Faith is what really matters

OPINION:

The Gallup organization recently released a survey showing that young men now surpass young women in religious affiliation and have tied them in religious attendance.

Considering that previous trends have shown male church attendance, especially among young males, typically lags behind that of females, this is great news.

Why? Because so many of the present ailments of the male population can be tied to increased social alienation and lack of community, coupled with a general lack of purpose in life, the result of an absence of religious faith.

I have written about many of these issues in my recent book, “What Really Matters: Restoring a Legacy of Faith, Freedom, and Family.” It’s a compilation by my good friend Craig Osten of a series of columns I have written over the years on marriage, family, male leadership, faith, society and education.

It is faith that compels men to be loving and responsible husbands and fathers, as well as solid providers for their families and good citizens. These traits will result in positive outcomes for our society.

So many of our social ills have resulted from men’s abdication from these roles. This has left a society filled with fatherless children and single mothers dependent upon the government to help fill the role that men are supposed to assume.

Meanwhile, young men wander aimlessly without meaning or purpose in their lives.

This phenomenon of young men returning to faith is new. As Gallup reported, “Young women were significantly more attached to religion than young men were at the start of the millennium, leading by nine percentage points (52% vs. 43%) in calling religion ‘very important’ in their lives. That gap widened to as much as 16 points in the early to mid-2000s before steadily narrowing over the next decade.”

According to Gallup, the percentage of young men reporting monthly or more frequent attendance at religious services rose 7 points from 2022 to 2023 and 2024 to 2025, reaching 40%, its highest level since 2012 to 2013.

Gallup also notes that this change is occurring, for now, among men younger than 30. Among adults older than that, women remain more religious than men.

Religious involvement among young women also increased, but at a much lower percentage over the past three years. Hopefully, the rise of young men interested in religious faith will lead to an uptick in female religious attendance as well.

Having seen several instances in my lifetime of how God can turn around a previously wayward life, I believe that a return to religious faith by American men will bring about the individual restoration and purpose that so many young men have been seeking but have been unable to find.

That restoration and purpose will result in a corporate restoration for our society, as these young men allow religious truth to inform their personal decisions, including their relations with the opposite sex, rather than pursuing lusts of the flesh for short-term gratification.

That is why it is so encouraging to learn that young men, after seeking those things that do not last, are turning back to what really matters: faith, family and freedom.

This return to faith will result not only in emotionally and spiritually healthy young men but also in stronger marriages and families and in a more civil and well-ordered society.

Because faith ultimately brings us together, this return to faith by young men will hopefully lead to the reunification of our country. We will no longer focus on the self but rather on the greater purpose that faith provides.

For those of us who are older, let us continue to encourage our young men (and women) in their newfound interest in faith, providing mentorship and community so this faith is not just a passing fad in their lives but a lifelong commitment to what really matters: our God, our families and our freedom.

• Timothy S. Goeglein is the vice president of government and external relations at Focus on the Family and a co-author of a new book, “What Really Matters: Restoring a Legacy of Faith, Freedom, and Family” (Fidelis, 2026).