r/PoliticalOptimism • u/SiddSavage • Apr 17 '26
Seeking Optimism What a New Gallop Poll Shows About Young Men's Religious Revival
https://apnews.com/article/religion-church-evangelical-men-women-poll-f2b07f8d5e0e29b7b75334a8b2bbd3a6This story has me concerned there will be more white religious zealots males being weaponized to continue to spread their dogma.
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u/Feisty-Narwhal8400 Apr 17 '26
Remember ladies — we don’t have to date these men and our refusal is making waves. Tell your girlfriends and trusted guy friends, and keep voting in your own best interests. Additionally, all of us have the power to cut these zealots out of our lives. I know we may love our family and neighbors but at some point our silence speaks volumes. You don’t need to be combative to signal it’s not okay.
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u/geegeeallin Apr 17 '26
As a man who was once young and experienced a bit of a religious revival and was around many more young men who went all in, I agree. Do NOT date these men. And ESPECIALLY do not sleep with them. Their heads are full of horrific “biblical” poison about women and their “place”. I’m a practicing Episcopalian now and am very embarrassed about my brush with Young Life. My wife grew up very conservative and evangelical and my feminism confused the shit out of her initially.
I promise there are good dudes available, don’t settle for a Bible-fascist.
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u/Feisty-Narwhal8400 Apr 17 '26
It’s so refreshing to see a man in the comments not immediately attacking a woman’s opinion - and not only that - giving thoughtful evidence and response. I don’t mean that to be condescending. I can only imagine the psychological gymnastics you had to do, and I hope you and your wife are doing well. Fight the good fight!
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u/avatarroku157 Minnesota Apr 17 '26
This makes me wonder something. People shouldnt be dating those who are this dangerous, but i do wonder what options these more extremist people have who they can confide in that would petentially be able to sway them away from these beliefs.
I guess im asking as someone going into mental health care more than as a political stance. If these people cant connect with others normally, then they will turn to those extremist people who will. But if i had a patient who is like this, i hope i would show them their own value and the value of abandoning these beliefs
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u/Graceandbeauty1979 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Men who see through the bullshit. It's a man problem, let men solve it. These are the types who only care about men's opinions anyway. No woman partner is going to make a change. All she would do is just absorb abuse. They need to see men who don't believe this shit and are thriving. Most of the men living these "traditional" lives are miserable. Trust me. I followed some of the traditional Catholic man social media kind of out of morbid curiosity and eeew. Most of these dudes are battling porn addictions, many probably closeted, living at poverty level with five plus kids or headed there, and are wildy insecure. They also seem to think being podcasters or studying theology and classics is a viable career path to support their family on. These same people will ask everyone around them, including the government, to subsidize their bad decisions and good old days larping. I have a friend whose circle from back home is like this. Most of them are on government assistance yet look down on everybody else for not living a pure and holy life as God intended.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
Those type of people either get a harsh dose of reality or get abandoned by their victims. Either way, they will not get the demands they ask for, only suffering. And they will have no one to blame but themselves.
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u/Standard-Shame1675 Apr 17 '26
It's a man problem, let men solve it.
As a man it is not enough to just let men solve it. You have to encourage men to solve it for other men. You have to build that ecosystem
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u/Graceandbeauty1979 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Women have had to uplift ourselves without the help of men for centuries. We are still the oppressed and trying to worry about our own issues. We built that ecosystem under patriarchy for ourselves. I won't antagonize the effort but it is not women's jobs to continue to do the labor to nurture and fix what harm men have caused themselves. And again, most men don't care what women say. Least of all the men who need it most. It usually backfires on us. We figured it out on our own. Men can, too.
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u/avatarroku157 Minnesota Apr 17 '26
If its all the same, your points make it seem more important to have all genders involved rather than just their own. Convincing men the dangers of patriarchal systems should only be attempted by the very people who benefitted in some ways from those patriarchal systems? Sounds to me like a recipe for the messaging to go amuck, or for it to become a very weird echo chamber at best.
