Research and data analytics firm YouGov issued a statement on March 26 admitting to flaws in a 2024 study it conducted for the Bible Society. The data had been cited in the Bible Society’s widely circulated report The Quiet Revival, which claimed rising church attendance among young people signaled a “quiet revival” underway in England and Wales.
According to the contested report—based on the YouGov poll—the proportion of adults in England and Wales who identify as Christian and attend church at least monthly rose from 8% in 2018 to 12% in 2024. Among 18‑ to 24‑year‑olds, the reported increase was even sharper: from 4% to 16%. Young men appeared especially engaged, with over one‑fifth attending monthly, while attendance among women in the same age group reportedly rose from 4% to 12%.
The findings attracted significant media and public attention, with some welcoming signs of growth and others questioning the figures as inconsistent with long‑term trends. This skepticism eventually led YouGov to re‑examine its data.
YouGov’s research team later confirmed that the dataset contained fraudulent and unreliable responses. Errors included failing to filter out participants living outside the UK, duplicate or random submissions, and responses from paid individuals participating under false pretenses. Acknowledging that the data could not be trusted, the team publicly apologized and withdrew the earlier release.
Bible Society CEO Paul Williams expressed disappointment in a statement on the organization’s website, noting that YouGov had previously assured the Society of the study’s robustness and the reliability of its conclusions.
Other Research Points to Growing Youth Engagement
Williams emphasized, however, that YouGov’s mistake does not invalidate all observations about religious trends in the UK. “A number of other probability‑based surveys still support the overall picture of the UK’s spiritual landscape,” he said. “These studies indicate that faith engagement among young people is rising relative to older generations.”
He cited a 2023 global religion survey by Ipsos MORI, which found that across 26 countries an average of 40% of respondents believe in God as described in religious texts such as the Bible, with another 20% believing in some form of higher power.
“While more people overall are moving from ‘Christian’ to ‘no religion,’ Christianity in Britain appears to be shifting from a declining nominal faith toward a more committed, practiced faith,” Williams observed. “This is particularly visible among young people, who are actively seeking identity, meaning and direction.”
The Bible Society plans to commission YouGov to conduct the survey again once appropriate safeguards are implemented to ensure data integrity. Although new results cannot be predicted, Williams said the Society remains committed to monitoring—and rigorously reporting on—the spiritual climate in England and Wales.
Primary sources: The Christian Post, Bible Society, YouGov.
