Discover
The identity of the nation
Wales is one of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom, alongside England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has a very strong identity of its own: an ancient Celtic language (Welsh), a flag bearing a red dragon, and a history of resistance to English conquest that goes back centuries. Despite its small territory and population, the country carries enormous spiritual weight in the history of world Christianity, something many Christians today do not realize.
It was in Wales that Bishop William Morgan translated the entire Bible into Welsh in 1588, giving the Welsh people the Scriptures in their own language and helping preserve the language to this day. In the 18th century, the preacher Griffith Jones set up circulating schools that taught half a million people to read, using the Bible as a primer. At the same time, William Williams Pantycelyn was writing hundreds of hymns that still shape Christian worship in various parts of the world today. That period left a unique mark: for generations, Wales was known as the land of hymns and chapels, with almost every town having several houses of prayer belonging to different Protestant churches that did not follow the official state church (the so called Nonconformists, such as Baptists, Methodists and Welsh Presbyterians).
The high point of that heritage was the Great Welsh Revival of 1904 and 1905, one of the most remarkable spiritual awakenings in modern Christian history. Led by Evan Roberts, a young former coal miner, the movement led tens of thousands of people to conversion within a few months, emptied pubs and changed the behavior of entire communities. The Welsh revival influenced Christian movements in various parts of the world.
Today, however, the contrast is stark. The country that produced one of the greatest revivals in Christian history now has less than half its population identifying as Christian, and nearly half saying they have no religion at all. Historic chapels are closing at a rate of roughly one a week across the country. The drift away from faith and religious practice has moved fast in recent decades, faster even than in other parts of the United Kingdom. Even so, the spiritual heritage has not disappeared: Welsh hymns are still sung in churches around the world, and many families still hold some sentimental connection to their grandparents’ chapel, even without a living faith.
The missionary challenge in Wales, then, is not to proclaim Christ for the first time, but to rekindle a flame that once burned strongly there. It is a mission field within the Western world itself: a people with the Bible in their own language, deep hymns and the memory of revival, but who today, for the most part, live in practice as though God did not exist.
- 1282 The English king Edward I conquers the last independent Welsh principality and kills Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
- 1400 Owain Glyndŵr leads a great uprising and even convenes independent Welsh parliaments
- 1536 and 1543 The Laws in Wales Acts formally annex Wales to the Kingdom of England and make English the sole official language
- 1588 Bishop William Morgan publishes the first complete translation of the Bible into Welsh
- 1730 to 1760 Griffith Jones organizes circulating schools that teach half of the Welsh population to read using the Bible
- 1762 William Williams Pantycelyn dies, author of nearly a thousand hymns that shape Welsh faith for generations
- 1800s The Industrial Revolution transforms south Wales with coal mines and steelworks, drawing workers from across Great Britain
- 1904 and 1905 The Great Welsh Revival, led by Evan Roberts, brings tens of thousands of people to Christian faith
- 1920 The Church in Wales separates from the Church of England and becomes autonomous, while remaining Anglican in tradition
- 1999 Creation of the National Assembly for Wales, the country's first devolved parliament in centuries
- 2020 The Assembly is officially renamed the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), with expanded legislative powers
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EnglishMajority language, spoken by practically the entire population
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Welsh (Cymraeg)Official Celtic language, spoken by about 1 in 5 Welsh people, stronger in the north and west of the country
Wales lies on the western part of the island of Great Britain, bordering England to the east and surrounded by sea on the other sides. It is a mountainous territory, most notably the mountains of Snowdonia in the north, home to the country's highest peak. The coastline is cut by bays and peninsulas, such as the Gower Peninsula, and the interior has deep valleys that once held coal mines. It is a small country, but one of highly varied landscape, spanning mountain, coast and industrial valley.