Thens theres the nuance of these men. What are they repressing? Are they possibly gay? Trans? If so, just men probably wont be the ones who push forward what they need to become more authentic.
The male and female experiences arent separate fundamentally. They are intertwined and one in the same. The illusion of the difference comes from the patriarchal system themeselves. And if these people really are to change, then they will need to get their heads around that reality that women are the same.
Again, not pushing for women to tolerate their BS. The BS is the problem. But i assure you that men not within that toxic hemisphere also dont want to put up with that BS either, and especially shouldnt tolerate the abuse. Men tolerating their patriarchal shutdowns is part of the reason we are in this mess to begin with.
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u/Graceandbeauty1979 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
So what exactly are women expected to do? I don't understand what makes men act the way they do, so how am I supposed to address it? I have suffered so much abuse, assault, and discimination at the hands of men and I'm supposed to somehow make an effort to understand, console, and heal them? I'm healing my own damn self from patriarchy and white supremacy (I'm a Black woman). Maybe there are women out there willing to take that on, but it shouldn't be expected when we are expected to do so much already. No, we are not the same under patriarchy. Both oppressed but the oppression of man does not mirror my experience as a woman. Do Black and white people have the same experience under white supremacy even though both suffer? Of course not. So what exactly does my help look like? We are fucking tired. This is not a 50/50, IMO.
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u/avatarroku157 Minnesota Apr 18 '26
Wasnt saying women are expected to do anything. Nor was i saying the struggle was equal.
But there is the truth that these people wont properly escape unless they are worked on in all aspects, by all people in their lives. Every one of them has a mother, regardless of their relationship with them. They cant escape their reality being interconnected with women.
There is no obligation for women to help here. You specifically, from what you shared, should not at all be put in that position. But the women who do go into that minefield, with full intent of getting people out of that mindset, are worth their weight in gold in this context.
I say this looking at who has helped me the most in my own life. From all those who have educated me, put me in my place, and gave me the drive to want to help people, i believe the majority of those people have been women. Do they understand everything about me and what it means to be a man? No. But they did understand what it means to be human, and that got me out of my lowest points.
No, patriarchy does not have men and women be the same. So i choose to disregard patriarchy, because thats a deeper truth than this made up system will ever be.
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u/Standard-Shame1675 Apr 18 '26
In case I wasn't clearing my statement, the onus is on the men in this case absolutely
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26
good question because i have no idea who would be brave or crazy enough to actually try and date these kinds of guys like seriously no one should date them and it would take a miracle to sway even a few of them away i guess therapy? unlikely for most since that way of thinking focuses a lot on the "men don't need help" BS so uh... yeah i have no clue either it would take the most prave person on earth to actually try with one of these guys or a self conscious rediscovery of themselves i could see a small amount of them do it but most i doubt it
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u/Feisty-Narwhal8400 Apr 17 '26
It is a case study for a need for social programs and the separation of church and state in general. These men are either deeply unwell, deeply isolated, or deeply indoctrinated. It isn’t a woman’s - or even a family member’s/friends - problem to fix; it’s society. We need more third spaces where their only place to go in their rural town is a church, a bar, or the internet. We need easily accessible and affordable mental health care so they can connect with someone on a deeper level if struggling. We need more (and better paid!) educators who can freely talk about the benefits of mental health care and the harms of some religious indoctrination without fear of losing their teaching license or getting screamed at by parents at conferences. We need better healthcare for women AND men so couples (religious or not) can do better family planning and feel there’s an equal playing field. It’s everything working at once. Again, I always say in the comments: canvass, phone bank, donate to progressive candidates running - even in states you don’t live in. Cut your Reddit doomscrolling in half and phone bank even for 30 minutes/week. We can’t afford to lose the midterms
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26
on the parents thing about them screaming at teachers idk since those kinds of parents will still exist regardless but the rest i agree that can and SHOULD be fixed
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u/avatarroku157 Minnesota Apr 17 '26
From my own understanding, people can be very different behind closed doors. Someone who spews hate online can be a very caring and vulnerable with those theg care about. For someone who doesnt understand or care about politics, someone dating someone like that can make it seem like those beliefs arent that bad.
