A youthful rush to revive America

OPINION:

Youth comes with an innocent conviction in the ability to change the world for the better. As they cast about for like-minded believers to join in that pursuit, young Americans are increasingly throwing in with two unlikely cohorts: conservatives and churchgoers.

The trend represents a countercurrent to the forces of havoc in U.S. culture, circa 2025. It indicates that a new generation of patriots is rushing to reinforce the venerable values that have made America great.

Televised coverage of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration in the nation’s capital displayed crowds populated mostly
with young and exuberant flag-wavers. Indeed, a Yale Youth Poll published in April reveals that when voters ages 18 to 21 were asked
which party they would endorse in the 2026 congressional elections, they favored the one most associated with conservatism and patriotism, the Republican Party, by an unprecedented 11.7 percentage points.

The sudden swerve toward the Republican Party represents a departure from the position of their older siblings, ages 22 to 29, who preferred the liberalism of the Democratic Party by 6.4 percentage points. The survey reinforces the findings of a Harvard Youth Poll conducted last year, which showed 18- to 24-year-olds favoring conservative over liberal ideology 26% to 22%, while 25- to 29-year-olds fancied liberalism 27% to 21%.

It must be noted that the trendy appeal of Republican affiliation has its limits. Thus far, Democrats’ 51% to 46% advantage remains in fashion among women. The exception is among women 50 and older, who back the two major parties in nearly identical proportions.

In parallel with the rapid rise of youthful conservatism, trend lines are beginning to suggest that, after a long and steep decline,
young Americans are also showing a fresh interest in Christianity.

Pew Research Center surveys conducted periodically show that the proportion of 18- to 29-year-olds who identify as Christians slid precipitously from 68% to 45% from 2007 to 2024. This year, however, polling finds that among Americans born during the 1990s, the proportion claiming a Christian belief has firmed up at 46%. An identical figure for those born during the early 2000s suggests that the youthful trend of abandoning the church has been arrested.

Curiously, it is young men who are leading the religious resurgence despite women traditionally identifying with Christianity in higher
proportions than men. In a 2024 Pew poll, women of all age groups who claim Christian affiliation outscored men, 66% to 59%. However, among Generation Z, born in the late 1990s to early 2000s, men have flipped the phenomenon, surpassing women in religious affiliation 54% to 46%, according to a 2024 Survey Center on American Life.

What could account for a burgeoning Christian revival that coincides with the rebound of Republican-style conservatism at this juncture?
Human society is built on a foundation, and both value systems are foundational. Christianity is the religious cornerstone of Western
Civilization writ large, and conservatism as the precise political framework reinforcing the nation’s founding allegiance to faith, family and freedom.

Sadly, those fundamental values have been under withering attack in recent years, worsened during the George Floyd riots of 2020 when masked mobs burned U.S. cities, slaughtered innocent citizens and pulled down iconic statues of American heritage.

Likewise, throngs of illegal immigration activists this year are torching vehicles and pelting law enforcement officers with deadly
projectiles. The unsettling violence in manifold U.S. cities could be mistaken for scenes from a Hollywood apocalypse flick.

To be fair, neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party requires a test for patriotic purity. If, however, a scarlet letter “A” were to be assigned for the “anti-Americanism” of today rather than the “adultery” of yesteryear, most would be fastened to the lapels of
Democrats.

Among them would be former Vice President Kamala Harris. While recently describing the anarchy that descended on Los Angeles as
“overwhelmingly peaceful,” she went on to blame President Trump’s efforts to keep the peace as the cause of the mayhem: “Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos.”

Civilization trembles when elected officials like Ms. Harris side with marauders — filled with resentment rather than respect toward their fellow citizens — who throw themselves against its pillars.

The rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” may be, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims, “unalienable,” but those rights can endure only with the unfailing attendance of the people.

Despite the bleakness of the moment — or, perhaps, because of it — young Americans are turning to the steadfast guarantors of better days to come: the timeless principles of the Christian faith and the time-honored values of the Founders. Rather than corny, patriotism
suddenly seems trendy.

• Frank Perley is a former senior editor and editorial writer for Opinion at The Washington Times.