YouGov Withdraws Survey on Rising Church Attendance After Fraudulent Respondents Found
YouGov, the prominent polling organization, has formally withdrawn a survey that purported to show a significant increase in church attendance across England and Wales. The research, conducted in 2024, was central to the Bible Society's "Quiet Revival" report published last year, which sparked numerous news stories about a potential resurgence in Christianity, particularly among younger generations.
Flawed Data and Fraudulent Respondents
On Thursday, YouGov announced that the data sample was fundamentally flawed, with a number of respondents now identified as fraudulent. Stephan Shakespeare, the chief executive of YouGov, stated, "YouGov takes full responsibility for the outputs of the original 2024 research, and we apologise for what has happened." He emphasized that the Bible Society had accurately reported the data supplied to them and that YouGov is rerunning the survey with the organization to obtain robust data on this topic.
The original report claimed that 12% of adults in England and Wales attended church once a month or more in 2024, a notable increase from 8% in a previous 2018 study. It also suggested a dramatic rise in young people's attendance, from 4% of 18- to 24-year-olds attending monthly in 2018 to 16% in 2024.
Bible Society's Response and Disappointment
The Bible Society expressed deep disappointment, noting that it had repeatedly sought and received assurances from YouGov regarding the robustness of the methodology and the reliability of the report's conclusions. The organization was only informed earlier this month that YouGov failed to activate key quality control technologies, which protect the sample from a wide range of errors, thereby undermining the results' reliability.
Despite this setback, the Bible Society insisted there remains "a very positive story to tell." It highlighted an unprecedented public conversation about Christianity over the past year, with countless stories of a spiritual awakening among Generation Z.
Criticism from Humanists UK and Broader Context
Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK, welcomed the withdrawal of the data, calling it "both validation and vindication." He asserted, "We need to be absolutely clear: there is no revival of Christianity in Britain." Copson noted that Humanists UK has taken a rational, evidence-based approach, repeatedly explaining why the Bible Society's claims do not stand up.
In the broader context, a snapshot of the Church of England's latest annual Statistics for Mission report for 2025 is due to be published in the coming weeks. The most recent report, published last year, showed congregations had grown slightly in recent years, although numbers were still below pre-pandemic levels. There were an estimated 1.02 million regular worshippers across the church in 2024, up from 1.01 million in 2023.
This incident underscores the importance of rigorous data verification in polling and the potential consequences of flawed research on public discourse about religion and societal trends.
