More young men than women now are attending religious services. Even “The New York Times” noted the trend, which wrote about Grace Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Waco, Texas.
“For the first time in modern American history, young men are now more religious than their female peers,” the story said. “They attend services more often and are more likely to identify as religious.”
Earlier this year, the Survey Center on American Life reported the same trend. Men long had been the group considered less religiously affiliated. “A new survey reveals that the pattern has now reversed,” a post on the site read, according to Fox News.
Although the trend of men leaving religion more often than women was true for older age groups such as baby boomers, Gen Z flipped the trend. “Fifty-four percent of Gen Z adults who left their formative religion are women; 46 percent are men,” it said.
READ: Gen Z reading the Bible more
The “Times” story made a similar case, pointing to the time period in which these women came of age — the #MeToo movement that homed in on sexual abuse and harassment, additionally inspiring people to come forward to raise awareness about church abuse as well. The reversal of Roe v. Wade and a closer focus on abortion access also were cited.
The “Times” also added that, when Grace Church opened a “small outpost” in a nearby town last year, the majority of young attendees — 12 out of 16 — were men. But the divide between Gen Z men and Gen Z women doesn’t end with faith. Gen Z men are more likely to consider themselves conservative, while Gen Z women are more likely to call themselves liberal. The same trend shows up in a New York Times/Siena poll from August, indicating that young male voters across six swing states favored Donald Trump by 13 points, while young women favored Kamala Harris by 38 points.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice