Why MAGA’s Christian revival claim is a total fantasy

Donald Trump with Pastor Paula White at the National Faith Advisory Summit, in Powder Springs, Georgia, U.S., October 28, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

In 2026, right-wing media have been full of reporting on an alleged Christian fundamentalist revival among young Generation Z men — who, they claim, are going to evangelical churches in big numbers. Many of these reports also claim that Gen-Z men are searching for "tradwives" who reject feminism, wear old-fashioned attire (including prairie dresses) and are determined to be stay-at-home moms.

But Salon's Amanda Marcotte, in article published on May 4, argues that this "Christian revival" among Gen-Z men is a myth.

"Are young men rushing back to church in record numbers?" Marcotte writes. "To hear many in the media, especially conservative media, tell it, the answer is a big fat yes. According to these reports, there's not only a stampede back to the churches by the young, but it's being led by a surprising cohort: Gen-Z men…. 'Churches Are PACKED Again' was the title of Riley Gaines' April 3 podcast, which she hosts for Fox News. 'There is a real deep-set commitment,' she said, assuring her audience that statistics show 'young men are out-attending young women' and it's 'the widest gender gap in 25 years.' Except — they aren't."

Marcotte cites a Gallup poll from April, which, she notes, shows some increase in church attendance by young men but not to the degree that right-wing media are claiming.

"In 2024-2025, 42 percent of men between the ages of 18 to 29 said religion is 'very important' to them, which is up from 28 percent in 2022-2023," Marcotte explains, noting Gallup data. "The figure also dramatically surpassed young women, who held steady at 30 percent. But a deeper look shows that young men are not actually going to church more than young women. When it comes to self-reported rates of church attendance, the two are basically the same: 39 percent of young women and 40 percent of young men say they go to church once a month or more. Even then, we should be skeptical."

Marcotte adds that the "surge of self-proclaimed religiosity among young men likely has less to do with faith and more to do with politics — specifically, gender politics." Many Gen-Z men embracing the MAGA movement, according to Marcotte, are drawn to "bro" culture rather than motivated by hardcore religiosity.

"There is also plenty of crossover to the secular side, with these Christian influencers doing stints on shows like Joe Rogan's, which allows them to further normalize their rancid interpretation of scripture," the Salon journalist explains. "These men aren't preaching Jesus Christ's gospel of self-sacrifice and humility. Their appeal largely comes from putting a youthful spin on reactionary views about gender…. There's even a subset of Manosphere influencers who are doing this tap dance with Islam. Andrew Tate, a popular influencer is facing rape and trafficking charges in the United Kingdom and Romania, claims to have converted to Islam in 2022."

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