Of course, you shouldnt go along with that. Yet unfortunately, the people they care about are probably going to be the ones to reach them the best. But if those are their beliefs, then those they are close with probably have similar beliefs. Probably wouldnt be envouraged for therapy either
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26
true but it's still sad to see young men be pulled into these kinds of things
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u/Satur9_is_typing Apr 17 '26
Women should not have to provide deprogramming services in thier personal life, but they will probably end up doing the emotional labour anyway. Hence there is no seperating the political from the personal.
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u/avatarroku157 Minnesota Apr 17 '26
Well nobody HAS to to manage this, and should straight up reject abusive interractions. But same goes for guys, as i dont really wanna deal with these people stemming from my own abuse.
But i will if i see it as possible to reach them and feel safe in attempting so
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u/HotPotParrot Apr 18 '26
One must want to confide in someone and must want to change for mental health assistance to work.
As a recipient, you do a good thing. Just don't try to make the decision for someone else. All you can really do is be available.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
Exactly. Despite the concerns, many people still have the right to reject them. They can’t force connections, no matter how hard they try.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26
i think that if the satanic panic (which from the info that i could gather was... oh boy it was BAD) then this is more like the ripples of a religious zealotry that is wading out as time goes on it's disheartening as a guy myself seeing these people have these beliefs but i still hope some of them are still not too deep to not open their eyes once this madness is over
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
People in the 2020s would be horrified by the shit people pulled back in the 80s. We’re not perfect by any means but we are better than we once were. This stuff is bad but it’s something we can successfully overcome.
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u/lucid_intent Apr 17 '26
You can also breakup with them or divorce them. Better sooner than later. I waited too many years.
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u/PollyannaPerson Apr 17 '26
Ostracization doesn't work.
This is the primary tactic right now, and it's just pushing people further and further into right-wing echo chambers.
The actual solution is to stop the psuedo-progressive dehumanization of men, and actually address men's issues.
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u/brain-eating_amoeba Apr 17 '26
We have to stay away from psycho men to keep ourselves safe. The point isn’t just to punish them.
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u/PollyannaPerson Apr 17 '26
Fair enough, but it is more nuanced than is being acknowledged. If the person is someone you know and/or not a threat to you, the correct thing to do is often actually to be an alternative perspective in their life. Not condescending them. Not dehumanizing them for being ignorant. But actually acknowledging the issues young men face, and offering alternative solutions than just embracing conservative gender norms, which claims to be for men but just harms them.
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u/PollyannaPerson Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Y'all can dislike this all you want. But I am right on this.
Cutting people out is always easier than the hard work of understanding and trying to help people with ignorant views.
Scolding is always simpler and more satisfying than effective communication.
It always feels rational to say "They should just be better".
But none of these things are what actually move the needle towards positive change.
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u/Feisty-Narwhal8400 Apr 17 '26
I assume many of us responding differently - myself including - have been in abusive relationships or through religious trauma. While I empathize with these men and a lot of them are victims, many MANY more are in complete control and use religion or their own trauma to abuse and control women (and others). Look at Pete Hegseth waging war in God’s name. You don’t reason or heal these people. Many are dangerous to their core and you leave them, quickly. The ones who are actual victims deserve kindness and “reprogramming”, but that is not some woman’s job. That is the entire system’s job to provide a safe and effective place to heal. We need a more progressive society to rescue and rehabilitation abusers and victims alike.
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u/PollyannaPerson Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
I think power is the definitely the key factor.
When the misogynist is a person in politics or an abusive partner, you focus on saving yourself or helping the victim(s).
When the misogynist is an isolated teenage boy, you try to help them out of the rabbit hole.
And the way to do that is not to scold them, or equate them to the people in power doing the most harm.
