Why are young men turning to Christianity and Conservatism? COVID.
It’s not hard to figure out why young men are turning to Christianity and conservatism when this was their high school or college experience:
Lockdowns arbitrarily shut down businesses, destroying livelihoods while favoring large corporations.
Trillions in new spending fueled inflation and left the next generation burdened with debt.
Schools were closed by decree, forcing ineffective remote learning and harming children’s development.
Teens boys critical years of in-person education, leaving many behind socially and academically. (Girls too, but data shows a steeper impact in boys)
The constantly shifting rules revealed a political expediency rather than scientific consistency.
Stay-at-home orders stripped individuals of the right to assess and manage their own risk.
Watched friends and families celebrate the death of vaccine deniers.
“Essential” vs. “non-essential” designations devalued entire industries and workers overnight.
Mask mandates enforced uniform compliance regardless of personal choice or health context.
Vaccine mandates tied employment, travel, and daily life to private medical decisions.
Riots were often excused or downplayed by leaders, while ordinary people were fined or arrested for minor infractions, such as attending church or opening a barbershop.
Watching cities burn while being told their own gatherings were “unsafe” taught young people that rules were applied selectively and politics mattered more than fairness.
Emergency powers allowed executives to rule unchecked with little legislative oversight.
Governments pressured social media platforms to censor dissent and police debate.
Labeling alternate viewpoints as “misinformation” stifled open inquiry and scientific humility.
Fear was weaponized culturally, sewing distrust at best, and at worst, turning neighbors into informants and scolds.
People were shamed and ostracized for not complying perfectly with mandates.
Sports and extracurricular activities were canceled, depriving boys of structure, discipline, and male mentorship.
Gyms and recreational outlets were closed, fueling sedentary habits and mental health struggles.
Dating and social life shut down, leaving young men isolated during formative years.
Video games and pornography filled the gap, deepening loneliness and addictive behaviors.
Milestones like graduations, first jobs, and rites of passage were erased or delayed, stunting maturity.
Many boys watched their parents lose businesses or jobs, teaching them that their future was precarious.
The message drilled into young men was that their ambitions, energy, and risk-taking were “non-essential.”
Social media platforms cracked down on memes and jokes, stripping away the humor that boys used to cope.
Their favorite YouTubers and podcasters were demonetized, deplatformed, or banned for questioning the narrative.
Online spaces that once felt free have become policed speech zones, teaching young men that even laughter can get punished.
Blind deference to “experts” replaced individual judgment and common sense.
Citizens were divided into moral tribes of “compliant” vs. “selfish” based on vaccination status.
Families and friendships were fractured over differing COVID-19 responses and beliefs.
Surveillance tools, such as QR codes and tracking apps, have become normalized in everyday life.
Panic justified coercion, leaving behind division, distrust, and dependency.
So yeah. Not a total mystery. There’s a tradeoff for every public policy choice, and nothing exists in a vacuum.
At speeches on college campuses in 2016/2017, I started seeing the shift towards Christianity in students compared to my generation, especially towards Catholicism which has a lot of structure and order.
Christianity offered stability when government rules kept shifting week to week.
Christianity gave purpose when sports, school, and work were stripped away.
Christianity provided a sense of community when friendships and social life collapsed into isolation.
Christianity exemplified courage and responsibility when society at the time encouraged them to remain passive and compliant.
Christianity preached hope when the only message on the news was fear and death counts.
The free speech wars on campuses drove many people to online media, and every time a host was kicked off a platform, it increased their popularity.
So, when COVID hit the country, the choices made confirmed what conflict entrepreneurs had told them.
But now the optimism of a new world has worn off, and a lot of those guys are realizing that there isn’t a political solution. They’re looking for something else.