Young men driving revival of Christian faith in the United States
The Catholic Herald • October 13, 2025
Men are leading the way back to Christ, according to new research, signalling a notable change in the spiritual landscape of the modern era.
Fresh data from Barna’s State of the Church project show that young men, particularly from Generation Z and the Millennial cohort, are driving a quiet revival of faith in the United States. Since 2019, the proportion of Gen Z men who say they have made a personal commitment to follow Jesus has risen by 15 per cent, while Millennial men have increased by 19 per cent.
The figures reveal the widest recorded gender gap in church engagement in twenty-five years. As of 2025, 43 per cent of men report attending church weekly, compared with 36 per cent of women, reversing the long-standing pattern of female leadership in religious participation. Married fathers are now the most consistent churchgoers of any parental group, while single mothers are the least likely to attend weekly services. Only one in four single mothers now attends church weekly, compared with nearly two in five single fathers.
The data also point to a clear generational divide. Gen Z and Millennial adults, once seen as the least religious generations, are now among the most involved in church life. Meanwhile, attendance among older women, especially Baby Boomers, continues to decline. This development signals not only renewed interest among younger men but also a wider cultural reconfiguration of church participation in America.
Barna’s research indicates that overall attendance has fallen slightly since the pandemic. The reasons remain complex, but the shift may reflect changing experiences within church communities, where women have traditionally made up the majority of active members.
The study suggests that falling attendance among women may stem from a mix of social and personal pressures, including work, childcare, and domestic responsibilities. At the same time, wider cultural changes have strained the relationship between women and institutional religion. Barna’s president, David Kinnaman, said that repeated examples of moral failure or hypocrisy in church leadership deepen disillusionment among women.
For much of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, women have formed the backbone of American parish life while men lagged behind. That pattern now appears to be changing. After decades of consistent decline, men are returning to faith in increasing numbers, particularly within younger generations.
Barna’s surveys, covering more than 130,000 adults over twenty-five years, suggest that 2025 marks a potential turning point for American Christianity. Whether this shift proves temporary or enduring remains uncertain, but the data reveal a Church being reshaped from within—one where men, especially young men, are quietly re-embracing active faith.
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