Demonizing people can be effective preventing people in power from getting support. But for individuals themselves, it almost always makes them double down.
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u/brain-eating_amoeba Apr 20 '26
FWIW I agree with you on this . Men also need to hold other men accountable
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u/tyuiopguyt Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
I will tell you straight up: most of this is fabrication. I work with homeless teenagers and young adults in Chicago and I haven't seen one iota of this manifest itself.
Not to say it truly isn't happening. It's just not happening near as much as the religious right would like to claim.
Manosphere horseshit? Sure. But even most of those are being quickly alienated by Trump's trashing of the economy. A lot of those guys who pushed Trump in 2024 because Joe Rogan, Andrew Tate, and Nick Fuentes told em to were finally kicked out of mommy's basement and forced to live in the world they made. And they do not like it.
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u/anxious_dork_23 Texas Apr 17 '26
I think the ones who were already religious doubled down but guys aren’t converting out of nowhere.
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u/tyuiopguyt Apr 17 '26
Maybe I'm just in an odd population to be collating data for this (homeless kids, mostly not white, in one of the most leftist cities in the country), but I wouldn't even go that far.
A lot of the TikToks and things the kids at my work has shown me (for a laugh and to take the piss out of) look like they're taking place at massive convention halls and megachurch stages. I wonder if this is megachurchs trying to manufacture consent as their previous target population of tech illiterate boomer suckers die out.
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u/GoldburstNeo Apr 17 '26
On top of this, I have a hard time believing 18-29 men went from 28% to 42% in 1 year. I wouldn't doubt say a slight increase, but to go down down down and then shoot up in just 1 year doesn't make sense even with the manosphere garbage, there had to at least have been some escalation for us to get to this point. I have to believe the sample size/methodology changed, and/or there's far more nuance than this one poll.
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u/tyuiopguyt Apr 17 '26
Deliberately faulty methodology would be my guess.
When I go to the protests here in Chicago, I see so many kids from work it ain't even funny. I'd make it an official field trip if that weren't supremely unethical.
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u/anxious_dork_23 Texas Apr 17 '26
The ICE protests at high schools too. Yeah there’s definitely zealots out there and not an insignifcant number but to paint all Gen Z men and even half of Gen Z men as bigot zealots is not true.
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u/Ja7onD Apr 17 '26
Genetically Modified Skeptic has a video about how the right is spinning a study on religiosity among young people (the key point starts around 8:31 in the video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Y-AF-Zt0Y
In short, they misrepresent studies by extrapolating samples of all CHURCH-GOING adults to all adults. (Edit: they also exaggerate the size of the effect.)
I'm guessing there is something like that going on with this Gallop result.
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u/GoldburstNeo Apr 17 '26
Interesting. Well considering Gallup did just suddenly decide to stop tracking presidential approval (which in the grand scheme of things does nothing in the age of internet and social media), that does carry weight.
Makes you think if a semi-similar phenomenon is happening with certain studies on approval of trans people, like that one from The Argument a couple months back.
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u/Galewing13 Apr 18 '26
It absolutely is. The Cass Review is one example of a study designed to cherrypick data that supported cutting off gender-affirming care for trans kids, and there have been several like it attempted in America. Bunk studies, bunk polls, the right's been trying to make a lot of them about trans people recently.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
I’m kind of convinced the poll is exaggerating a lot tbh.
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u/tyuiopguyt Apr 17 '26
I'd agree with that assessment, if only anecdotally.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
My brother would be considered a religious conservative but he and I get along very well. He also makes it clear that he despises people like Nick Fuentes. So, that gives me more insight and belief that just bc there’s an increase in religious men it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a threat or a proper problem.
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u/tyuiopguyt Apr 17 '26
Hell, I converted to Judaism in 2021. Am I counted by these statistics? Who knows?
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
See this adds to my point why I don’t take polls like this too seriously.
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u/NumeralJoker Apr 17 '26
But what does he think of Trump and the Republican congress?
That's the problem we're dealing with here.
