Barna’s latest State of the Church findings point to a significant shift in American church life, reporting that men are attending church now more often than women. The gap is the widest Barna has recorded, with 43% of men reporting weekly attendance compared to 36% of women. Barna says the rise is being driven mostly by younger men.
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Scott Sullivan, discipleship catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, sees both opportunity and warning in the numbers.
‘Unique opportunity’
“The church has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the rise of male engagement, especially among young men,” he said. “There ought to be an urgency among pastors to disciple future husbands, fathers, and church leaders. The future belongs to those who want it most.”
The study also found that women, especially single mothers and older Boomer women, are pulling back from regular participation. Married dads are now the most likely parents to attend weekly.
Gen Z and Millennial adults are more engaged than before the pandemic, and young men show the strongest increase. Women have not returned at the same pace, and single mothers are the least likely of all parents to be in church each week. The report noted those patterns could “reshape the fabric of church life in the years to come.”
‘Interesting and disturbing’
Sullivan called the decline among women “interesting and disturbing,” especially because so many churches have long depended on women for consistency in worship, service, and prayer. “The decrease in attendance among single mothers and young women points to a cultural disconnect within our churches,” he said.
Barna suggests several possible reasons for the drop among women.
Among them are heavier workloads and caregiving responsibilities, church environments geared toward nuclear families, frustrations over limited leadership roles, and the cumulative effect of public leadership failures.
Sullivan said that last factor can’t be ignored. “Scandals and leadership failures are without a doubt impacting women’s trust and willingness to stay engaged,” he said. “We have to model servant leadership and humility that line up with Jesus’ teaching.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Henry Durand and originally published by The Christian Index.
