For decades, church attendance and nominal adherence to Christianity have been declining in England and Wales, and it has been assumed that this decline would continue, says Paul Williams, CEO of the Bible Society, in the UK..

Yet, church attendance has risen by 50 percent over the last six years, busting the myth of church decline as the findings show in The Quiet Revival, a survey commissioned by Bible Society and conducted by YouGov.

In the foreword to the report, Williams says that this was in a sense an inevitable product of modernity.

He notes, "While the decline has certainly been real, we now know that the trend has been reversed. The tide of faith, whose 'melancholy, long-withdrawing roar' was described by Matthew Arnold, has now turned."

"The results of this thorough and robust study demonstrate that over the space of only six years, there has been a significant growth in the numbers of people going to church;

"Christians are practising their religion more intentionally; more young people are finding faith; more people are reading the Bible."

Williams says churchgoing has been found to be increasingly ethnically diverse and community does factor as an attractive element in church-going; but none of these or other posited factors come close to fully explaining the findings.

"Large numbers of young adults, male and female, have started going to church, reading the Bible regularly, practising prayer and worshipping Jesus Christ as God," explains Williams.

The Bible Society report ties in with the news by CBN, The Christian Network that there is growing evidence of a spiritual shift taking place in the UK.

As reports spread of young people flocking to churches in search of healing, freedom, and deliverance, new research now reveals that Bible sales in the region have reached their highest point since 2008 according to CBN.

SPCK Group, a Christian publisher, found that total UK Bible sales reached £6.3 million in 2025, the highest annual figure on record, more than doubling in value since 2019, CBN reports.

          - BIBLE SALES UP

The data also shows Bible sales increased by 134 percent in value and 106 percent in volume in that period.

"This is further evidence of a significant cultural shift regarding matters of faith and religion in this country," said Sam Richardson, CEO of SPCK Group.

"As we face worldwide political and social change, including the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, global wars, the rise of AI, and a growing mental health crisis, individuals are re-engaging with questions of meaning and spirituality," he continued.

"Atheism, which seemed to be the default choice of Generation X, does not carry the same weight and appeal with younger generations."

CBN News noted it had reported that Christianity appeared to be on the decline in recent decades in the U.K., and hostility toward the faith had been on the rise.

A 2021 census found that less than half (46.2 percent) of people in England and Wales identified as Christians, which was a sharp drop from the 70 percent who identified as Christians in 2001.

However, the Bible Society report showed a significant increase in the number of GenZ who attended church services. Data shows that attendance rose from around gone at 4 percent to 16 percent.

It notes further that attendance among young men rose from 4 percent to 21 percent.

Now Bible sales in the U.K. are reflecting this trend.