Britain’s Bible Society has withdrawn the 2024 report it launched with great fanfare, claiming a Quiet Revival in the UK church.
It hailed a resurgence of interest in Christianity after years of falling church attendance and Gen-Z attending church in surprisingly large numbers.
It sounded too good be true because the findings were in sharp contrast to similar surveys.
Critics within and outside the church immediately began questioning the results because of both its results and the polling methodology.
‘QUIET REVIVAL’ REPORT USED FLAWED, FAULTY AND FRAUDULENT DATA
It took two years for YouGov which conducted the survey, to admit that the results were indeed too good to be true.
That’s because the data was flawed, faulty and fraudulent.
YouGov confirmed that it had failed to activate key quality control technologies that protected the sample from a wide range of errors.
The Bible Society conceded that the Quiet Revival report “can no longer be regarded as a reliable source of information about the spiritual landscape in Britain”.
It was forced to pull the report.
POLLING QUALITY CONTROLS WERE NOT APPLIED DUE TO HUMAN ERROR
YouGov has confirmed the data sample was flawed, with “a number of respondents who we can now identify as fraudulent”.
It says that tools meant to eliminate data from such respondents – who may have participated and given random answers just to claim the rewards – “were not administered in the optimal way”.
YouGov added that quality control measures, which usually remove such responses, were not applied due to human error.
The pollster’s chief executive, Stephan Shakespeare, said: “YouGov takes full responsibility for the outputs of the original 2024 research, and we apologise for what has happened.”
BLOGGER WAS QUICK TO RING ALARM BELLS
Respected blogger The Church Mouse rang the alarm bells as soon the Quiet Revival report was published.
“While Mouse would love to believe that people are flocking back to church, his instant reaction was that it simply didn’t fit with the data we have from every other reliable source.”
“Most importantly, on the actual counting of bottoms on seats at all the major denominations.”
“In fact, over 70% of the growth the Bible Society report claims to have spotted comes from two denominations which are self-reporting that they are shrinking.”
WHY ESTEEMED US POLLSTER CHALLENGED THE METHODOLOGY
More recently, the esteemed Pew Research Center in the US challenged the report because of its reliance on “opt-in” surveys which are based on volunteers who sign up through adverts, mailing lists or online panels rather than being randomly selected from the population.
Pew claimed that large-scale surveys based on random samples showed no clear sign of a sustained Christian revival among young adults.
Despite these challenges, the Bible Society had, until now, stood by its findings, saying it had been “conducted to the highest standards of polling reliability”.
BIBLE SOCIETY’S EXPLANATION
CEO Paul Williams stated: “Over a 15-month period, Bible Society repeatedly sought and received assurances from YouGov, regarding both the robustness of the methodology and the reliability of the report’s conclusions.”
“It was only at the beginning of March that YouGov confirmed that it failed to activate key quality control technologies that protect the sample from a wide range of errors and this undermines the reliability of the results.”
“We are therefore deeply disappointed that YouGov not only made an error, but also that it only discovered this so recently.”
“We are grateful that YouGov’s Chief Executive Officer Stephan Shakespeare has personally apologised. ”
SAME RESEARCH TO BE REPEATED LATER THIS YEAR
Mr. Shakespeare said: “We would like to stress that Bible Society has at all times accurately and responsibly reported the data we supplied to them.”
“YouGov will repeat the Quiet Revival study later this year, although Bible Society said it would conduct “a broad program of research using a range of methodologies”.
The Bible Society asserted that not all of the findings from the original report are wrong and that it has released a new, replacement report called ‘The Quiet Revival One Year On: What’s The Story“
“There is in fact a very positive story to tell.”
BIBLE SOCIETY’S POSITIVE SPIN ON THE SCANDAL
“Over the past year we have seen an unprecedented public conversation about Christianity, with countless stories of a spiritual awakening among Gen Z, alongside greatly increased Bible sales in the UK, growing numbers of adult baptisms and confirmations, and increased attendance at evangelism courses,” wrote the Society.
“While religious identity overall is shifting from ‘Christian’ to ‘no religion’, Christianity in Britain appears to be moving from a declining nominal faith to a committed and active one, as cultural shifts – especially among younger people – encourage a more proactive search for identity, meaning and purpose.”
Christianity magazine editor Sam Hailes argued that Christians should not lose heart, writing that the flawed YouGov data did not mean that every sign of spiritual change has vanished.
“WHATEVER IS BEING EXPERIENCED IT IS NOT REVIVAL”
Mr. Hailes maintained that although the Quiet Revival report had collapsed, “many other reports have independently pointed to a change in the spiritual atmosphere.”
He added: “While we are certainly experiencing something, whatever this something is, it’s not revival.”
“The ‘Quiet Revival’ phrase must, like the report, die its death.”
Evangelical Alliance’s Gavin Calver observed the report was only one part of a much broader picture, suggesting a growing openness to Christianity.
Pastor Jonathan Oloyede, founder and CEO of the National Day of Prayer & Worship, said that although the withdrawal of the report was concerning, it did not alter what many churches were already seeing – “a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit stirring across our nation.”
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