Post

A study said church attendance had soared among British young people, a trend reversal that excited religious conservatives around the world. Turns out it wasn’t true.

It was a researcher’s dream: a surprising finding that made international headlines.

Britain was in the middle of a “ quiet revival ” of Christianity, said a report published by a nonprofit last year. It cited what it called a “large, robust” study by a trusted polling company, which showed that one of the most secular countries on Earth was suddenly returning to church — and Gen Z was driving the shift.

The media published the findings, again and again. “Christianity is coming back to life,” a Bloomberg columnist wrote . “Young people are ‘finding truth in the church,’” The Guardian reported . “The Christian revival is here,” according to The Telegraph . Christians around the world reposted the conclusions millions of times online .

I was also intrigued by the report, so I began visiting British churches. In some, the congregations were small, and homilies echoed through near-empty chapels. But in a few London churches, particularly those that had appeared in viral videos , the pews were packed.

“People are finding the church via social media,” said Marina Saif, a nutritionist, 34, who attends a Coptic church in London that was full of young people. She said her church’s ancient liturgy and heady incense offered a welcome break from a week staring at a screen. I met American evangelicals who said they had traveled to London to support the surge, and priests who said a nationwide revival was underway.