Men are experiencing a crisis of meaning. And some find answers in orthodox religion – The Irish Times

Decades ago, when I studied theology in college, the female to male ratio was about nine women for every man. I think I have made it a rule, half ironically, that about nine times as many women as men are interested in religion, whether in intellectual study or ordinary parish life. This relationship was often confirmed in subsequent years.

Perhaps that’s why the headline in the New York Times caught my attention: “For the first time among Christians, men are more religious than women.”

Reporter Ruth Graham reviews a study from the Center for American Life/American Enterprise Institute that found young men attend services more often and are more likely to identify as religious than their female peers. This is an amazing change.

The article suggests that women are put off from church participation due to a lack of gender equality. However, it does not mention that the most supposedly liberal and progressive Protestant denominations in the United States are losing members to such an extent that their very existence is threatened. They attract neither young women nor young men.

When young people in the US turn to religion, they turn to evangelical churches with traditional theology, and that’s probably why they’re growing.

So is this shift toward religion just part of the political divide that my fellow columnist Jennifer O’Connell talks about, with young women increasingly moving politically to the left and young men moving more to the right?

Derek Rishmawy, a campus minister interviewed for the New York Times article, says, “Religion is coded correctly, and coded more traditionalist.”

But he also says that Christianity is not perceived as institutionally and formally skeptical of young people as a class. There is also a real spiritual search going on. It’s not just about Mage hats.

While being young and feminine is still no picnic, young people struggle in a variety of ways, including mental health issues and loneliness.

While there may be a connection between men becoming more open to traditionalist views and their increased religious participation, they are primarily driven by a crisis of meaning. The individualistic, consumerist culture with its temporary dopamine rushes is failing them.

For example, I suspect that someone like J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, converted to Catholicism in part because he associated with many smart people who shared his views but were also Catholics.

However, it would not be good for Christianity and young people if adherence to Christianity became some kind of additional accessory for the anti-woke brigade. Attempts to fit Christianity into some clear division between left and right only distort it.

Pope Francis not only advocates for the right to life of the youngest people, but also constantly talks about climate change and welcoming migrants, neither of which are the right positions.

Young people exploring Christianity need to be offered faith development and spiritual guidance that goes beyond mere traditionalism. At its best, faith is not a comfort blanket, but a constant desire to grow and change.

There is little research on religious gender cleavages in Ireland. Of course, young people do not flock to Irish parish churches.

However, strangely enough, in religious movements such as Youth 2000, the largest Catholic youth organization for people aged 18 to 35 on this island, the ratio is far from nine to one. Both at their annual summer retreat, which is attended by about 1,000 young people, and at their regular regional meetings, it appears that there are more than two men for every three young women, which in itself is a remarkable statistic.

The same applies to students: university chaplaincy is now heavily male-dominated.

The sad thing is that some people in the church don’t seem to know what to do with these young seekers, or worse, feel uncomfortable with their desire for orthodox faith.

In light of the recent closure of the awkwardly named Vatican Synod on Synodality, it was alarming to read the Youth 2000 statement on the so-called Synodal Way in Ireland.

This was a process in which people gathered in parishes with the ultimate goal of contributing to the preparation of Ireland’s national report.

One Youth 2000 member attended a local synod meeting with many members of his youth group, but reported feeling “drowned” and therefore did not attend afterwards.

Others reported being treated as anomalies or unrepresentative. Some people involved in parish discussions were unaware or even skeptical that there were a large number of young practicing Catholics.

It’s remarkable that young people who not only want to contribute but are already active in their faith are so invisible to people who are probably lying awake at night worrying about the death of the church.

The Dominican Order is one of the few religious orders that consistently attracts young men who want to become priests. It is not surprising that the Dominicans are also Youth 2000 champions.

Young men’s interest in religion should not be exaggerated since they are a minority. But a minority choosing religion in the face of growing secularism is still a phenomenon that deserves closer attention.