At Grace Church in Waco, Texas, the Generation Z gender divide can be seen in the pews. It has the potential to reshape both politics and family life.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/us/young-men-religion-gen-z.html
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I wish that the article had addressed the gender divide across denominations. Although I didn’t realize that more young men were attending conservative churches than young women, I don’t think it’s surprising. If Southern Baptists or evangelical churches are saying that women can’t be pastors, they can’t be deacons, they must “graciously submit” to their husbands, and that they should be voting for politicians that will eliminate a woman’s bodily autonomy, well, it’s not surprising that the women are walking away from those churches.
In contrast, I attend a church where I definitely think there are more women than men (particularly of the single variety…most of the men that attend are married). This is a church that welcomes women in any kind of a leadership role at the church and that affirms LGBTQ individuals as beloved children of God (as, according to the article, nearly 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ+).
I suspect that the “traditional” male-dominant perspective that is so much a part of many of these conservative churches is part of what appeals to many of the young men who vote for politicians that gear themselves toward men who feel as though their place in society has been usurped. I think that the poll cited in the article speaks to this dynamic:
This growing gender divide has the potential to reshape the landscape of not just religion, but also of family life and politics. In a Times/Siena poll of six swing states in August, young men favored former President Donald J. Trump by 13 points, while young women favored Vice President Kamala Harris by 38 points — a 51-point gap far larger than in other generational cohorts.
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Seems like going to church is a much better activity than other “leaders” young men might look to (eg Andrew Tate).
I can’t read the story but I hope it’s not one of those “clinging to religion and guns” pieces.
This is a lengthy but interesting dissection of some of the issues related to falling marriage rates and their consequences:
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I hope someone posts a gift link. I only get 10 a month and need some for family and friends!
You can usually find nearly everything at archive today, by pasting the link into it:
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I haven’t read the article yet but a theory immediately comes to mind:
Women are less religious because they’re more highly educated.
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There is a rising tide of “radical tradition” in the Roman Catholic church - it started in the US seminaries and is starting to be seen in the parishes as those MEN become pastors. As a cradle Catholic, it is scary and is driving me and others away.
Anyway, to stay on topic: That “movement”, if you can call it one, also wants women to know their place. See Harrison Butker.
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Here is a gift link for anyone who is interested.
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I didn’t get that impression from the article. More that women see these churches as restrictive and the men see them as a place to feel seen and given a purpose.
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That was my take away. In the churches they focused on in the article (traditional, conservative Evangelical) women’s roles are very circumscribed. In some cases these churches believe that women should “graciously submit” to their husbands - in a modern society where many women are well educated and financially stable, that could be a hard sell.
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It is almost like there is a correlation between education and church attendance.
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Yes, a negative correlation . . . College educated Christians are less likely to attend religious services regularly than Christians with just a HS education (64% v 75%). However, if you look across ALL religions, not just Christianity, regular attendance at religious services is the same among people of varying education levels (although a lot lower - only about 35% attend regularly).
I can’t help thinking that if these young men expect to “find a nice young woman” at church they will be sorely disappointed.
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Many people who are on the far right politically carry an American flag or some representation of patriotism. As a result, a narrative has arisen that people with these political beliefs are patriots with the (usually) unspoken assumption that people with centrist or leftist political beliefs do not feel patriotism as those groups do not frequently display similar types of visual cues of patriotism. In reaction to this narrative, there are more centrists and leftists who are choosing to display visual patriotic cues as an effort to show that patriotism exists across a spectrum of political beliefs.
I feel as though Christianity in the U.S. has a similar kind of tension. Evangelical Christians tend to be the most vocal about their faith (as evangelizing is part of their very name) and thus many people begin to think that the Evangelicals’ interpretation of Christianity is what Christianity is and stands for.
The idea that women cannot be pastors or deacons or leaders in the church is not a “traditional” facet of the church. It is one that developed in the middle ages by men who were discomforted by the role of women. In the early church, women were leaders and respected (including by Paul, who is recorded as making many statements that modern women might find problematic). For those who are interested in reading more, here is one source:
Just as there are centrists and leftists who are trying to show that patriotism exists across a spectrum of political beliefs, I think that moderate and progressive Christians also need to be more vocal about their faith if the country is to have a more comprehensive picture of what American Christians are like and believe in.
The article mentioned how many women were more “spiritual” than many of the men, but that they did not feel comfortable in the conservative churches. If they were aware that conservative Christian churches were only one segment of the Christian churches in the U.S., then their participation in organized religion might be different.
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The examples in the linked page seem to be of more “conservative” churches (which, as noted in post #14, seem to have outsized influence in setting the public image of Christianity in the US). Perhaps this quote from the page gives the summary:
Very intriguing post, Austen.
I would add that some of this is regional. I grew up in Boston in a religiously observant home (Jewish) and went to public schools in a diverse neighborhood. I don’t think I met anyone affiliated with an Evangelical Christian movement until I moved to the Midwest as an adult. I knew Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, LDS growing up. I had friends whose parents were active in the anti-war movement (Viet Nam, for those youngsters who are reading this) and friends whose parents became activists because of what they heard in church.
Women in the Catholic parish in my neighborhood didn’t have “equal standing” per say, but my parents were friends with a couple of very outspoken/highly political nuns and they were held in VERY high regard in the community- Jewish, Protestant, Catholic alike. The mothers of my Catholic friends were all very active in the church.
I haven’t kept up with old friends who still live in the neighborhood, but I wonder if what you are talking about is a Southern/Midwestern phenomenon. In my current town in New England, I don’t know any Evangelicals (sorry to my neighbors- but if you are there, you aren’t evangelizing very aggressively!) and the gender split for religious activity among the different groups seems pretty even to me.
For sure, when I lived in the Midwest, the ONLY people I knew who ever asked me if I’d accepted Jesus as my personal savior were men. And they did so frequently. The presence of a religiously affiliated person with a seemingly healthy marriage, home life, etc. who was not an active Christian seemed to bother them quite a bit.
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One other thing about the linked page: The photos of services and activities in the church seem to confirm the old saying about how the most racially segregated hours of the week are during Sunday morning.
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Wow, so you can’t be “nice” and attend an evangelical church? Because “nice” means rejecting what these churches stand for (opposition to abortion, belief in traditional family structures etc)?
None of that’s my cup of tea either, but my brother’s family is very religious with traditional beliefs (eg no sex before marriage) and they are all nice, hardworking people. The kids met their spouses in or just after college (through church) and got married early (22-23) and devote a lot of time to helping others, participating in missionary work etc.
Seems like a recipe for a happy life to me, even if it’s not one I’d choose. It’s certainly much preferable to a life where young men are unhappy and go off the rails because they can’t find a partner, while young (especially liberal) women are suffering an epidemic of mental health issues:
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Well Christian Churches are where men can become a person of authority and then prey upon underage women. This might be why more men are going to church than women.
Secondly, I just can’t get behind an organization that when the community needs help from a natural disaster and the church locks its door. I am look at you Joel O.
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That’s not at all what I was saying. I know a lot of nice people who attend evangelical or other conservative churches. But I am quoting what people have told young folks who are looking for partners (male or female).
What I am saying is that single men attending these churches are likely looking to meet a traditional spouse. And they may find few of those women.
That’s all.
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