WSJ: Signs of Christian revival are emerging across Britain

After decades of steady decline, signs are emerging that Christianity in Britain may be making an unexpected comeback.

That’s the conclusion drawn by First Things editor Dan Hitchens in a Sept. 4 article for The Wall Street Journal, where he describes “a wealth of evidence” pointing to “a modest but real Christian revival” across the country.

From increased interest among university students to spontaneous seaside baptisms, Hitchens described a landscape where faith — particularly Christianity — is finding new footholds, especially among younger adults. He pointed to testimonies from clergy and lay ministers who have noticed not a mass movement, but what some describe as a “steady trickle” of newcomers seeking deeper meaning.

One such witness is Jo Gilbert, who coordinates the Catholic chaplaincy for two universities in Brighton. She remembers how, as a child in 1980s England, certain questions functioned as social litmus tests — like whether you liked the Beatles or believed in God. 

“You knew that you had to say ‘no’ in both cases,” she told Hitchens, “otherwise you were seriously uncool.”

Now, she sees growing spiritual curiosity among students. 

“A lot of us working in pastoral ministry, and a lot of people in a lot of churches, are saying we’re seeing a renewed interest and spiritual openness, and more new converts,” she told Hitchens. 

One young convert told her, “Being Catholic has become cool,” then joked, “but I want it noted that I decided to become Catholic before it had.”

This anecdotal evidence aligns with findings from a recent YouGov study titled The Quiet Revival, according to Hitchens. The report suggests church attendance in the UK rose from 3.7 million to 5.8 million between 2018 and 2024, with especially sharp increases among people aged 18 to 24. That would represent a 56% rise in just six years.

Not everyone is convinced by the numbers. Other large-scale surveys indicate continued decline over the same period, and official attendance records from the Church of England and Catholic Church paint a less optimistic picture. 

Sociologist Stephen Bullivant, while acknowledging the credibility of the study’s design, expressed reservations about its results. Still, he believes it captures a real, if hard-to-quantify, trend: growing religious energy in some quarters, particularly among the young.

“There are genuine signs that secularization might have peaked — and that whereas older generations were bored by their parents’ Christianity, younger people might be rediscovering it as something fresh and exciting,” Hitchens wrote.

Hitchens notes that Christianity in Britain today doesn’t follow a single trajectory. Some historic denominations continue to shrink, while others, including Pentecostal churches and traditionally rooted Catholic and Orthodox communities, are thriving. 

The pattern, as observed by Anglican vicar and sociologist David Goodhew, reflects not a general revival, but a selective one — where bold, clearly articulated faith tends to draw the most interest.

“[Goodhew] notes that the most successful Christian communities in Britain — Pentecostalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, High Church Anglicanism and ‘the more traditional strands’ of Catholicism — are those that make the boldest doctrinal claims, or what he calls ‘full-fat faith,’” Hitchens said. “The diet version doesn’t have the same appeal.”

Goodhew has studied these shifts for over a decade, pointing to significant congregation growth in London and other urban centers, often driven by immigration, though not entirely explained by it. He believes the cultural mood may be shifting.

“A secular worldview is actually pretty depressing,” he told Hitchens. “People are seeking more.”