We need to talk about how faith is changing in the UK and across the Western world.
Most obviously, there is robust evidence that the steady decline of Christianity is bottoming out or even reversing. Two years ago, the British commentator on Christianity, Justin Brierley, observed that an increasing number of young adults are taking an interest in spirituality and the Bible. More young men than young women are concerned about what he calls the ‘meaning crisis’ in our post-Covid society. Earlier this year, the US research agency Pew released figures suggesting that belief in God is no longer on the slide (Religious Landscape Survey, February 2025). The respected journal Christianity Today has also reported that sales of physical Bibles are trending up strongly for the first time in a long while (January 2025). Reports like these challenge the narrative about the inevitable decline in faith in the West. Yet beneath the headlines, there is a deeper work going on, which is even more encouraging to people who care about faith in our contemporary world.
Books that speak to the culture
Who would think that a book with the title The Narrow Path1 would become a religious bestseller? It is the kind of title more suited to a yesteryear divine than an urban pastor from New York. Yet Rich Villodas has written a runaway success that speaks to a deeper life with God, especially for a younger adult audience.
Or how about a book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry2 , based on a line from the philosopher Dallas Willard, who is often quoted in this column? Last year, its author, John Mark Comer, released a follow-up called Practicing the Way3 with the intriguing subtitle, ‘Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did’. Its UK publisher, SPCK, now has a serious bestseller on its hands.
The titles of these books, along with others coming onto the market, point to a resurgence of interest in the topic of discipleship, or what Dallas Willard preferred to call ‘apprenticeship to Jesus’. Punchy, radical and difficult to ignore, these books have caught the wave of the Spirit and speak directly to a generation hungry for personal intimacy with Jesus.
Resurgence of tradition
Other developments include a growing appreciation of Christian wisdom from traditions outside our own. This quiet work has been going on over several decades but has become much more public in recent years.
In 2021, Pope Francis said that people should always carry a Bible with them, ‘in our pocket, on our phone.’ He said, ‘Let us give it a worthy place in our homes’ and called on Catholics to read at least a few verses every day.
Meanwhile, Evangelicals are reading books by Catholics, including Henri Nouwen and Richard Rohr. There is a rediscovery of Christian spiritual classics like The Interior Castle4 by Teresa of Avila and The Dark Night of the Soul5 by St John of the Cross, often through new modern translations. Renewal groups like Renovaré, founded by Richard Foster, are also growing on both sides of the Atlantic.
First things first
Noticeable across much of this shifting landscape is a greater confidence in scripture and a primary focus on Jesus Christ. Bible wars over the veracity of Jesus’ miracles or the resurrection have receded and are being replaced by a new longing for God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No longer is a gospel limited to getting people over the line able to sustain a deep, personal and abiding relationship with God. People want more.
