WASHINGTON STAND—Newly released polling data has confirmed what many pastors and churchgoers have long suspected: Young men are bucking the cultural trend of declining religiosity and returning to the church in droves. A Gallup survey released Thursday revealed a remarkable surge in young men saying that religion is “very important” to them, with data from 2024-2025 showing 42%, a 14-point increase from 2022-2023. The poll found that the phenomenon happening among young men aged 18-29 is not happening among their female peers, only 29% of whom said that religion is “very important” to them (a figure that has stayed roughly the same since 2020). The upward trend in religiosity is also largely not occurring among other age groups, with the exception of men aged 30-49 (who saw a five-point increase over the same timespan) and men aged 50-64 (who saw a three-point increase). Notably, the numbers mark a clear reversal from the beginning of the millennium, when young women led young men in saying that religion was “very important” to them (52% vs. 43%). As reported by The New York Times, college students like Mason Gubser likely epitomize the changing attitudes of many young men in their approach to faith. Gubser told the Times that he had become dissatisfied with a life centered on constant phone scrolling. “All my entertainment is right here in front of me, but there’s no fulfillment from that,” he said. “I wanted something new and something traditional and something that felt holy.” Gubser, now 21, eventually found the Catholic center on the Texas A&M University campus, where he became Catholic two years ago and is now engaged to be married. “What I was really looking for, and still am, was purpose,” he remarked. “The church definitely provides that.” The surge in religion among young men is likely driving upward trends in different segments of Christianity, particularly Catholicism. Data acquired from 140 of the country’s 175 dioceses “saw a 38 percent increase in Easter converts across U.S. dioceses relative to last year.” In addition, Orthodox churches are also seeing increases in both attendance and membership, which reportedly is being driven by young men. Another sign of a potentially budding revival are sales of Bibles, which saw a 22% spike in sales in 2024 and are currently seeing an explosion in the sales of high-end versions. David Closson, who serves as director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, sees the new Gallup data as highly significant. “The new Gallup data is striking, particularly because it reverses a long-standing trend,” he told The Washington Stand. “For decades, young women have been more religious than young men, but that gap has now flipped. One factor appears to be political realignment. The report itself notes that much of the increase is concentrated among young Republican men, suggesting that broader ideological shifts are influencing religious engagement.” “At the same time,” Closson continued, “we should not ignore deeper cultural dynamics. For years, young men have been told that traditional expressions of masculinity are problematic or even harmful. In that context, it is not surprising that some are gravitating toward faith communities that offer a clearer sense of identity, purpose, and moral framework. For many young men, church provides structure, accountability, and a vision of ordered freedom, all of which can be especially compelling in a culture that often feels unmoored.” Clossen further noted that cultural factors are likely key to understanding the differences between the religious movement of young men and their female counterparts. “The divergence between young men and young women also raises important questions. While young men are showing renewed interest in the importance of religion, young women’s numbers have remained flat and, in some respects, are at historic lows,” he explained. “That suggests we are not simply seeing a general religious revival, but a more targeted shift that may reflect differences in how young men and women are responding to cultural pressures and expectations.” As for the church, Closson posited that the current moment “presents a significant opportunity. The data suggest that many young men are open to deeper conversations about meaning, truth, and faith. Churches should be ready to meet that moment with serious teaching, intentional discipleship, and a robust vision of biblical manhood that emphasizes responsibility, service, and spiritual leadership. At the same time, the church must not lose sight of the need to engage young women thoughtfully and faithfully, ensuring that the message of the gospel speaks clearly and compellingly to both men and women in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.” Joseph Backholm, who serves as senior fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at FRC, observed that the new Gallup data points toward an inevitable cultural yearning for the eternal. “I think young men are discovering that materialism doesn’t have the answers to the questions they’re asking,” he told TWS. “A life without rules or meaning creates chaos, inside of us and around us. Secularism has an obvious appeal because it offers the opportunity to do whatever you want, but it doesn’t work because everyone does what they want. What was supposed to make everyone happier actually makes everyone more miserable, and secularism can’t explain why. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that young people are turning to church in an effort to understand the world as it actually is.” “Young men also might be drawn to religion as a form of rebellion,” Backholm elaborated. “The Left has been waging a war on men for a while now, so it’s possible that young men are being drawn to religion as a way of rebelling against everything on the Left. If that’s true, that might be part of the reason young men are more religious than young women. Secularists like women better than men. As a result, women like secularism more.” Still, “It’s also true that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world and Jesus is drawing us to Himself,” he reflected. “We live in a war between truth and lies, but Jesus promised us that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. While we see evidence of the war all around us, we shouldn’t be surprised when we see the truth advancing in measurable ways. Over time, that’s the only possible outcome.” “Lies are eventually exposed as such,” Backholm concluded. “It often takes longer than we prefer, but lies do not endure because they cannot endure. The world was never going to just descend into universal secularism. We need to be confident that the truth is true, and right now, it seems young men are discovering this in a new way.” Originally published by The Washington Stand. The post Young Men Becoming Increasingly Religious, Polling Confirms appeared first on The Daily Signal.

