Claims of a Christian revival among the UK’s young adults may be based on data from surveys whose methodology can’t guarantee accurate results – while two major UK studies show a downturn, rather than a resurgence, in faith, said Pew Research Centre.
On 23 January, Pew published a short analysis on conflicting data among surveys assessing whether Britain’s young adults are embracing Christianity.
A flurry of opt-in surveys – where participants sign up to participate “often in response to website ads or email campaigns” – have touted an upswing in Christian belief, practice and identity among those in the 18-34 age range, wrote Conrad Hackett, associate director of research and senior demographer at Pew, in his analysis.
However, data from major surveys drawing on random population samples “show that Christian identity and practice are not increasing among young adults in Britain,” he noted.
Hackett and other experts said opt-in survey methodology has become even less reliable with the acceleration of artificial intelligence.
In addition, political scientist and statistician Ryan Burge stressed against uncritically accepting survey data, especially when it doesn’t align with common sense and lived experience.
“Some of those results, like a tripling of belief in God – you would never see that in the real world,” Burge said. “A lot of these results are just eye-poppingly wrong, especially among young people.”
