Book Launch and Story Workshop at Blackfriars, Oxford
On Friday 22nd May 2026, we officially launched our new book, The Spiritual Narratives of Generation Z, with an enthusiastic audience at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford. Co-authors, Dr Edward David, Claire MacLeod, and Ning Xu, walked through the book’s main findings — its typology of five spiritual narratives — and invited participants to interpret…
Discussing Gen Z with Australia’s Christian Education National
I had the pleasure of chatting with Sam Burrows of Makerspace, a Christian education podcast run by Christian Education National (CEN), a network of Christian schools across Australia. Have a listen through the Spotify link below. Huge thanks to Sam and CEN! “This week I get to chat with Edward David, the Director of the…
Oxford Book Launch and Workshop
Blackfriars Hall, University of OxfordFriday, 22nd May 20264:30 pm – 6:00 pm BST Join us in person for an interactive book launch and workshop introducing The Spiritual Narratives of Generation Z (Routledge 2026), based on cutting-edge research on youth religion supported by Oxford’s John Fell Fund and AHRC funding at King’s College London. By reading and discussing short stories written…
Reflecting on the King’s Summit
The King’s Gen Z Summit, hosted at King’s College London, brought together 25 participants from across London, including students, young professionals, and representatives from the Saint Paul’s Institute at St Paul’s Cathedral. The event formed part of the ongoing Gen Z Role Models Project, inviting attendees to act as co-researchers in interpreting new data on…
The Quiet Revival Retracted: A Reflection from Oxford and King’s Academics
In April 2025, The Bible Society published their influential report, The Quiet Revival. This report, based on data from YouGov polling, claimed that church attendance in England and Wales rose by 4% from 2018 to 2024 with the most dramatic increase among young adults (8-12% increase). Contrary to prevailing trends of religious decline among young…
Generation Z and the rise in Bible sales
In the past several days, Dr Edward David has appeared on UK media commenting on the rise in bible sales and the surprising trend of young people going to church. Huge thanks to the producers and hosts for the opportunities to speak. BBC Sky News To learn more about young people and the rise of…
Faith in Flux: How Gen Z is Reimagining Religion
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Diocese of Oxford’s annual chaplaincy conference. With the attendees, we explored what our study calls exemplarist narratives—the recurring stories Gen Z tell when they meet spiritual influence online and then make sense of it offline. I shared three of those narratives: Taken together, these stories don’t…
Remixed Revival: Christianity Rebranded for Gen Z
The Gen Z Role Models Project is featured in a brilliant write up by researcher and consultant Liz Hetherington in Decoded, a magazine of Semiotic Sisterhood. You can read the piece, beginning on page 12 of their online Canva site.
King’s Undergrads at The Education Conference
KCL undergrads James Duffy Thompson and Mollie Lane-Winter help lead an interactive workshop at the King’s Education Conference on Monday 23 June, along with Dr Edward David. Their session, “Starting with Stories: Participatory Methods for Student Voice and Co-Design,” introduced creative approaches to student partnership using story completion and reflexive thematic analysis. Attendees engaged in…
Gen Z Project featured in Cherwell Newspaper
The Gen Z Role Models Project has been featured in the Cherwell, Oxford’s oldest student newspaper. In a powerful first-person narrative, Cherwell journalist, Satchel Walton, explores how he and other young people are navigating faith and spirituality in a ‘sort of secular age’. Towards the end of the reflection, Walton draws out some points from…
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