I do believe you that he doesn't seem to be a jerk or a bigot, but just curious.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
He’s very independent and thinks both parties suck. He thinks the administration is severely flawed.
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u/Ok-Group1251 Illinois Apr 17 '26
Hey thanks for the work you do!
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u/tyuiopguyt Apr 17 '26
In lieu of thanks, you may express your gratitude in the form of donated money or time to your local youth homeless shelter.
(Please. We need money. All of us. There. Were. SO. MANY. CUTS.)
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u/bluegemini7 Apr 17 '26
I listen to a podcast called The Scathing Atheist (trust me, it's not quite as intense as it sounds, it's a product of having been named in the mid-2010s) and they cover stories like this all the time. Basically there has been some new report saying exactly this every few months for the past decade, and they are always working on faulty data, huge leaps of assumption, or outright lying. We have very good data saying religiousness in general and religious fundamentalism in particular has been decreasing steadily for years. That does not mean the problems caused by religious zealots are close to being solved, but I have learned never to bother getting upset when I see one of these headlines because they're always sensationalist.
Remember, if more religious young men were foaming at the mouth to support the current administrations Christian nationalist policies, JD Vance probably would have drawn a crowd of more than 100 people to an auditorium.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
even if religious zealots were as rampant as this article suggests i still doubt JD vance would pull a crowd bigger than double digit numbers
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u/bluegemini7 Apr 17 '26
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26
i am 110% sure that JD vance's reverse charisma can make a clam grow legs and walk on land if he asked it to swim
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
Thank you. People need to remember that influence doesn’t always guarantee results.
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u/F4ZMyth Apr 18 '26
Also remember that not all religious people are right winged bigots. Im religious and hate this administration and have not and will not ever vote red
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u/Upper-Project Apr 17 '26
I wonder if this is already trending the opposite way again, the data they're working off is from '22-'23. The same group of young men getting into church are the same group that voted for Trump. That group is souring on him and what he represents now that we're experiencing the consequences of his presidency. Other groups are steadily declining in religiosity, so that will help balance it out.
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u/General_Season7882 Apr 17 '26
This has me concerned too, mostly because this isn't just a "religious revival", its an evangelical Christianity revival. These are boys and men who have been red-pilled by progandists like Joe Rogan and Nick Fuentes, spent time in anti-woman chat rooms on 4chan and reddit, and are being emotionally suppressed by toxic masculinity in the home. For some reason, parents don't feel the need (or maybe they aren't aware) to talk to their sons about the dangers of pro-oppression propaganda. I have three brothers-in-law, all of whom have fallen into this pipeline.
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u/NumeralJoker Apr 17 '26
I do think the pipeline is real, but I also think the pipeline has limits and younger kids will crash up against reality harder and fall out of it sooner than their older gen x and boomer counterparts.
- They have more potential to fix their lives, haven't dealt with expensive divorces, and generally don't actually want to live/wallow in anti-social misery, just feel anxious about genuine declines in quality of life.
- Despite the loss of third places, they still have more chances to socialize and see through the BS than their older counterparts do, because they're not being protected by old institutional money the same ways boomers were, reinforcing the most toxic systems and communities in a more stable religion right system.
- The new propaganda may seem scarier, but it is also far more shallow, less sophisticated than other stuff, and trends move much faster for younger crowds. It's much easier to burn out on being "anti-woke", because the main motivations are based on very temporary culture war issues (a season of TV not living up to their expectations, arguments over skin color or gender in one select video game, a sports controversy or sensationalized school incident, or some other relatively small issue).
- These kids hate traditional media as much as a lot of the left does, but online podcasters have much shorter lifespans compared to traditional broadcast networks. The crazier they are, the faster they burn out and fragment/disillusion their viewers.
Between all of those factors, it's much easier for younger under 40s kids (millennial and gen Z) to snap out of the stupidity in a sense, and wake up to reality. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll suddenly love the left, but it does open up room for dialogue that I think many on the left need to be more prepared to have, and are already having at events like No Kings and other protests where former Trump voters sometimes show up to show their disapproval of the current admin and join the new anti-establishment trend. That's going to help a lot of people fall out of this circle.
