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Young men are driving a growing surge in Catholicism among Gen Z, as they turn to faith as an answer to loneliness, cultural drift and a search for purpose.
A Harvard University study shows that Gen Zers who identified as Catholic rose by 6% between 2022 and 2023, a shift that Father Michael Tidd — headmaster of Delbarton School, a Benedictine Catholic school for young men in grades 7-12 in Morristown, New Jersey — says he has witnessed himself.
“We present our students with an experience of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We propose, we don’t impose, and they come to us, and that seems to be really resonant with them,” he shared with “Fox & Friends” on Thursday.
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“For the last several years, we have also had students be received into the church, either be baptized as Catholics for the first time or to receive all of their sacraments, because the experience that they have had here… of what it means particularly to be a man in our society, what it needs to be a believing man, a Catholic Christian man, really resonates with our students. And the larger things that you read about in our society about how… what it means to be man, is really a difficult question for a lot of young men to answer. I think our school and the Catholic Church more broadly and the Catholic faith more broadly provide a compelling answer to that.”
Father Tidd said he sees students responding to that question in a faith-based way “every day.”
Students at Delbarton come from a variety of backgrounds – some from practicing Catholic families, others from non-Catholic families – but all are presented with what it means to be a Catholic Christian both in the theology classroom and while doing service out in the world.
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Father Tidd described the school’s retreat experiences as a “real game-changer” for students as well as the “common worship” at mass and morning prayer that brings together all students.
The sense of community is an answer to disturbing findings like a recent Gallup Poll, which found that younger men in the U.S. were “among the loneliest in the West.”
More specifically, one in four men under the age of 35 reported feeling lonely the prior day, the data revealed.
In a video address last week to the faithful in his hometown of Chicago, Pope Leo XIV sent a message of encouragement to young Americans.
“So many people who suffer from different experiences of depression or sadness — they can discover that the love of God is truly healing, that it brings hope,” the newly elected pontiff said.
Father Tidd suggested that young men affected by loneliness take initiative and find others who share common experiences, dreams, ambitions and, together, work to find answers to questions about meaning and purpose.
“That’s one of the benefits of coming to a Catholic school, is that we have that structure that if a student wishes to take advantage of – particularly not just in class, but on athletic teams or extracurriculars – when you form those tight bonds, then you can begin to ask those deep questions,” he added.
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