Young American men flock to Texas-based Russian Orthodox Church to 'increase their manliness'

A priest in Texas is seeing an increasing number of young men turning to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in search of tradition, structure, and a more traditional faith, according to a report from the BBC.

Father Moses McPherson, a former roofer turned Orthodox priest in Georgetown, Texas, spoke to the outlet about the number of young men joining his congregation, claiming that he has seen an massive increase in church attendance. 

In the last six months alone, McPherson claimed that he has prepared 75 converts for baptism at his Church of the Mother of God, a ROCOR parish outside Austin. He attributed the growth to disillusionment with mainstream Christianity and what he describes as the feminization of American worship, particularly seen in evangelical megachurches. “I don't want to go to services that feel like a Taylor Swift concert,” he told the BBC. "If you look at the language of the 'worship music', it's all emotion - that's not men."

Some of his videos on YouTube have gone viral for blending theology with weightlifting and a conservative cultural view. “A lot of people ask me: 'Father Moses, how can I increase my manliness to absurd levels?'” Father Moses said in one video clip. He is known for his rejection of behaviors—such as eating soup or using an iron—that he says are more feminine.

Converts interviewed in the report included software engineers and professionals who say they were once successful but spiritually "empty." Many homeschool their children and reject modern norms around gender and sexuality.

Another priest in the faith, Father John Whiteford, criticized public school curricula for its propaganda that includes "transgenderism, or the 57 genders of the month or whatever."

Elissa Bjeletich Davis, who belongs to a Greek Orthodox parish in Austin, told the BBC that some new ROCOR followers see the Church as “a military, rigid, disciplinary, masculine, authoritarian religion.”

While ROCOR remains a small community—with Orthodox Christians represent about one percent of the US population—it is attracting outsized attention for its vocal stance on social issues and for its appeal to men who feel alienated by progressive norms.

According to Pew Research Center data cited in the article, the percentage of men among US Orthodox Christians has climbed from 46 percent in 2007 to 64 percent today.