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A previously published report that claimed a dramatic increase in church attendance among young people in England and Wales has been withdrawn after the discovery of significant flaws in the data. The research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Bible Society, was found to contain fraudulent survey responses, which undermined its conclusions.
YouGov has explained that the quality control procedures, designed to filter out invalid or fake participants, were not properly implemented due to human error. This lapse allowed responses from unreliable sources to be included in the survey results. The original study had suggested that the proportion of 18-24 year olds identifying as Christian and attending church monthly surged from 4% in 2018 to 16% in 2024.
The report, which had been widely discussed in Parliament and featured in extensive media coverage, was central to claims of a “Quiet Revival” among young people turning to Christianity. This narrative had also inspired church events, including a 2023 conference in Woking attended by around 600 people, where the revival was described metaphorically as “a great wave sent by God.” However, these findings were met with skepticism from academics who pointed out inconsistencies with data from the British Social Attitudes Survey and the Church of England’s own statistics, both showing a long-term decline in church attendance.
Experts highlighted that YouGov’s method of using volunteer respondents who were financially incentivized created vulnerabilities in the data collection process. The system intended to identify and exclude these “bogus respondents”—who may randomly answer surveys simply for payment—was not effectively applied. YouGov stated that the review of the data was prompted by ongoing scrutiny from the public and experts. Stephan Shakespeare, YouGov’s CEO, has taken full responsibility for the flawed research and issued a formal apology. While affirming that the Bible Society reported the data accurately, the society itself expressed frustration about the situation, noting that YouGov had repeatedly assured them of the data’s reliability before and after publication. Professor David Voas, an emeritus social science professor at University College London, had long voiced concerns about the validity of the findings, criticizing the Bible Society for not engaging with the issues he raised. Voas expressed mixed feelings about the outcome, torn between vindication and frustration over the time spent highlighting the data’s obvious problems
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