Crossroads Podcast: Young Men Are Becoming Orthodox, But This Story Is Complex

At the start of her classic 1997 book “Facing East,” my friend Frederica Mathewes-Green described a pattern that has shaped the journey of thousands of Orthodox converts.

Men seek the beauty and strength found in Orthodox Christianity and many are driven to convert — no matter what. The women in their lives? They may, noted Mathewes-Green, feel like they’re in the “passenger seat” of that car.

In his 1999 book “The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity,” the Catholic writer Leon Podles reported that most churches are full of women — except in Eastern Christianity — where men are often a majority. His blunt verdict: “There is something about Christianity, especially Western Christianity, that drives a wedge between the church and men who want to be masculine.”

This trend is “old news” — except that journalists are noticing the flocks of young men who began converting to Orthodoxy during the COVID-tide crisis. Thus, this week’s “Crossroads” podcast explored a host of issues linked to a New York Post feature: “Young men leaving traditional churches for ‘masculine’ Orthodox Christianity in droves.”

Yes, that use of the word “traditional” is strange, since it’s hard to find a more “traditional” form of faith than ancient Orthodox Christianity. Also, the Post story should have noted that lots of young men are joining other conservative branches of Christianity, including small-o “orthodox” forms of Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Catholicism (yes, including Latin Mass parishes).

What’s going on? Truth be told, these stories are connected to several newsworthy trends. Hold that thought.

A year ago, National Public Radio was sure that this phenomenon was linked to some dangerous stuff, including the rejection of pluralism in American life (and perhaps some yearning for Mother Russia). That showed up in a “Crossroads” podcast feature with this headline: “Eastern Orthodox converts, Russian spies, the FBI and the Bible Belt (#horrors).”

After visiting one small regional gathering, the NPR feature proclaimed:

Many of the conference attendees and speakers call themselves traditionalists, advocating for young marriages, home schooling, and trade schools over universities. Many also believe monarchy is the best form of government but begrudgingly accept liberal democracy. They’re unhappy with both political parties, but for most, Donald Trump is the favored option for president.

Ah, but there are also scary things going on in some conservative Protestant congregations, as the New York Times reported in a September feature that led to this “Crossroads” episode: “Young men are flocking into pews — But the New York Times says these marriage-hungry guys are joining ‘bad’ churches.”

The Gray Lady noted that these young men “place a higher value on traditional family life. Childless young men are likelier than childless young women to say they want to become parents someday, by a margin of 12 percentage points, according to a survey last year by Pew.” One pastor said these men are “looking for leadership, they’re looking for clarity, they’re looking for meaning.”

Like I said, scary stuff.

In that podcast, I argued that these trends are related to two Big Ideas that journalists need to explore:

(1) Churches that are in rapid decline contain a high percentage of older women and a much lower percentage of older men. Also, there is a shortage of young adults, period, and children. This is consistent with the older trend mentioned in the Times piece — that women have traditionally been more “religious” than men. …

(2) Churches that are growing, these days, contain a high percentage of young male converts, as well as converts that arrive in pairs — young women and men who are married or engaged. Yes, it is common to find fewer young, single women. This leads to a question that I asked in the podcast: Young men are, obviously, inviting their friends to church. Young women? Not so much. Why is that?

Ultimately, the rising membership numbers are important, but reporters will find Orthodox insiders (click here, for example) who know that many parishes are fading and even dying, while others are growing and new missions are opening in parts of the United States.

Why the growth in some sanctuaries, but not others?

There are complex realities to explore. I have also stressed that journalists — in the years ahead — will need to ask how many of these converts stay the course. Also, how many will get married, raise Orthodox families and, perhaps, even become clergy in Orthodox jurisdictions that urgently need priests for all of those growing churches and new missions.

While the New York Post story has holes, it does tell the stories of some young men who are part of this drama — opening with Ben Christenson, a young former Anglican in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Here is some background:

… Christenson began exploring other denominations in college and landed on perhaps the most traditional of all: Orthodox Christianity. In 2022, at the age of 25, he converted.

“It seems to me like the mainline denominations are hemorrhaging people,” he said. “If you still are serious about being a Christian now that there isn’t really as much social status tied up in it, and you want something that has some heft to it, there’s more of an awareness of Orthodoxy than there used to be.”

Christenson, who works as a fundraiser for nonprofits, attends Saint Mary’s Orthodox Church in Falls Church, Virginia. Conversion means that he now must frequently attend confession, recite prescribed prayers, and endure extreme fasting, sometimes over 40-day stretches. Weekly services are also highly ritualized and regimented, and can last up to two hours. …

A survey of Orthodox churches around the country found that parishes saw a 78% increase in converts in 2022, compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019. And while historically men and women converted in equal numbers, vastly more men have joined the church since 2020.

Actually, the young men I have met during many post-Divine Liturgy lunches (meals are common, since the Orthodox fast before the Eucharist) would say that regular trips to confession are a plus, since many of them have taken hard knocks in an increasingly post-Christian culture. Many want support and guidance. After reading Jordan Peterson, young men often move on to the Early Church Fathers.

Also, converts tend to welcome the intense poetry and ancient hymns found in Orthodox worship. And those rites that the Post said can “last up to two hours”? That’s a normal service. Quite a few Orthodox rites — especially during Holy Week — last between two and five hours. It helps when newcomers welcome that challenge.

Yes, there is a story here that transcends politics, either global or national. However, journalists need to grasp that this story is larger than several years of glowing statistics in thriving Orthodox congregations, or similar flocks in other traditions. Journalists should take their time, talk to candid leaders, and dig deeper.

Enjoy the podcast and, please, share it with others.