Newly released polling data has confirmed what many pastors and churchgoers have long suspected: Young men are bucking the cultural trend of declining religiosity and returning to the church in droves.
A Gallup survey released Thursday revealed a remarkable surge in young men saying that religion is “very important” to them, with data from 2024-2025 showing 42%, a 14-point increase from 2022-2023.
The poll found that the phenomenon happening among young men aged 18-29 is not happening among their female peers, only 29% of whom said that religion is “very important” to them (a figure that has stayed roughly the same since 2020).
The upward trend in religiosity is also largely not occurring among other age groups, with the exception of men aged 30-49 (who saw a five-point increase over the same timespan) and men aged 50-64 (who saw a three-point increase).
Notably, the numbers mark a clear reversal from the beginning of the millennium, when young women led young men in saying that religion was “very important” to them (52% vs. 43%).
As reported by The New York Times, college students like Mason Gubser likely epitomize the changing attitudes of many young men in their approach to faith. Gubser told the Times that he had become dissatisfied with a life centered on constant phone scrolling.
