Catholic Church saw 38% increase in young adults attending Easter services

The US Catholic Church saw a considerable rise in young adults attending Mass over Easter weekend, with the most prominent increase among men in their twenties. Religious analysts believe the spike is due to younger generations preferring a conservative traditional family in response to "woke" culture.

According to the Washington Times, adult converts attending Easter celebrations increased by 38 percent this year, with the Los Angeles Archdiocese experiencing the greatest rise at 139 percent. Chicago experienced a 52 percent increase, while New York climbed by 36 percent. The data was taken from the Catholic prayer app, Hallow, which analyzed 140 of the nation's 175 archdioceses.

Several factors have contributed to young adults' shift toward the Catholic Church, including the rejection of secular liberalism and left-wing woke culture, the desire for conservative traditional family values, and the inspiration of Pope Leo XVI, the first American-born Pope, as well as Vice President JD Vance, a powerful Catholic convert.

Brad Wilcox, a professor at the University of Virginia who studies marriage trends, told the paper: "Young men who felt rejected during COVID and the 'great awokening' of our culture in the last decade have turned to the right. One of the few institutions welcoming them with open arms is the Catholic Church."

Catholic Church insiders, such as Michael New, a social researcher at the Catholic University of America, explained that Catholic groups for young adults "are one of the few places where many young people can question socially liberal positions without fear of being marginalized or stigmatized."

He added, "I think this reflects a pushback against secular liberalism, feminism, and transgender stuff."

The spike isn't just occurring in the United States; it has gone global. Catholic officials in France, Spain, Sweden, and Norway reported similar increases for Easter weekend, according to the paper.

The number of individuals who declared "no religious affiliation" has steadily declined over the past three years, according to a Harvard University study, with 36.2 percent declaring no affiliation in 2022 to 31.8 percent in 2025.