This is our weekly newsletter of religion news and updates about the Religion Media Centre, which we post every Friday afternoon.
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Generation Z (18-24) is leading a rise in church attendance in England and Wales, according to a survey “The Quiet Revival” by the Bible Society and YouGov. Attendance once a month increased from 8 to 12 per cent in six years, with Gen Z and Millenials (18-34 year olds) up from 4 to 16 per cent. Read Catherine Pepinster’s report here. In our RMC briefing, commentators said it was unusual – the spike was not showing up in other data. The rise could be due to feelings of isolation and insecurity after Covid, or because of new diaspora churches. View the briefing or listen to the podcast via links on our website here.
A patchwork coat with a long train, carrying prayers and hopes for the environment, is on a pilgrimage through the UK, resting overnight in churches and religious centres. To date, it has travelled more than 1,500 miles, borne on the shoulders of hundreds of people as a way of highlighting faith imperatives on environmental issues. This week, it’s on its way to Ipswich, then Felixstowe and then Colchester, where it will stay during Easter week and until 7 May. Read Angela Youngman’s report here.
King Charles and Queen Camilla meet the Pope in Rome in a surprise private visit. Their earlier plans for a formal meeting were cancelled due to the Pope’s ill health. But this week, he is said to be stable and continuing to improve. He made two unexpected public appearances at the Vatican on Sunday and again on Thursday.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, spiritual leader of 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians, has been awarded the 2025 Templeton Prize for his “pioneering efforts to bridge scientific and spiritual understandings of humanity’s relationship with the natural world” >>
There were many tributes to the German Lutheran minister, theologian and anti-Nazi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hanged 80 years ago on 9 April, charged with plotting to assassinate Hitler. Regarded as a modern-day martyr, his life and legacy are of current debate. Last year, the film “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin”, was appropriated by right-wing nationalists, an association of ideas condemned by the film’s writer. And in Germany, journalist Ralf Bosen, writing in Die Welt, stuck to the facts, saying Bonhoeffer is an inspiration for his responsibility towards the vulnerable >>
Passover, the Jewish festival remembering the exodus of the people of Israel from slavery in ancient Egypt, starts tomorrow, 12 April, with a Seder meal on the first night. Our factsheet explaining Passover is available here.
Panels on British Muslims; Community Relations and the Media; British Media and British Jews; and Millenials, Faith and the Digital Space.
Interviews with Cathy Newman, Channel 4 news; Lord Russell Rook, adviser to the Faith Minister; and Sir Mark Thompson CEO of CNN and former BBC Director General.
Panels on British Muslims; Community Relations and the Media; British Media and British Jews; and Millenials, Faith and the Digital Space.
The Religion Media Centre is to present a £1,000 prize to a young journalist who has shown excellent knowledge and skill in reporting a story covering communities and some aspect of religious life, in the 12 months leading up to and including 30 April 2025. The prize will be presented at the Religion Media Festival to be held on 9 June 2025. Further details here.
- The journalist must be under 35 years of age on April 30th 2025
- All forms of media accepted, the more the better: newspaper, radio, podcast, TV/video report, social media
- The entry must be no less than 1000 words or 2 minutes of run time
- The content can be on a story about religion, broadly defined
- Entries must be endorsed by the editor/exec from the publisher
In Brief…
| UK Churches Together in England call for review into police raid on Quaker Meeting House >> Youth With A Mission accused of spiritual abuse and controlling behaviour >> Women faith leaders say assisted dying bill lacks safeguards >> Church Action on Poverty accuses government of “immoral” social security cuts >> New Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool >> Pugin’s Nottingham Cathedral to be restored to former glory >> Bishop Anne Dyer ‘restoring trust’ after suspension >> Bishop of Manchester reveals cancer diagnosis >> New CofE bishops’ theology adviser specialises in ethics and friendship >> Bishop Beverley Mason appointed to new role at St Asaph in north Wales >> The Toronto Star takes an interest in the Wrestling Church in Shipley >> Only three religious mother and baby homes in Ireland offer compensation >> Methodist Church apology for Mother and Baby Homes and forced adoptions >> Poll indicates disillusion over Gaza threatening integration in UK >> Data on British Muslims shows action needed for poverty, health and housing >> Premier League football clubs host workshops to tackle antisemitism >> |
| America Call for US faith groups to resist Trump’s administration >> Auschwitz survivor aged 103 re-united with childhood book looted by Nazis >> Disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick has died aged 94 >> NASA astronaut says church services ‘vital’ while stuck in space >> US Catholic bishops end partnership with government on refugees >> 1 in 12 US Christians associated with immigrants facing deportation >> Priest shot dead outside his home in Kansas >> US ambassador to the Vatican nominee defends foreign aid cuts >> |
| Global DEC appeal for Myanmar achieves £10million in a week >> Catholic church condemns sale of purported relic of Carlo Acutis >> The mufti now on Ukraine’s front line in defence of his homeland >> Catholic priest in Gaza says it is like ‘living in a cage’ >> |
| UK Cardinal urges Catholics to persuade their MP to vote against assisted dying bill >> The ‘first Christian hymn’ from 200 AD is released today. The lyrics were found on a scrap of tattered papyrus, found by archaeologists in Egypt 100 years ago, and stored in a vault at Oxford university until discovered by a visiting US Professor, who translated the words and had them set to music. An accompanying documentary and live performances are scheduled for next week. The story, lyrics, links to song and documentary are here. Baptist Press article here. Work is expected to start this summer on a giant white prayer loop sculpture, “The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer”, at a site near Birmingham, visible from the M6, M42 and Birmingham airport >> |
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