Young British men are turning to Catholicism in surprising numbers
Brompton Oratory is a peculiar place to find people in their 20s. This grand old church in west London smells of old things and incense. At the altar a priest clad in lace delivers mass in a droning tone. But in their Sunday best, the young are there, sitting in the stiff pews, kneeling on hassocks, their chinos scuffed by the cushions.
In November and December last year YouGov, a pollster—commissioned by Bible Society, a non-profit organisation that invites people 'to see the Bible through fresh eyes'—asked some 13,000 adults in England and Wales about their religious views and habits. The findings are striking: a 56% rise since 2018 in those claiming to attend church at least once a month. Young people, in particular young men, are leading the charge. In 2018 just 4% of 18- to 24-year-olds claimed they went to church regularly; by 2024 some 16% did so.
But the newly pious aren't flocking to the Church of England. They're showing up at Catholic mass. So much so that, for the first time in five centuries, Catholic worshippers in England and Wales may soon outnumber Protestants. Among the young they already do. Six years ago a third of young churchgoers were in the Anglican pews. Now only a fifth are, and 41% are at Catholic mass (see chart).
The pandemic may have been a godsend for the Catholic Church. Aidan Geboers, a 29-year-old banker living in Lewisham, in south London, says lockdown prompted his search for a community. He found it in Farm Street Church, a Jesuit temple in Mayfair. Farm Street's young-adult service regularly attracts around 180 people. 'Ten years ago numbers might have been half that,' says Father Kensy Joseph, a leader in its young-adult ministry.
To young people in Britain (and elsewhere), Catholicism seems to appeal for two, opposing, reasons. Partly the practice of contemplation and dedication to ritual appear to be a potent antidote to the online world. But the internet is also a major route to evangelism. Bishop Robert Barron, an American founder of a Catholic media organisation, and Father Mike Schmitz, a podcaster and campus minister, have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Bishop Barron celebrates a new 'macho Christianity', where men can be 'heroes'.
Graham Greene, a novelist, described his Catholic faith in a way that may reflect its attraction to young churchgoers today. It was 'something fine and hard and certain, however uncomfortable, to catch hold of in the general flux'.■
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