the Christian gender gap no one talks about (not clickbait) 🤯

Something weird is going on on YouTube... And today, I'm spilling the tea.

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Thank you to @JesComTV for allowing me to use the trailer of the Ignatius movie in my video!

Timestamps:
00:00 no one talks about this
00:45 current research
01:57 results
03:51 what determines the gender ratio
05:01 importance of tradition
06:53 is church not masculine enough?
11:26 lack of women in apologetics
12:51 conclusion

My review of "Why Men Hate Going to Church":
The book was interesting. However, as a woman it's difficult for me to say how helpful the suggestions in the book are. The book heavily relies on stereotypes. For example at some point the author writes: "Women are to worship as men are to sex." Hmmmm. I didn't like that. If you agree that church should be more masculine then the book is probably for you. But as I explain in my video, the topic of the Christian gender gap is more complex than that.

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Sources:

studies on male church attendance:

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[BiblicalBookworm]

Clarifications:
*Did I only ask Catholics?* No, I asked 30+ channels (also protestants) but William Lane Craig/his team was the only protestant who responded. In general, channels that I had been in contact with before this video were much more likely to respond. The channels I had been in contact with before this video were all run by Catholics so that's why there are so many Catholics in this video. (see also 4:13)
*Did I only ask channels run by men?* No, I also asked some women. They didn't respond to my e-mail.
*Could this be due to YouTube's audience in general?* No, see 1:37

[ALightToSeeBy]

As a man I want a church not a social club.

[RonRosser]

As a man I can tell you that if you want to understand why men feel that most churches cater to women you need only attend a church on mother’s day and father’s day. I am a protestant and it may be unique to us but I have consistently found that mother’s day servers are all about encouraging mothers. While father’s services are all about dead bet dads and how Christian men need to do better. This is coming from someone who has to movie a lot for my Job and has attended many different churches over the years.

[TheSirse]

I don't like attending church because it's 80 minutes of singing and 30 minutes of ministry. I don't like the whole concert vibe that so many churches have adopted as of late.

[ethanetn]

As a recent convert to christianity i will say the biggest problem in protestant churches is that it feels like either a kindergarden classroom or a campfire concert. Its all just extremely effeminate and infatilized given the subject matter.

[tiagobras]

I don't think it's particularly difficult to explain this tendency, let's see:

Psychological theories suggest that men are more attracted to systems of thought that offer clear, definitive answers or strong frameworks for meaning.
Theology and apologetics often provide structured, intellectual approaches to faith, requiring rational analysis, debate, and defense of religious doctrines.
These fields allow for a form of intellectual combat that appeal to male tendencies toward competitive reasoning and structured thought.

Traditional forms of religion, like the Traditional Latin Mass in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or Islamic rituals, often emphasize a clear moral framework, authority, and continuity with the past. These elements can be appealing to men who seek a sense of order, structure, and stability in an otherwise changing world. These religions often connect their practices with an ancient lineage, which may resonate with those looking for a deeper or more “authentic” experience of faith.

Apologetics often involve a defense of religious beliefs against criticism or doubt, which appeals to a mode of engagement that is more combative and debate-oriented. In some cultures, this style of engagement is more closely associated with traditional masculine ideals. Men may gravitate toward apologetics because it provides a way to defend their worldview in a rational, intellectual, or even adversarial manner, which might be linked to traditional notions of masculinity—such as being protectors, providers, or leaders in their communities.

The resurgence of "Muscular Christianity" or other movements that frame traditional masculinity in religious terms, appeal to men by promoting virtues like discipline, strength, leadership, and moral fortitude, all within a framework of traditional religious practice.
This may also explain why men are particularly attracted to these more conservative or traditional expressions of faith, where they find an idealized vision of male leadership.

In summary, what makes men more inclined to follow more traditional forms of Religiosity?
The good old mantra of Order over Chaos.

[elgindor]

Men don’t want emotional rock concerts with dr Phil services. Instead of it being about truth it’s about emotions.

[CarlosOteroC]

There is something very deep in man that call us to prepare for warfare, spiritual warfare included. Apologetics it's a call to arms of sorts, hence the appeal for men.

[dulcamarabuffo]

As an Orthodox raised Christian, who studied theology for five years, I can speak empirically from what I have seen from my parish in Germany. We have droves of converts who have come into the parish over the last ten years and all of them have been men, save for the wives of a few of them. Two of them were formerly Lutheran pastors. All of them have a firm grasp of theology and wrestled with their faith. I would wager that in more emotionally driven denominations, like the Pentecostalism and Adventists the reverse is true. It is the mainline Churches that have been swamped by modern sociology, and have turned into a type of pantheism that have lost their theological rigor and hence lost the men. Where men go the women will and do by nature follow. The reverse does not hold. Women have an important role in patriarchal societies. The reverse is not the case.

[chomnansaedan]

I'd wager if a "Christian" youtube channel that featured a female pastor talking about LGBT and female leadership, it would be mostly women watching.

[christiangadfly]

My channel viewership is 99% men. Apparently women don't want to see a court case where David Wood is calling Mike Winger a nerd.

[gngrbllsthwall]

Dudes like contemplating/debating philosophy/theology, women like participating in organized social groups/events

[travissharon]

The real question should be, "why are younger women, completely missing from the picture?"

[hyperteleXii]

Men are looking for Jehovah, but most churches have abandoned Him in favor of feminism.

[kquaye]

Modern day Christianity has been feminized. Pastors dont talk about the harder elements of the faith. They love to talk about the Love of God and the grace of God but topics like the wrath of God, judgement, and Hell are not mentioned. I believe this is a part of the reason why there is such a gender discrepancy. Online channels can have the diverse content that men are looking for. (I wrote this before watching the whole video.)

[DavidScarpelli]

Psychological research shows that when choosing careers, the majority of men are interested in things, and the majority of women are interested in people. I believe that psychological disposition goes beyond career choice. Men are generally more interested in the nuts and bolts of religious belief, and women are generally more interested in relationships in community. Thus the theology and church attendance variation.

Also, men tend to score higher in disagreeability, hence the gravitation towards the confrontational nature of apologetics, whereas women score higher in agreeability, thus being represented more in acts of service.

[misseli]

Whoa, I didn't realize I was a bit of an outlier in all this! I wonder if this gender gap is the reason why some study bibles targeted towards women seem lackluster when it comes to theology and biblical history.

I don't know how I didn't notice that most of the youtube channels I subscribed to covering apologetics, theology, and biblical history, are run by men. I'm not bothered by this, and I believe that's simply a sign that men simply gravitate more towards those fields, and like you I don't think we need to artificially increase the number of women in those fields.

That said, I'm happy to come across a fellow female bible bookworm 😊

[michaelg]

You asked in a comment about female Apologetics channels. One I know and watch is Melissa Dougherty. She often deals with exposing cults and how to witness to members as a Christian. God bless!

[VincentPaulS]

The church has become hyper-feminized, it’s all about singing & emotional praise-gasm. It’s all surface level sentimentalism rather than the deep intellectual exploration of meaning that I’m interested in. I haven’t attended church in years but I attend multiple mens bible studies virtually.

[joshua]

AS a man over 30 with no wife or children there is no place for me at church. I don't fit the mold.