By: Rev. Kelli Hitchman-Craig
While religious life in the United States has been on the decline for several years, new data have emerged suggesting a stabilization of that downward trend, and with it, new trends surrounding religious participation and gender.[1] Some studies suggest that for the first time in history, young men are more religious than young women, while others propose that, though women still profess faith at higher rates, the gap between men and women of faith is closing.[2] Whichever it is, one thing is for certain: the landscape of American Christianity is changing.
At the center of this shift is Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), who outpace every other generation in average monthly church participation, according to Barna Group.[3] With this generational role-reversal, one can’t help but wonder… where are all these young men worshiping? If massive spiritual revival really is happening in the United States, why are Mainline Protestants still in decline? If younger generations, particularly men, are becoming more religious, then why does anecdotal data suggest that revival among young men is isolated to Christian traditions that explicitly forbid women from access to leadership?
While the answer to that question might not be statistically clear yet, it suggests that with the rise in “red-pill” content available on social media, young men might not be drawn to right-wing Christianity for spirituality alone. (“Red pill” content is an internet subculture whose ideologies are designed to push men into far-right, anti-feminist ideas and positions.) Perhaps this rise in religious affiliation is more often a means to power and privilege for a generation of young men who have been victimized by right-wing ideologies in the digital space.
The red-pill movement is not just a fringe internet subculture— it is a pipeline to very real abuse. Its teachings about male headship and female submission create environments where violence, coercion, and cover-ups hide behind a veneer of righteousness. After generations of meaningful progress toward gender equity and justice have been made in almost every field and discipline, these ideologies prey on young men, falsely teaching them that somehow, equity for women is injustice for men. Movements that tolerate or reproduce these ideas become complicit in the spiritual and physical harm of women. The stakes are not theoretical; they are a dangerous reality.
The same algorithms that once fed young women toxic messages about their worth and bodies are now feeding young men toxic ideas about gender, authority, and identity. And in the absence of a loving, just, and theologically grounded community, they are finding counterfeit gospels online: gospels that promise control instead of communion, dominance instead of discipleship. It signals a generation of young men who are spiritually searching but are instead being indoctrinated with distortions of the Gospel that equate Christianity with dominance, control, and abuse.
This is not just a women’s issue. It is a gospel issue. If we fail to engage this generation of young men with the true message of Jesus— one that dignifies women, honors mutuality, and redefines power through service— we risk ceding the next chapter of American Christianity to ideologies that thrive on division and fear. That is not the Gospel.
If revival is indeed stirring in this generation, then the church must ask what kind of revival it will be. Women have always carried the faith— organizing, praying, teaching, and leading even when barred from the pulpit. Their spiritual vitality has sustained Christianity for centuries, often without recognition. The church’s concern for young men, then, must not come at the expense of women’s thriving. Rather, it must emerge from the conviction that all people, women and men alike, deserve to know the true Gospel: one that liberates rather than dominates. Because the truth is, any revival not based within the biblical affirmation of women’s dignity and leadership in the church is not a spiritual revival at all. It’s a regression.
The United Methodist Church has long affirmed the gifts and callings of women to preach, teach, and lead, not as a cultural accommodation, but as a biblical conviction. That same conviction calls us to speak truth when Christianity itself is used as a weapon. Our baptismal vows bind us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves— even when those forms hide behind crosses and pulpits. That conviction now demands an equally courageous response to the misuse of scripture that fuels misogyny and violence. We have an obligation to offer something truer and more life-giving.
So, we must rise to the occasion— to meet these young men where they are, listen to their longing, and invite them into a faith that celebrates both strength and tenderness. When we do that, we may yet see an actual revival that reflects the heart of the Gospel itself. A revival where women and men together lead boldly, love humbly, and bear witness to a church made whole by the Spirit of God.
To reach this generation of young men is not to center them above women, but to free them from the lies that dehumanize everyone. The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls all people to ministry, to service, and to the dismantling of systems that harm the body of Christ. If we take that call seriously, perhaps this revival will not belong to the loudest voices online, but to the faithful ones who still believe that liberation, not domination, is the truest sign of the Spirit at work.
Hitchman-Craig is the director of leadership development & community engagement for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women.