Many young men want control and power. If they embrace religion and force it on others, they feel control and power.
Yeah, you can’t say that a “religious resurgence” is happening by only counting one religion. Are there more Buddhists in the West? More Muslims? More Hindus? More Pastafarians?
Because I think Axios is missing, intentionally or not, the bigger reason: the religious right tells men they should be in control. Young men who feel like they aren’t are receptive to that messaging.
Authoritarianism and religion go hand in hand. Both are rising together in the form of Christian nationalism.
Young men are feeling disenfranchised and are being drawn into a structure that they believe empowers them.
Could be worse… could be the military…
Oh, wait…
“The Defense Department’s armed services branches recruited 12.5% more people in fiscal year 2024 than in the year prior”
“As of last week, the Army had enlisted 51,837 recruits, or 85% of its 61,000 target for fiscal 2025, according service data provided to Military.com. A significant portion of that total – roughly 14,000 – comes from the service’s delayed-entry program, or DEP, which is composed of recruits who signed up last year but are only now shipping out to basic training.”
The army is a job. That could be motivation enough without him being some gun-clutching bully.
There really isn’t any hope for the future, is there
