No, young men are actually not more religious—here’s what’s happening instead. #culturewars

Stories about young men returning to religion are everywhere right now. But when I saw a recent Gallup poll showing that 42% of young men say religion is “very important” to them, I knew something felt off. In this video, I break down why the so-called rise of religion among Gen Z men has less to do with faith and more to do with gender politics and the growing popularity of podcast bro culture. As Christianity becomes increasingly tied to masculinity and conservative identity, seemingly harmless religious language online often evolves into something far more extreme. My guest, Tia Levings, shares her firsthand experience inside tradwife and fundamentalist Christian culture and explains why this type of values-driven spirituality can quickly escalate into rhetoric centered on control, submission and limiting women’s rights. Levings is the author of the NYT bestselling book “A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy." Her latest book, “I Belong to Me,” is available now. Follow her on Substack: https://tialevings.substack.com. The Gallup Poll I reference and the limitations of its survey methods: https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/rise-young-men-religiosity-realigns-gender-gaps.aspx 00:00 Russell Brand’s Bible Era 00:35 Is There Really a Religious Revival Among Young Men? 01:10 Why the Media Thinks Young Men Are Returning to Faith 02:44 Podcast Bros, the Manosphere and Religion 08:09 How Muslim Influencers Adopted the Same Submission Playbook 09:52 How Religious Participation Shapes Politics 11:18 Tia Levings Talks About Escaping Fundamentalism and Religious Trauma 13:03 Why Traditional Gender Roles Appeal to Men 14:58 Christian Influencers and “Wifely Submission” 18:42 The Movement to Repeal Women’s Right to Vote 24:02 The Myth of the Proverbs 31 Woman 28:09 Encore song recommendation Subscribe here on YouTube for more Standing Room Only, airing weekly Thursdays at 5 PM ET on YouTube. 🥳 Standing Room Only started as a newsletter. Join the party and get it in your inbox 2x a week by clicking here: https://www.salon.com/newsletter 🤓 Read Amanda Marcotte's writing on Salon.com here: https://www.salon.com/writer/amanda_marcotte 👍 Follow Amanda on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandamarcotte.bsky.social ✌️ Support Salon’s mission—become a member: https://www.salon.com/premium?utm_source=youtube-sro&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=become-a-member-ytsro 🎵 Like our Encore segment? Follow the Standing Room Only Playlist on Spotify to hear the full songs and more recommendations from Amanda: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xGJv3dQ8BPbO2gMw53dvB This episode explores Gen Z men religion, young men conservative shift, religious revival, podcast bro culture, Christian nationalism, tradwife movement, masculinity crisis, religion and politics, online radicalization of young men, conservative masculinity influencers, traditional values, ex-fundie culture, exvangelical movement, gender roles, young men and religion, modern masculinity, right wing influencers, online political culture, evangelical culture, masculinity and religion, culture wars, Tia Levings