No, Young Men Are Not Returning to Church

Something surprising is happening to religious belief in America: It’s no longer trending downward. Are Americans becoming more religious? On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross sits down with the demographer and former pastor Ryan Burge to discuss the myths and realities of religious revival and debate whether the future belongs to ortho bros or Pagans. 01:32 - A new era of American religion 08:19 - The shifting gender balance in religion 13:38 - Class, education and social trust 18:48 - Tarot, astrology, and UFOs: Post-Christian spirituality 22:40 - The decline of the Seven Sisters 28:27 - Politics in the pews 40:29 - The religious and political America of 2050 (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please

You can listen to No, Young Men Are Not Returning to Church online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

No, Young Men Are Not Returning to Church is an episode from The Argument by New York Times Opinion.

This episode is 01:00:40 long.

This episode was published on Jan 22, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Argument when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.