Recently, there have been some interesting reports about churches across Europe. In the UK, the Bible Society released a report called The Quiet Revival. It challenges the idea that churches are in terminal decline. It notes that, while mainstream churches are struggling, the churches with a more clearly defined profile, whether Catholic or Pentecostal, see growth. Churches are also becoming more ethnically diverse. However, the quote that was picked up by most commentators was this:
The Quiet Revival shows that the most dramatic church growth is among young adults, particularly young men. In 2018, just 4 per cent of 18–24-year-olds said that they attended church at least monthly. Today, says The Quiet Revival, this has risen to 16 per cent, with young men increasing from 4 per cent to 21 per cent, and young women from 3 to 12 per cent.
This result does not surprise me, I have been hearing anecdotal evidence for this trend for a long time. Friends have pointed to the rising number of baptisms at Easter in France. Others have reported remarkable growth in certain evangelical churches. But it is good to have some data about this trend as well.
In another project, the British and Foreign Bible Society conducted a global survey about the Bible and Bible engagement worldwide. The report of the Patmos Initiative analyses seven global mission contexts. The part about Cluster Five, secularised Western Europe, shows the same trend across Europe:
Young people, especially those aged 18–24, show higher levels of interest in the Bible compared to older generations. This trend is seen among both young Christians and nonreligious individuals.
Read the rest of this interesting page here. [Update: one day after publishing this post, I came across this article in the Financial Times, Finding Their Religion h/t John Milbank.]
One of the interesting aspects of this trend is that many of these younger churchgoers seek and find liturgical churches. They seem to gravitate towards churches with a clear message, time-tested liturgical style, and a sacramental understanding of reality. Why does this not surprise me? I was there myself, 15 years ago.
In 2007 I moved with my family to England to join Wycliffe Bible Translators (not as a Bible translator, but in a support role.) But a year later, I was in trouble. Faith as I had once known it, was evaporating. I first noticed it while reading a book called Jesus as Lord in Flatland, about missiology in the Dutch context. I enjoyed the book, not because I was looking for a way to talk with non-Christian colleagues, but because it convinced me that it was true after all. What I was looking for was a language for thinking about faith. I saw that the divide between faith and unbelief was not to be found somewhere between ‘us’ and ‘the world’. It runs through my self. So when I realised I had lost my faith (as a missionary no less!) I started going on long walks through the woods. I would talk to God, who did not answer. I would say nothing to God, who did not answer. I would argue and get tired, but there was no answer. At some point, we decided to go to the church in the village. That is where He found me: in the prayers of the Book of Common Prayer and in the Eucharist. In liturgy and sacrament.
When you don’t have words to pray, thank God for the words that sustained the spiritual life of previous generations. I don’t have to come up with my own words. When you feel you are an inadequate imposter, thank God that we are praying these same words together with millions across the globe. I don’t have to do this alone. When you feel unworthy to be close to God, thank God you can walk over, kneel before the altar, and receive Him because He gives Himself every week. I don’t have to perform anything, I only have to join the crowd at the foot of the cross. I discovered I still could do that. And because I know it brought me back to life, I am not surprised that Gen Z finds life in the sacraments as well.
The modern mind does not understand this, some Christians dismiss this. Recently, a leader in an ‘Evangelical’ mission movement told me point blank, “some people just like to be artistic.” This is a fundamental misunderstanding both of our time and of art. But the trend among Gen Z shows something else: a New European Missiology will need to be liturgical and sacramental. Later this month, I will explore this with fellow clergy at a Church Planting event in York. Of course, we will continue the conversation here at Europe At Midnight as well. Let me know what you think!
[ Source header image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-standing-on-bus-stop-11487630/ ]