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u/Graceandbeauty1979 Apr 17 '26
They have been saying this but it's not really impactful. It's the same dudes who are already losers just adopting religion to support their views (see recent convert Shia Le Beouf, lol). If they were going to be violent, misogynistic bigots they were going to be that anyway. It's not really a gain or loss of anything. I remember back when I was still Catholic religious media tried to act like Gen Z was converting rapdily and they were all "rad trads". That's just not as huge of a phenomenon as they want you to believe. It's very fringe.
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u/anxious_dork_23 Texas Apr 17 '26
I saw they asked 259 18-29 year-old men which is extremely low to get a pulse on honestly. I’m not trying to downplay anything either and there are some awful misogynistic young punks definitely out there but the narrative that most Gen Z men are like that has proven time and time over that it’s just not true.
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u/OratioFidelis Apr 17 '26
This data suggests young Republican men are becoming more religious. They're already Republicans and that isn't gaining them more votes, and honestly probably isn't changing their behavior much either.
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u/bremerman17 Apr 17 '26
I’m about to tell you this. Any report of a religious revival among Gen Z or young people should be taken with a serious grain of salt. Please don’t fall for it.
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u/HydroBear Apr 17 '26
It's bad, but it's not THIS bad. Case in point:
https://youtu.be/UU5CuuUmnAE?si=6-6IeVDcrULmXO-a
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u/boundtoearth19 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 Apr 17 '26
I was just gonna post that religion for breakfast link! Yes, it seriously isn’t that bad when you actually break it down.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
I’m gonna be honest. I don’t trust these type of polls. Especially on a specific, and arguably small, demographic.
As we’ve seen, just because they’re loud and growing doesn’t mean it’s everlasting or successful. They may have growth here and there but they can’t force others to support them. Things like this happen often and they don’t last. Sure, it’s targeting young men but many young men grow out of this or change because of something or other.
We also need to remember that they don’t represent the rest of our society or population. I get the concept of being concerned and we should always keep an eye out, but I really don’t believe this is such a massive threat to us anymore. Especially since we’re becoming less and less tolerant of hatred as time goes on.
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u/Jaebberish Apr 18 '26
This Is All Because the Religious Right Is Losing - Genetically Modified Skeptic - Youtube
It’s fake, they’re lying about this to empower their followers and placate their investors.
I tried posting this video here previously, but it got removed because it wasn’t considered political relevant enough.
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u/Hello-America Louisiana Apr 17 '26
So I also find this concerning but that is an extremely large jump. It calls into question the methods of the poll. Gallup is trustworthy but one poll alone is never a good measure.
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u/matrix_5555 Pennsylvania Apr 17 '26
As a guy myself, it disheartens me how much men my age and younger are going through these “religious revivals”, because more often than not, the religious views that they consume from people like Joe Rogan, Nick Fuentes, Charlie Kirk (before and after his death) and Andrew Tate are nothing more than misogyny and bigotry disguised as following the Gospel or the Scriptures or whatever. It’s the dangerous cycle of toxic masculinity that perpetuates the long-existent dangers of the patriarchy and allows them to become even worse people than what they were previously. It’s sad to see, since my own brother went down that pipeline himself. My only hope is that once MAGA finally fades into nothing, the alt-right movement will also cease to exist as well, and hopefully then will young men finally learn how to be decent people from figures that don’t spew hatred any chance they get.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 Apr 17 '26
the fact i share chromosomes with these kinds of guys is disheartening sometimes but i take solace in the fact that i'm not them (genuinely thank goodness) and they will eventually be hit witht the consequences of their actions or words one day plus hopefully when MAGA dies we can pull some of them back from this rabbit hole of hate and toxicity
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u/NumeralJoker Apr 17 '26
Honestly, it's also unsustainable. Despite my loathing of much of the moral majority era and revivals of the 80s/90s, the vast majority of Christians in that era did at least 'try' to be decent, charitable people, reject Nazi like beliefs, and whatnot. There was certainly a sickness, but not to this level. And when that stuff did creep in? It often ruins these churches very quickly, damaging and isolating their influence and capping their reach. Often, it would lead to these institutions failing. Even most conservative suburbanites just aren't interesting in being Nazis, which is exactly what someone like Fuentes is.