Major cities
- CardiffCapital and largest city, the country's political, cultural and business center
- SwanseaSecond largest city, on the south coast, birthplace of the poet Dylan Thomas
- NewportIndustrial city in the southeast, near the border with England
- WrexhamMain city of north Wales, closest to the central English border
- BangorSmall university town in the north, near the mountains of Snowdonia
Climate and temperature
Cawl
A stew of meat (usually lamb) with potato, leek and vegetables, considered the Welsh national dish
Welsh rarebit
Toast topped with a creamy, seasoned melted cheese sauce, served hot
Bara brith
A sweet bread speckled with dried fruit, traditionally soaked in tea before baking
Welsh cakes
Small flat cakes with raisins, cooked on a hot griddle rather than baked in an oven
Laverbread
A dark paste made from a seaweed typical of the Welsh coast, cooked down to a puree
Welsh lamb
Lamb raised on the country's hills, a key ingredient in many traditional dishes
Understand
Culture and spirituality
2a · The culture
The Welsh language
One of the world's most widely spoken Celtic languages, a symbol of national identity, now taught compulsorily in schools
Welsh hymns
A deep choral singing tradition, linked to the Christian faith, still sung at sporting and cultural events today
Historic chapels
Simple yet grand buildings scattered across the country, witnesses to a time when almost every community had its own Nonconformist church
Medieval castles
Fortresses built by the English after the conquest, today a tourist symbol and reminder of the long struggle for independence
The Eisteddfod
A traditional festival of Welsh music, poetry and culture, held every year
Rugby
The national sport, a great source of pride and popular unity
Coal mining
An industrial past that shaped entire communities in the south of the country and still marks the collective memory
The red dragon
A symbol on the national flag, present on coats of arms since medieval times
- Calling a Welsh person English Seen as disrespectful to Wales's distinct national identity
- Ignoring the Welsh language Even as a minority language, it is a source of pride, worth acknowledging words and bilingual signs
- Assuming every Welsh person speaks Welsh Most of the population speaks only English day to day, especially in the south and east
- Treating the Christian faith as purely a thing of the past Living, active Christian communities still exist, even as a minority
- Underestimating local pride Each region (north, south, west) has a strong identity of its own within the country itself
- Joking about sheep or miners Stereotyped jokes about Wales are frowned upon and tiresome to locals
2b · The field
Areas of spiritual battle and cultural captivity to cover in prayer. Tap each point to understand:
Nearly half the population has no religion at all, one of the highest rates in the entire United Kingdom
Historic church buildings are closing at a rate of about one a week across the country
Many have a sentimental connection to their grandparents' Christian faith, but no real personal practice
Welsh identity sometimes replaces spiritual seeking as a source of meaning in life
Rugby and football hold an almost sacred place in the hearts of many Welsh people
Memory of the revival and the hymns without a current pursuit of spiritual renewal
Western culture that prizes self-sufficiency above the community of faith
Small communities losing their young population, which also empties local churches
In Wales there is no religious persecution in the sense of violence or state repression. Religious freedom is broad and protected by law, as throughout the United Kingdom. The real challenge to the Christian faith there is something else, quiet and cultural: the growing drift away from religion in people’s lives.
Wales is experiencing the fastest and deepest religious decline anywhere in the United Kingdom today. The country that in the early 20th century had three in every four people regularly attending church or chapel now has less than half its population saying they are Christian, and nearly half saying they have no religion at all. Historic chapels, a symbol of Wales’s rich Protestant tradition, are closing at a rate of about one a week across the country, and studies suggest that only a small fraction of Nonconformist chapels will still be functioning as places of worship twenty years from now.
This creates an unusual scenario: a people who have had the Bible in their own language for more than four centuries, a tradition of deep hymns and the living memory of one of the greatest Christian revivals in history, but who today, for the most part, live with no practice of faith at all. For many Welsh people, Christianity is part of their cultural identity and family history, not a personal faith lived out day to day. The spiritual challenge, then, is not to open doors closed by persecution, but to rekindle genuine interest in faith within a society that has gradually set aside what once stood at the center of its life.
The persecution score runs from 0 to 100: the higher it is, the greater the pressure on Christians.
Pray
Intercede for this nation
Every nation carries a redemptive purpose. Marks that seem woven into the identity God desires to restore:
Go
Practical details for those who want to go
Local time
Cost of living
Average rate in the capital, more expensive than inland areas
Cost by city
Reference values (source: Numbeo). Confirm before traveling.
Practical points for those who go
- The weather changes fast: bring rain gear even on sunny days, the weather can shift several times a day
- Bilingual signage: street signs and official documents appear in Welsh and English, don't be surprised
- Quieter Sundays: in rural areas, many shops still close earlier on Sundays by tradition
- Rugby is serious business: on national team match days, whole towns come to a standstill, worth understanding the cultural significance
- Getting around by train: trains connect the main southern cities well, but the north has fewer options
- Respect for the local language: learning a few Welsh words is well received by locals
Send and sustain
Not everyone goes, everyone takes part
Not everyone goes. Everyone takes part.
Behind every worker among these peoples stands a network of people who pray without ceasing, care for the family left behind, and faithfully sustain the work. Sending is mission too.
Start with your church: introduce this nation, adopt it in ongoing prayer, and walk alongside those God is raising up to go.