Right now, young men are more religious than young women. It could be that this trend is a better signifier of simple gender differences than of a sad decline in religiosity.
It is not as though the decline of young women’s religious participation has to do with heady theological preferences: Much of their departure is influenced by female ordination, abortion, and various social justice issues. They feel slighted by conservative standards or emotionally disturbed by given events, so they seek affirmation and commonality. Their convictions are strengthened in the process and echoed in broader national politics.
Contrast this situation with that of young men. They have long been the subject of commentary on patterns of idleness and singleness. Women dominate in college enrollment and graduation. It follows that, as men wake up, they catch exposure to online personalities urging them to shape up, and they look to Christianity.
In one sense, theirs is the same sort of religious congregating women might have done before widespread college attendance. In another, the surge of religiosity among young men speaks to their marginalization. Logical orthodoxy is a source of answers and contentment.
Both young men and women, then, are flocking to the ends of either side. This move is characteristic of Generation Z: The leftists are really left, and the right-wingers form far-right groups. Gen Z is extreme, some say, and passionate, even if their causes do not always make much sense.
The political sphere is fueling the polarization, especially for young liberal women. Abortion and transgenderism are the darling issues of the day for them. As a result, physical and dispositional sex differences no longer suffice to define “woman,” so women define themselves by their ideas.
When their ideas diverge and they feel uncomfortable, it is a personal assault. It is their very identities that are the object of debate. They have to shift to find somewhere that their version of woman can flourish, and, of course, they land on irreligion.
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At the same time, it is just like women to want to “follow their hearts,” whether or not they actually do so. The need for affirmation and comfort occurs primarily in the feminine sphere. They just have a different source for liberal women. Men often seek to be aware and tend to the more logical. They are more likely to stick to the “hard truths.” It makes sense that women seem more spiritual and men more religious.
Of course, these are blanket distinctions, and there is much overlap. But the statistics of young people’s religiosity indicate that clear man-woman distinctions exist even on the plane of how we think despite best attempts otherwise.