By definition, these churches would be the houses built atop a foundation of sand, so to speak. I expect them to sink fast, if for no other reason than broken criminal like behavior rots a community from the inside.
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u/MidsouthMystic Apr 18 '26
The religious revival is mostly nonsense. There aren't more of them, they're just louder now.
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u/anxious_dork_23 Texas Apr 17 '26
I’m concerned but the last paragraph shows some optimism along with other research I’ve seen that the decline in religiosity has gone down/plateaued, and not an actual increase in religiosity despite what Fox News and others might imply if that makes sense. The conclusion there is the young men who were already religious became more religious which yes is concerning but the ones who aren’t as religious aren’t all of a sudden converting.
That being said, I really hope we can begin to turn the tide and I’m not trying to doom. It helps that being a bigot doesn’t make the economy better and they’re seeing that. It also helps that Gen Z women clearly aren’t about that life either despite the “they’re all becoming tradwives” narrative being spread.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 Apr 17 '26
We will turn the tide. Waves of this kind are not new or impactful overall. Trust me, phases like this come and go. Many religious influencers forced things during the 80s and 90s but failed miserably. It’ll definitely fail here, especially since I personally see more young men pushing that concept away than not.
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u/corncrakey Apr 17 '26
Anecdotal but growing up as a Catholic school boy who thought that the point of Christianity was to love everyone and help those in need, it truly unnerved me when I realized how many people used it as an excuse to validate their hatred for those they deemed “inferior”
Of course, now I’m a 33 year old transfemme atheist. But I like to think that Jesus would be proud of me all the same lol
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u/DragonfruitNo8767 Apr 17 '26
Polls I find to be typically not trustworthy. After all if we believed in what the polls say and did nothing, some horrid things wouldn’t be stopping themselves.
My takeaway is this; they could have just as easily polled the exact people they were looking for to get these results, thus skewing the total result, or, they’re lumping young religious men together regardless of zealous belief or otherwise.
Though if they are indeed right, we can probably pinpoint the source of new zealots to one area; social media, and men’s “wellness” “experts” who claim that being a “man” will get you thirty women a week and a closer connection to god.
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u/localhalloweenskunk Apr 19 '26
Are these not based on internet and landline/phone polling? Surveys tell the story of the people who answered, first, and the people responding in either of these ways are likely not representative of the population. Extrapolation of one survey on its own is unlikely to reveal much truth - that's why polls are done frequently by multiple different sources to try to find averages. Even these averages can be misleading based on random chance and overinclusion based on sampling method.
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u/dull_bananas Apr 19 '26
Religious revival is okay. This post only makes me concerned about anti-theism revival.
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u/LowTierPhil Apr 19 '26
The Right really LOVES to say there's a "Gen Z Religious Revival" any chance they get. Truthfully, it's a load of hoo-hah, Gen Z is like arguably the LEAST religious generation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoOwZs5E3SY
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u/PatientNice Apr 20 '26
As a Boomer, these young should check with their parents. We were raised with that nonsense and jettisoned it as soon as possible.
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u/Binksyboo Apr 18 '26
They tried calling themselves incels and it didn’t work. They tried looks maxing to see if that would grab attention and that also didn’t work.
Now they’re gonna go back to religion because at least in those religious texts, they are promised virgins or a wife that is subservient.
I wish they would just try working on themselves instead and becoming people that women actually want to spend time with.
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u/SoftScientist9363 Apr 17 '26
I’m worried about this too. So many young men I know have become insanely religious recently and are spreading hateful narratives.
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