Gen Z and young men lead growth in UK church attendance, according to new survey

A new survey finds dramatic growth in church attendance among young adults in the United Kingdom and should challenge the idea that religion is dying in Britain, its author says.

The survey entitled “Quiet Revival” found a 12% rise since 2018 among 18-24-year-olds who say they attend church at least monthly.

Among young men, that number has skyrocketed from 4% to 21% over the past six years.

More young women are also attending church, according to the survey, increasing from 3% to 12%.

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Attendance is also up among older members of Gen Z, the Millennial generation, and those above 65 years old in the UK.

Among those 25-34-years old, attendance has shot up from 4% to 13%, and among 35-44-year-olds, attendance has increased from 5% to 8%. There’s also been a 5% increase in attendance among the oldest generation, from 14% to 19%.

Overall, church attendance has risen by 50% in the UK over the past six years, the survey claims, and the church has grown more ethnically diverse, with one in five people coming from an ethnic minority.

The survey was commissioned by the Bible Society and conducted by YouGov.

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Dr. Rhiannon McAleer, who co-authored the report, said the findings will challenge the popular notion “that the Church in England and Wales is in terminal decline.”

“While some traditional denominations continue to face challenges, we’ve seen significant, broad-based growth among most expressions of Church — particularly in Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism. There are now over 2 million more people attending church than there were six years ago,” she said.

The survey also found more men than women go to church, with 13% of men overall saying so compared to 10% of women overall.

The UK survey mirrors an emerging trend about the religious views of young people in the United States.

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A 2023 survey by The Survey Center on American Life found that among Gen Z adults, more women than men said they had left their childhood faith.

The survey found 54% of Gen Z adults who left their formative religion were women while 46% were men.  

It was the opposite among older Americans, however. Among the Baby Boomer generation, 57% of people who left their religion were men, while 43% were women, the survey said.