4 days ago
Recovering the Sacred: Why young Christians are returning to church
Something mysterious is happening in churches across Britain: a growing number of young Christians are showing up. Millennial men, in particular, appear to be turning back to Christianity: there has been a four to five-fold increase since 2018 in 18-to-24-year-old males attending church. What's going on?
Three hundred Spectator subscribers gathered in the beautiful surroundings of St Bartholomew the Great, the oldest parish church in the City of London – and one which has seen for itself this surge in young Christians worshipping – to find out why.
Michael Gove, Editor of The Spectator, was joined by Damian Thompson, presenter of the Holy Smoke podcast, and the Revd. Marcus Walker, Rector of St Barts. The Provost of the London Oratory, Father Julian Large; the Revd. Professor Andrew Davison, Oxford Regius Professor of Divinity; and Dr Cosima Gillhammer, Fellow in Medieval English at Oxford's Lady Margaret Hall, also shared their thoughts on what appears to be an unexpected recovery of the sacred.
As well as hearing from the panel, the audience enjoyed sung Catholic and Anglican motets from the choir of St Barts. – and rounded off the event with a glass of wine and a chance to speak to the panellists.
Marcus Walker said that the 'signs of resurrection go well beyond St Barts: 'The Pentecostals are doing well. Conservative and charismatic evangelicals are booming. The rural church, much ignored by national church visions and strategies are seeing green shoots rising. And we hear of a huge uptick in baptisms in once Catholic France – 10,000 at Easter – and once Lutheran Sweden.'
St Barts has fostered a sense of community among its younger members with annual retreats for young adults, active WhatsApp groups and pub trips after church services. But Walker suggests that these things are 'less important than the broader pan-ecclesial elements which are drawing people to church' – not least the collapse of the humanist creed. The end of the 'heady optimism of the 1990s and noughties' – and the fading idea that humanity 'has got it all right and it's only going to get better' – means God is firmly back in the picture, he said. 'Reconnecting with eternity gives us a peace which the world cannot give,' Walker said.
It's a picture that Father Julian Large recognises. He says that the uptick in young worshippers has been particularly noticeable since the pandemic:
'After the doors were reopened, we found ourselves facing a veritable tsunami of new parishioners. The average age of the congregation now is considerably younger than it was before.'
Many young people, he says, have become more sceptical towards traditional voices of authority and the mainstream media after Covid and lockdown. 'They are in search of truth and authenticity,' he says. 'I think that we can agree that something's happening. Even on the train and in the street, I seem to hear young people talking about Christianity more than ever', says Davison. He told the audience of Spectator readers that, even during midweek services which traditionally were less popular, there are now few empty pews. The reason why, suggests Davidson, is that the church offers something in short supply: hope.
'There seems to be some correlation between the people for whom life seems particularly bleak and those…who are coming to church – especially the young, perhaps even especially young men,' Davison said.
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