The Bible Society UK “Quiet Revival” report, which claimed an upsurge in faith among young men in particular, has been retracted.
Here is the withdrawal statement issued on March 26 from Paul Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Bible Society.
“Earlier this month, YouGov informed Bible Society that the 2024 survey sample on which our report The Quiet Revival was based was faulty, and it can no longer be regarded as a reliable source of information about the spiritual landscape in Britain.
“We recognise that this news may feel discouraging and we share that sense of disappointment.
“Over a 15-month period, Bible Society repeatedly sought and received assurances from YouGov, regarding both the robustness of the methodology and the reliability of the report’s conclusions. It was only at the beginning of March that YouGov confirmed that it failed to activate key quality control technologies that protect the sample from a wide range of errors and this undermines the reliability of the results.
“We are therefore deeply disappointed that YouGov not only made an error but also that it only discovered this so recently. We are grateful that YouGov’s Chief Executive Officer Stephan Shakespeare has personally apologised.
“Stephan Shakespeare said: ‘YouGov take full responsibility for the outputs of the original 2024 research, and we apologise for what has happened. We would like to stress that Bible Society has at all times accurately and responsibly reported the data we supplied to them.’
“The reason we commissioned this research in the first place is that we want to understand what is truly happening on the ground. We would wish to stress that YouGov’s error does not mean that all of the findings were wrong – it means that we cannot reliably support those findings on the basis of this survey.
“There is in fact, a very positive story to tell. Over the past year, we have seen an unprecedented public conversation about Christianity, with countless stories of a spiritual awakening among Gen Z, alongside greatly increased Bible sales in the UK, growing numbers of adult baptisms and confirmations, and increased attendance at evangelism courses.
“This wider picture is also supported by a number of other surveys, based on probability sampling, which point to an increased engagement in faith among young adults compared to older generations. Both the Ipsos Mori 2023 Global Religion Survey and our analysis of the most recent data from the Pew Research Center on Spirituality Around the World indicate that young adults in the UK are more likely to pray and attend a place of worship than older generations.
“While religious identity overall is shifting from ‘Christian’ to ‘no religion’, Christianity in Britain appears to be moving from a declining nominal faith to a committed and active one, as cultural shifts – especially among younger people – encourage a more proactive search for identity, meaning and purpose.
“We have brought this intriguing evidence together in a new report, The Quiet Revival one year on: what’s the story?
“To better understand this changing landscape, we are committed to a broad programme of research exploring attitudes towards the Bible and faith using a range of methodologies. We also plan to run the YouGov survey again this year, nearly two years on from the original survey, having ensured the appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure reliable results.
“We don’t know what the findings from this body of research will reveal, but we remain committed to rigorously reporting the state of spirituality in England and Wales today. ”
What the new report says
The Bible Society UK summary:
- The culture’s changing – from footballers to philosophers, believers are talking openly about their Christian faith
- Religious identities are more important – nominal Christianity is declining, but younger Christians are far more likely to practise their faith
- Young people are a more spiritual generation – widely engaged in spiritual practices and open to faith
- There’s a Bible boom – sales have soared, and Google searches for it have overtaken searches for Harry Potter
- There’s a rise in conversions – the Catholic Church, the CofE and others have all reported increased numbers of adult converts
The full report can be downloaded from here.