‘The Next Generation of Faith: Journeys, Meaning and Wellbeing‘ by Rania Mohiuddin-Agir is based on a national survey of over 2,000 adults who had self-identified to have experienced a change in their religious belief.
The report explores changes in faith amongst Britain’s youth, and shines a light on the drivers of faith change, the general expectations from faith, and the significance the change has across different age groups.
Key findings include:
Faith is moving from being a ‘social’ and inherited experience, towards an increasingly personal one.
- The most common reasons for young people coming into faith are a personal connection with God or the divine (44% of 18-34 year olds vs 39% of over 35s), a search for meaning, purpose or moral clarity (48% of 18-34 year olds vs 44% of over 35s), and a desire for transformation or healing (40% of 18-34 year olds vs 29% of over 35s).
Young people’s engagement with faith is driven by awareness of their mental health, with faith serving as a means to enhance their emotional wellbeing.
- 27% of young adults identify mental health as a key part of their faith journey, versus 16% of older respondents.
Faith no longer provides the moral compass and answers to suffering it once did.
- A majority of 18-24 and 25-34 year olds feel the world is “increasingly unfair” (57% and 59% vs 48% of over 35s). Among those who feel this way, 70% of 18-34s move away from faith (vs 48% of 35+), and only 17% say faith helps them make sense of suffering and injustice (vs 24% of 35+).
Methodology note: Whitestone Insight, a member of the British Polling Council, surveyed 2,774 adults living in the United Kingdom who self-identified as having a change in religious belief. Fieldwork was conducted from 24th-27th June and from 9-17th July 2025.