After one of my presentations on Ukraine when I was in the US, a pastor I met for the first time asked me, “Why do you think North American Christians are responsible for helping this situation? Isn’t this a European problem? Isn’t there a revival among Western European youth?” I answered but he wasn’t convinced.
There are two things I’d like to take on in from this exchange. In a follow-up post, I’ll see if I can dig into some of the missiological problems I see in his question about “who is responsible for what.” Significantly, I don’t think that he’s the only one asking this question. And to be fair, this is a pastor whose church is well-known for very active missional engagement with issues close to home. So we’ll come back around to that.
But first, I was intrigued by what he said about the youth revival in Western Europe. I didn’t know about that and I live in Europe (well, the cold North Eastern corner anyway). So I put the question to my most available and self-confident friend. Here’s what ChatGPT had to offer (after thinking for 32 seconds).
Yeah—something is going on, but it’s not the clean “Western Europe youth revival” headline people sometimes imply. What the evidence supports is pockets of growth and intensified commitment among younger adults in specific places, occurring alongside (not replacing) the long-term trend of secularisation.
Where the data is strongest
1) England & Wales: measurable uptick, especially among Gen Z
- Bible Society’s 2025 report (“The Quiet Revival”) compares large surveys from 2018 vs 2024 and reports monthly church attendance rising from ~8% to ~12% overall, with 18–24s rising from ~4% to ~16% (and a particularly sharp rise among young men). Religion Media Centre+3Bible Society+3Church Times+3
- Important nuance: the same reporting emphasizes that “Christian by default” is still declining—so the change looks less like a mass return to nominal Christianity and more like a smaller but more intentional “active” cohort. Religion Media Centre+1
- There’s pushback: critics argue self-reported attendance can diverge from denominational headcounts, and that not all church metrics show the same growth. Treat it as interesting evidence, not final proof of a nationwide reversal. Humanists UK
2) France: striking growth in adult (and teen) baptisms
- Multiple outlets report record adult baptisms at Easter 2025 (one widely-cited figure: 10,384 adults, roughly +45% vs 2024), plus a larger total when adolescents are included. Catholic News Agency+2The Tablet+2
- That’s not the same thing as “youth revival in churches” across France, but it is a concrete indicator of increased conversion/catechesis activity—especially among younger adults. The Economist+1
3) Church of England: “signs of revival,” but it’s complicated
- Reuters reported four consecutive years of attendance growth, with particular attention to young men post-COVID and a major new funding plan framed partly in response to these “signs.” Reuters
- That said, the “Quiet Revival” reporting suggests Anglican identification among younger churchgoers may be shrinking relative to Catholic/Pentecostal expressions—so “UK revival” ? “Anglican revival.” Religion Media Centre+1
Where the “revival” claim gets shaky
Germany is a good reality-check: even with headline-grabbing revival-style events, broad affiliation continues to fall and “no religion” has become dominant in some reporting. The Times+1
So: you can have visible youth movements and macro-level secularisation at the same time.What might be driving the uptick (best-supported explanations)
Across UK/France reporting, recurring themes are: search for meaning/community, desire for stability/ritual, immigrant church vitality, and a more “chosen” rather than inherited faith identity among those who do show up. The Guardian+2Religion Media Centre+2
How I’d summarise it in one sentence
There are credible signs of increased Christian practice among some younger adults in parts of Western Europe (notably the UK and France)—but it’s patchy, tradition-specific, and happening within a wider secular landscape, so calling it a blanket “Western Europe youth revival” overstates the case.
You are my friend too. So give it 32 seconds of thought and let me know:
What you have heard about all this. Do you have any first-hand knowledge of what might be referenced in the pastor’s statement?