A quiet revival?
(Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash)
The 2025 Quiet Revival report was retracted overnight.
The Bible Society was informed by YouGov that the survey sample that the data was based on was faulty, as a result of errors at the YouGov end. Essentially, usual data quality control was not implemented (excluding people not resident in the UK, preventing multiple submissions, or excluding participants who gave inattentive/random responses). The Bible Society has rightly responded by retracting the original report, and they released a second report, that both outlines the issues with the first report and (based on other data) reiterates core themes and messages relating to openness to Christianity in England and Wales.[1]
I am unsurprised by the retraction. While their analysis of the dataset had been rigorous, the change reported in The Quiet Revival was considerably more extensive than seemed reasonable. However, like the Quiet Revival team, I do think that there has been change in the social and religious climate. There IS something happening that it is right to pay attention to.
The Bible Society’s new report makes five main points. I am adapting these points here, based on (and linking to) some of my own research:
- The culture is changing.
- Religious identity is changing.
- Young people are open to spirituality
- People are exploring the bible (and doing so can lead to embracing Christianity).
- People are converting to Christianity.
Cultural change is occurring, including increased openness to spirituality. In Aotearoa, the 2023 Faith and Belief Study reported that only 18% of the population is negatively disposed towards Christianity. Younger generations are more likely to be “warm” towards Christianity.[2] More here. This cultural change includes a desire for spiritual connections, and my PhD demonstrated that such yearning is among things that can certainly motivate faith exploration.
Less people today call themselves Christians by (cultural) default, meaning that less nominal Christians are counted in surveys and this is one reason behind declines in recorded (Christian) religious affiliations in Census data. We’re seeing this in NZ as well as in the UK, Australia, Canada and more widely. (See here for more.) As a result, those who do call themselves Christian are more likely to be actively involved in Christianity.
The Bible Society reports that bible sales are increasing and google searches related to the bible are also on the rise. My own research shows that people engage in various spiritual practices, including reading the bible, as an important step on their journey to embrace the Christian faith.[3]
People are converting to Christianity. However, people are also leaving the church. There is a gender shift which is both interesting as concerning, as more young men come in and more young women leave. I hope and pray that the faith we share and way we share it lead towards the flourishing of all.
Finally, being aware of increased openness to Christianity can change us. As I wrote here, “what you expect determines what you see and how you act. Data certainly suggests there is an openness to spirituality in Aotearoa today and churches are invited to anticipate, notice, resource and support such interest. It is not necessarily that this is new.”
Such openness may make us attentive to the possibility of newcomers in our churches, and to helping create a place of welcome and connection for them. It might encourage us to talk about our faith and our spiritual practices with friends. Such attentiveness and our own openness to discuss spirituality might just help us notice and participant in what God is doing today.
Bible Society. The Quiet Revivial One Year On: What’s the Story? Bible Society UK, 2026. https://bible-society.directus.app/assets/4e08929c-6148-49f6-9269-757f6ba3d87d.
Taylor, Lynne. “Learning from a More Secular Future: Insights from Aotearoa New Zealand.” Post-Christendom Studies 8 (2024): 62–73. https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8.PCS_.62-73.Taylor.pdf.
Taylor, Lynne. “Our Doing Becomes Us: Performativity, Spiritual Practices and Becoming Christian.” Practical Theology 12, no. 3 (2019): 332–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/1756073X.2019.1595317.
[1] Bible Society, The Quiet Revivial One Year On: What’s the Story? (Bible Society UK, 2026), https://bible-society.directus.app/assets/4e08929c-6148-49f6-9269-757f6ba3d87d.
[2] Lynne Taylor, “Learning from a More Secular Future: Insights from Aotearoa New Zealand,” Post-Christendom Studies 8 (2024), https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8.PCS_.62-73.Taylor.pdf.
[3] Lynne Taylor, “Our Doing Becomes Us: Performativity, Spiritual Practices and Becoming Christian,” Practical Theology 12, no. 3 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1080/1756073X.2019.1595317.
