There is growing evidence of a “quiet revival” of Christian belief among Gen-Z men.
The New York Times reported late last year that for the first time in American history, men now outnumber women in churches.
It found the trend especially pronounced among twenty-somethings.
FAR MORE GEN-Z WOMEN THAN MEN IDENTIFY AS RELIGIOUSLY UNAFFILIATED
Last year, a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute revealed that 39% of Gen-Z women identify as religiously unaffiliated, compared to just 31% of Gen-Z men.
Among white evangelicals, young men had begun showing significantly more religiosity than women.
John Stonestreet who is president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview recently observed the same trend at two different dioceses of the Anglican Church of North America.
He added: “I see something similar at my church, where there is often a row of single, young men, faithful, spiritually hungry, and interested in cultivating a deep, personal faith.”
“I should note that there is no corresponding row of young women.”
SAME TREND IS OBSERVED IN UK
In the UK, the Bible Society reported that church decline in England and Wales “has not only stopped, but the Church is growing, as Gen-Z leads an exciting turnaround in church attendance.”
In 2018, only 4% of 18-to-24-year-olds in the UK attended church regularly.
By last year, that number had quadrupled.
Among 25–to-34-year-olds, attendance more than tripled, raising the overall rate from 8% to 12% of the population.
YOUNG MEN LEADING THE RETURN TO CHURCH
Although still a low number, it represents a historic reversal of the country’s century-long de-churching.
Like in the US, young men in the UK are leading the return to church.
Among the 18-to-24 age group in the Bible Society survey, 21% of men attended at least once a month, compared to just 12% of women the same age.
Former Baptist pastor turned statistician and politician scientist Ryan Burge wrote: “It seems very clear now that men are more likely to be regular church attenders than women. And those gaps are the largest among the youngest adults.”
“CHANGING CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ATTITUDES AMOING YOUNG MEN”
In trying to explain the shifting demographics of church attendance, the New York Times pointed to changing cultural and political attitudes among men that seems to correspond with their search for traditional faith.
They’re much more likely to call themselves politically conservative, with a greater desire than young women to have children.
One pastor told The Times that young men “are looking for leadership, they’re looking for clarity, they’re looking for meaning.”
A college minister at the University of California-Irvine suggested it’s partly because Christianity has been perceived as the “one institution that isn’t formally sceptical of [young men] as a class.”
“OUR CULTURE HAS LIED TO YOUNG WOMEN”
John Stonestreet writes with Shane Morris in Breakpoint that the growing disparity between men and women poses significant challenges.
“The reversal in the historic tendency of church to be mostly female is proof of how our culture has lied to young women.”
That’s not helping the decline in marriages and the plunge in birth rates.
Mr. Stonestreet cautions: “Even as we praise God for this “quiet revival,” we should ask how we can fan the flames of belief in Gen-Z and make disciples rather than just “cultural converts.”
“God is up to something. We should be eager to play our part in His providential movement in young hearts.”
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