Christianity has long been on the decline in Britain, says Adrian Wooldridge in Bloomberg. As the religious establishment has continued to preach the “most anodyne form of the faith possible”, the Church of England’s pews have “emptied and aged”. Yet there are signs this is beginning to change. Church attendance by young people has quadrupled from 4% in 2018 to 16% today; prominent public figures like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and the author Tom Holland have talked publicly about their faith; the internet hums with voices offering religiously inflected philosophy. After decades of quiet decline, Christianity is back “knocking on the door of public life”.

This revival is largely being driven by the young – “and young men in particular”. A significant number are educated professionals working in the knowledge economy, who attend “fashionable” churches in Hackney or the City. They’re craving a “full-fat” version of Christianity, one which requires intellectual and personal commitment and involves “bells-and-smells” and “evangelical emoting”. For many, it’s a rebellion against a “failed liberal establishment” which promised them so much – globalisation leading to prosperity, multiculturalism leading to social flourishing – but delivered so little. Their lives in the era of “peak secularisation” have, they feel, been marked by a succession of disasters: the 2008 financial crash, the pandemic lockdowns, angry online divisions over race and culture. And they can’t afford to buy houses or start families as their parents did. Hovering over all this is a “crisis of meaning” – a longing for a buttress in a “crumbling civilisation”. If the early 2000s were defined by “new atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, the next decade will be defined by “Christian moralists” offering meaning in a world that has become increasingly devoid of it.

THE OLD VICARAGE Hailsham Grange in East Sussex was built in 1709, and it’s “packed with period style”, says The Guardian. On the ground floor are the kitchen, dining room, drawing room, laundry and snug, as well as a conservatory opening on to the garden. The first floor has four bedrooms, one of which is ensuite, and a family bathroom, while the second floor has a further three bedrooms, a music room, a gym, and another bathroom. The house sits within half an acre of grounds, including a landscaped walled garden. Eastbourne beach is a 15-minute drive. £1.495m. Click on the image to see the listing.

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