Faith surges in Gen Z men, declines among Gen Z women

OPINION:

For decades, churches have wrestled with how to attract men to return to church, with thousands, and perhaps millions of dollars, spent on marketing studies and focus groups to understand why men were staying away while female attendance continued to grow.

Now, it seems the reverse is happening. According to a new report from the Barna Group, the number of men attending church is increasing while the number of women attending is in decline. Barna found that more men (43%) than women (36%) report attending church weekly.

In fact, Barna reports that women, particularly young women, are becoming increasingly disaffiliated with the church, with 2 in 5 women ages 18 to 24 identifying as atheist, agnostic or with no faith at all.

So, why has the sudden reversal happened? I want to suggest two factors.

First, this is another example of how family breakdown impacts our society. With a growing lack of fathers serving as spiritual leaders in their homes, many young women lack a family connection to guide their faith during their formative years.

Barna’s research supports this assertion, finding that only 23% of young adult women feel supported by their fathers and only 36% feel supported by their mothers.

However, what is particularly interesting is that a significant disconnection appears to occur between the teenage and young adult years, as 47% of teenage girls report feeling supported by their fathers and 74% feel supported by their mothers.

A second reason young women are walking away from their faith: As they leave their homes, they are finding a lack of older women willing to serve as spiritual mentors for them.

Thus, at a very vulnerable age, adrift from their parents and with all the forces of the world — whether on a secular university campus, in the workplace or on dating apps — these young women have no guiding lights in their lives and end up stumbling around in the darkness.

Older Christian men have begun to realize this and are investing in young men, which I believe is a significant factor in the turnaround. Now it is time for older Christian women to do likewise with young women.

Barna found that 40% of Gen Z women said, “Older people don’t seem to understand the pressure my generation is under.”

The wife of a dear friend of mine counsels many women in their early to mid-20s and has found them desperately seeking an older and wiser female to pour into their lives. Sadly, his wife is the exception, not the rule. These young women know her door is open and seek her out, but in many cases, they find closed doors that say “do not enter” until they are 30 and married and “fit” better into an older culture.

Once doors are perceived as closed, they rarely reopen.

Daniel Copeland of the Barna Group surmises: “If we want to see change in Gen Z women’s spiritual trajectories, relationships are the place to start. Faith is a skill that must be modeled first, and strong, supportive relationships can bridge the gap between doubt and belief.”

Thus, rather than pigeonholing everyone into groups based on their current station in life, I would advocate for older women to engage in discipleship of young women, as my friend’s wife does. These young women are deeply longing for such relationships, and if they do not find them within the church, they will look elsewhere — to their and the church’s detriment.

So, for those of us who are older, let’s step outside our comfort zones and invite a young person to coffee or lunch, or have them over for dinner. You will be surprised by their openness and questions as you develop a relationship with them that encourages and supports their faith, rather than just rattling off a list of do’s and don’ts or ignoring them because you think you can’t relate to the issues they face.

You may find that you can relate — in a deep, profound and life-changing way — that makes an eternal difference in their lives.

• Timothy S. Goeglein is vice president of external and government relations for Focus on the Family. He served as special assistant to President George W. Bush and as a deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison.