This is a puzzling phenomenon, that more Gen Z (aged 28 years and under) men are identifying as Christian compared to Gen Z women. Indeed, the Australian Community Survey, by NCLS Research, found that 39 per cent of men in Gen Z identified as Christian, compared to 28 per cent of women of the same age group. On the question of whether Christianity is good for society: about one third of Gen Z men (37 per cent) either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement, with 17 per cent of Gen Z women, either agreeing or strongly agreeing.
Their ABC quotes one female academic as saying, that the statistics show Gen Z women are rejecting the church: "I believe what they're saying is, 'you have had power, you have power, you have abused power, and we reject that." That seems to me to be just a feminist assertion, since if there was some sort of raging patriarchy at work in the Christian churches, we would expect not just a high rejection from Gen Z women, but in the other generations as well, given that feminism and women's lib is the ruling ideology of the day. But across all age groups, 60 per cent of churchgoers are women and 40 per cent are men.
It is most likely something to do with Gen Z women as a group, and my hypothesis relates to the higher level of materialism that has been adopted by Gen Z, which is inconsistent with practical Christianity. Further research is needed.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-06/gen-z-religion/104690496
"More Gen Z men are identifying as Christian than their female peers for the first time since research began nearly 30 years ago, according to Australian data shared with triple j hack.
The Australian Community Survey, operated by NCLS Research, found that 39 per cent of men in Gen Z (aged 28 and under) identified as Christian, compared to 28 per cent of women of the same age group.
"It's really interesting to see this result, because it's the first time that we've seen males come up as more religious than females," head of NCLS research and adjunct associate professor at Charles Sturt University, Dr Ruth Powell, told triple j hack.
Dr Powell has been researching Australians' attitudes to spirituality and religion for more than three decades.
Despite seeing higher numbers of personal identification with religion, young women still identify as "spiritual" at a rate higher than their male peers, and church attendance is roughly the same between the genders.
Overall, across all age groups, 60 per cent of churchgoers are women and 40 per cent are men.
But the gap between the genders is widest on the question of whether Christianity is good for society: around one third of Gen Z men (37 per cent) either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement, compared to just 17 per cent of Gen Z women.
"Gen Z women are more likely to count the cost of being part of a religious organisation than a Gen Z male, whereas a Gen Z male is more likely to see benefits in organisational alignment or loyalty," Dr Powell said.
"That's about belonging and worth and identity."
Conversely, Dr Powell said many young women were questioning what established religions stood for.
"I believe what they're saying is, 'you have had power, you have power, you have abused power, and we reject that'," she said.
According to the 2021 census, just under 44 per cent of the Australian population identify as Christian. That figure is down sharply since 2011, when it was around 61 per cent.
'I felt so empty'
Twenty-one-year-old engineering student Evan Forrest didn't grow up in a religious household, but had a spiritual awakening when he visited India earlier this year.
"Going to places like the Golden Temple and the Taj Mahal really opened my eyes on the power of religion, and it started to make me think, 'OK, if this is going on here, what's going on back in Perth?'," Evan told triple j hack.
At the time, Evan felt like he was doing all the right things to make himself happy.
"I've got the girlfriend, I've got the car, I've got the mates on the weekend … I got money in the account, no stress. My brothers love me. Everything's perfect," he said.
"But for some reason, I just felt so empty."
A colleague had invited him to attend her church and Evan decided to give it a go.
"Anything I feel like I know about religion or Jesus or God or church or anything like that, I just wanted to leave it at the door and start afresh."
Evan said attending church had helped him find meaning and a higher purpose in his life.
"Monday to Saturday, anything can happen. The world is crazy … And for me, church is that one thing in the week that is 100 per cent guaranteed to be right."
Nineteen-year-old criminology student Jessie Wagas started the Catholic Faith Society of Adelaide earlier this year. He said men outnumber women in the university-based group.
"It really looks at people who have just left school and are looking for a direction in life. So, providing that structure in a way shows that they still have a purpose in some sort of traditional masculine role," Jessie said.
He said young men often found those role models in Catholic leadership.
"Obviously the Catholic faith and church structure is mainly male-oriented for leadership and governance," he said.
"Women's representation within the church is lacking, so that now women don't know if the church is really their place anymore," he said."