Resurging Anglicanism: Signs of Hope

Liturgical worship is coming back (anglicanmom)

There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth regarding the collapse of British society. There are widespread allegations that the British elites condemn displays of patriotism but look the other way at immigrant grooming gangs and rape culture.

There is reason for hope: there are signs of a resurgent Christianity, led by Anglicanism, that can counter the Islamist wave and beat back the secularism that has dominated British culture in the second half of the 20th century. [bold added]

Across Britain, a wealth of evidence tells of a modest but real Christian revival.

Anglican clergy regularly describe a “steady trickle” of new parishioners seeking to know more about the faith. Some Catholic dioceses note a sharp increase in adults asking to be baptized. In July, the coastal town of Bournemouth witnessed a mass baptism of 92 new Christians in the sea. More than 1,000 attended the service—a striking display in a society where faith tends to be privately nurtured more than it is publicly proclaimed.

Ms. [Jo] Gilbert works for a parish in Brighton and coordinates the Catholic chaplaincy team for the town’s two universities. She has worked with students and young people for two decades. The past few years, she says, have seen a marked change. “A lot of us working in pastoral ministry, and a lot of people in a lot of churches, are saying we’re seeing a renewed interest and spiritual openness, and more new converts.”

...Such stories have been brought into focus by a controversial study from YouGov, one of the U.K.’s most respected polling companies. The study, titled “The Quiet Revival,” claimed that churchgoing surged from 3.7 million in 2018 to 5.8 million in 2024—a 56% increase. The most marked change, according to the data, was among 18- to 24-year-olds, among whom churchgoing was said to have quadrupled.

It's still early days, and indeed some of the enthusiasm with which this trend has been received may be inflated by wishful thinking, but I, for one, prefer to hope than despair.