call to step beyond selfishness and self-protection. Our identity is not rooted in cultural anxiety or political reaction, but in belonging to Christ and one another. Lucy Peppiatt, in her early reflections on the Quiet Revival, reminds us that revivals are not only about individuals coming to faith but about societies being reshaped by the light and love of Christ (WTC Theology, 2025, 3:50). The transformation of someone’s life will inevitably spill over into our communities, and the goodness of God’s kingdom will increase. God encounters and moments of revivals are not marked by political or national identity but by the fruits of the Spirit. Whether this moment becomes such a revival will only be seen with time.

As people with very different views from our own begin to join us in church, Derek Tronsgard asks: “Are we willing to welcome them? Are we open to the possibility that the Spirit may be at work in unexpected ways?” (‘Podcast – Dr. Andrew Root’, 2025, 11:16). Roots’ response is clear that welcome does not mean capitulation. We do not need to “co-opt” every ideology that walks through the door, rather, as he puts it, “...we have to proclaim the gospel all the more and be really clear on what the gospel is.” (Root, 2025, 12:37). Are we?

Summary Conclusion

The Quiet Revival raises both hope and hard questions. There are many genuine encounters with Jesus, which are to be taken seriously and to be celebrated. However, the data are debated and the cultural currents are complex, with passionate people on every side. Yet beyond statistics and sociology lies a deeper theological challenge. If young people are indeed turning towards the Church, we must ask what they find when they arrive. Christianity will thrive, not because our churches uphold up a fragile identity, but because the Church leans into God and embodies the self-giving love of Christ. The task before us is therefore simple and demanding: to trust the Spirit and to be the body of Christ so clearly that those seeking a bigger story discover that it is, in fact, the story of Jesus.

First published in MOSAIC Issue 19, May - June 2026

Bibliography

Bowring, O. (2025) ‘RMC Briefing: “The Quiet Revival” of church attendance fuelled

by Gen Z’, Religion Media Centre, 8 April. Available here. (Accessed: 27 February 2026).

Frontiers, F. at the (2025) #87 ‘A Gift to be Shared’ - Faith & National Identity with Rowan Williams – Faith at the Frontiers – Podcast, Podtail. Available here. (Accessed: 27 February 2026).

Hackett, C. (2026) ‘Has there been a Christian revival among young adults in the U.K.? Recent surveys may be misleading,’ Pew Research Center, 23 January. Available here. (Accessed: 27 February 2026).

Holland, T. (2020) Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind. London: Abacus.

McAleer, R. and Barward-Symmons, R. (2025) The Quiet Revival. Swindon: The

Bible Society.

‘Podcast – Dr. Andrew Root’ (2025), 14 October. Available here (Accessed: 27 February 2026).

Why Tommy Robinson supporters are turning to Christianity (2025) BBC News. Available here. (Accessed: 27 February 2026).

WTC Theology (2025) Lucy Peppiatt Responding to the Quiet Revival (Part 1).

Available at: Available here. (Accessed: 27 February 2026).