by Justin Brierley, UnHerd
Vibe shifts are hard to quantify
After years of depressing statistics about the decline of churchgoing and religiosity, news of last year’s “Quiet Revival” felt like a long-awaited good-news story. Based on YouGov polling data, and turned into a report by the Bible Society, it was especially pertinent to my thesis that we are seeing a surprising rebirth of belief in God in the secular West.
But secular campaigners and some religious journalists soon pointed out that the remarkable figures for increased churchgoing did not reflect actual attendance numbers reported by church denominations. Similarly, the 2025 British Social Attitudes survey directly contradicted the data — showing a continued decline in church attendance across all age groups.
The picture was complicated. But the Bible Society continued to stand by its report. YouGov was a reputable polling company, used and trusted by hundreds of organisations, including secular organisations like Humanists UK. The Bible Society had sought and been given repeated reassurance of the quality of the data.