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  "path": "/news/church-carol-service-young-people-lead-resurgence-christmas",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-26T22:57:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "showed that belief in God among 18 to 24-year-olds almost tripled",
    "York chippy hails 'great boost for business' after fish and chip shop named best takeaway in Britain",
    "Meet the man who walked 4,000 miles across Britain picking up litter",
    "Essex becomes first county in England to install life-saving bleed kits at every fire station",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nYoung people are driving a boost in attendance at Christmas carol services at churches across the UK, MPs have been told.\n\nSpeaking in Parliament representing the Church Commissioners, Marsha de Cordova said churches reported “fuller congregations for carol services” in December last year.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShe added the increasing number of attendees at these services was in line with a rising number of worshippers.\n\n\"Whilst church attendance statistics for 2025 are still being collated, early indication suggests an increase in attendance at Advent and Christmas services,\" Ms de Cordova told MPs.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“Indeed, churches have reported fuller congregations for carol services, especially for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, and this is consistent with the upward seasonal patterns seen over the recent years.”\n\nMs de Cordova, Labour MP for Battersea, later said: “Anecdotal evidence does suggest that attendance is growing, especially in urban areas and among young people.”\n\nAccording to the Church of England, attendance has risen four years in a row.\n\nThe overall number of regular worshippers across its congregations rose to 1.009 million in 2024, a rise of 0.6 per cent, the annual Statistics for Mission found.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDouglas McAllister, Labour MP for West Dunbartonshire, asked what the Church of England was doing “to attract new worshippers” ahead of Good Friday on April 3 and Easter Sunday on April 5.\n\nMs de Cordova explained the Church produced a “large number of resources for major festivals, in addition to their regular Everyday Faith app”.\n\nShe urged MPs to “consider visiting” churches in their constituencies during the Lent and Easter periods.\n\nFigures released by YouGov last year showed that belief in God among 18 to 24-year-olds almost tripled in just three-and-a-half years, rising from 16 per cent in August 2021 to 45 per cent in January 2025.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * York chippy hails 'great boost for business' after fish and chip shop named best takeaway in Britain\n  * Meet the man who walked 4,000 miles across Britain picking up litter\n  * Essex becomes first county in England to install life-saving bleed kits at every fire station\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAmong 25-49s, belief was shown to have risen more modestly, from 21 per cent to 33 per cent over the same period.\n\nChurch attendance figures have also increased, according to two YouGov polls in 2018 and 2024, which showed a 56 per cent growth in UK adults attending church at least once a month.\n\nWhen comparing the data, which excludes weddings, baptisms and funerals, numbers rose from eight per cent in 2018 to 12 per cent in 2024.\n\nThis means the total population of monthly churchgoers rose from 3.7 million to 5.8 million people in just six years.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Young people lead resurgence in Christmas carol services across UK churches"
}