WE all know there are ‘Lies, damned lies, and statistics’ but there are unreliable polling statistics too which is why the Bible Society pulled a report that suggested the number of young people attending church in England and Wales has ‘skyrocketed’ (to quote one religious affairs correspondent).

To be fair the findings have been disputed since its publication with one academic arguing that church attendance had rebounded modestly post-Covid, but it has not returned to earlier levels. He was not alone in his scepticism.

In what must have been a highly embarrassing move, the Society has admitted that the ‘Quiet Revival’ report “can no longer be regarded as a reliable source of information about the spiritual landscape in Britain". As I understand it the Society reported the information it was given accurately but there was a problem with the data itself, with YouGov admitting that it failed to activate key quality control technologies that protect the sample from errors, casting doubts on its conclusions.

This is clearly disappointing for all of us who are longing to see people coming to faith, but I have to admit that I found both YouGov’s and the Bible Society’s honesty refreshing, living as we do in a world of spin, fake news and entrenched mindsets. Refreshing, but not surprising though because the church should never seek to defend anything but the truth, given its calling to follow the One who claimed to be ‘The Way, The Truth and The Life’.

I was encouraged to read that YouGov intends to repeat the Quiet Revival study later this year, and to learn that the Bible Society has stated that it will conduct "a broad programme of research ... using a range of methodologies".

Far from being downcast however, it would appear that the Bible Society is convinced that the evidence does show there is a positive story to tell. Religious identity in Britain may be shifting from ‘Christian’ to ‘no religion’ but it also appears to be moving from a declining nominal faith to a committed and active one.

Whatever the truth I believe Christian believers should never forget that when it comes to statistics God places infinite value on ‘the one’. Jesus made that very clear when He told the story of the lost sheep. The shepherd couldn’t relax even though 99 of his sheep were safely in the fold. As far as he was concerned one lost sheep was a disaster and had to be found.

Whatever we learn from future surveys then His followers should be motivated by that astonishing statistic. Every human being is of infinite worth and the focus of a love that is ‘so amazing and so divine’ that it demands our lives, our souls, our all. (My thanks to Isaac Watts for his magnificent summary).