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo that federal officials discovered tens of thousands of dead people and non-citizens on voting rolls. The Trump administration has sued multiple states for failing to turn over voter rolls to the Department of Justice, which is seeking to ensure compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and other federal laws aimed at protecting the right to vote. Dhillon told Bartiromo that, even in states trying to comply with the laws, issues concerning voting eligibility were still being identified. “States are not in compliance, even those ones who want to. So, for the ones that we’ve run so far—60 million records that we’ve run—we found at least 350,000 dead people currently on the voter rolls in those jurisdictions, and we’ve referred approximately 25,000 people with no citizenship records to [the Department of] Homeland Security to look at, you know, dig into that further and see the extent to which people voted,” Dhillon told Bartiromo. “I’m in touch with voting rights activists who are showing me information about people who have voted who are not American citizens. So the Left told us this never happens and it’s a myth, it definitely happened.” “Just recently, someone was indicted in Minnesota, of all places, for voting without being a citizen, and so I’ve sent a document request to them on that,” Dhillon continued. “Minnesota has a weird vouching law that allows citizens to vouch for each other’s citizenship. That’s crazy and inconsistent with the Help America Vote Act and we’re not going to rest until we complete this project.” Dhillon also noted that, despite the Civil Rights Act of 1960 giving the attorney general access to voting rolls to ensure compliance with the law, multiple states have refused to hand them over. “I’m suing 29 states and the District of Columbia for their refusal to give us the voter rolls to which the attorney general or the acting attorney general is entitled under the Civil Rights Act of 1960,” Dhillon told Bartiromo, later adding that, in several cases, federal judges ruled against the Trump administration. “We’re expediting the appeals in these cases,” Dhillon said. “There’ll be an appeal in the Ninth Circuit [Court of Appeals] and the Sixth Circuit soon.” President Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 requiring the federal government’s Election Assistance Commission to update its voter registration form to require proof of citizenship. Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The post DOJ’s Harmeet Dhillon Details Just How Much a ‘Mess’ Voter Rolls Are appeared first on The Daily Signal.

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Pope Leo XIV sought to correct a media narrative Saturday that he was criticizing President Donald Trump through various recent remarks advocating for peace. Traveling to Angola for the third leg of his apostolic visit to Africa—the third trip outside Italy since his pontificate began in May 2025—Leo greeted reporters aboard the papal plane and answered their questions. While the 10-day trip to the Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea was long-planned, the fall-out from an aggressive Sunday post by Trump to Truth Social lambasting the pope threatened to overshadow His Holiness’s mission to “primarily come to Africa as pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church, to be with, to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany all of the Catholics throughout Africa.” “There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when on the first day of the trip the president of the United States made some comments about me,” the American-born supreme pontiff said. “Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said.” Aboard a flight to Angola, Pope Leo XIV noted that “a certain narrative…has not been accurate,” during his trip to Africa. He referred to the coverage of President Trump's comments about him, adding that his words at the Peace Meeting in Cameron were “prepared two weeks ago.” He… pic.twitter.com/rXUQvz826R— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) April 18, 2026 “Just one little example: the talk that I gave at the prayer meeting for peace a couple of days ago was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting,” he continued. “And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all.” Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, later praised the pope hours after his comments. He previously acknowledged differences between the Administration’s priorities and methods and those of the Holy See, but expressed that continued dialogue and understanding would strengthen the relationship between the two powers. “I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict–and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen–the reality is often much more complicated,” he wrote in a Sunday evening X post. “Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day. The President–and the entire administration–work to apply those moral principles in a messy world. He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we’ll be in his.” I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict–and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen–the reality is often much more complicated. Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he… https://t.co/SxWCKyhDSj— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 18, 2026 The remarks by the Holy Father signify the latest attempt to move on from the perceived rift between the spiritual shepherd of the Catholic Church and the leader of the world’s most powerful country. The U.S.-led military operation ordered by Trump against the Iranian regime moved Pope Leo to continually call for peace. Echoing long-standing positions of the Holy See, the pope criticized armed conflicts throughout the world, favoring dialogue over the use of force to end, for example, the charged exchanges of both rhetoric and arms in the Middle East. President Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly declared his intention to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining nuclear weapons by any means necessary. The commander in chief has defended against criticism of the U.S. military’s execution of Operation Epic Fury by warning of the risks to global security and countless lives if Iran is able to make good on its threats against, chiefly, the U.S. and Israel. The pope’s clear preference for diplomacy was seemingly at odds with Trump’s perspective that Iran had not sufficiently embraced the repeated outreach of the United States, and that there was no other option left to neutralize the regime’s supposed imminent threat. “I have no disagreement with the fact, the pope can say what he wants and I want him to say what he wants. But I can disagree,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “I think that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they do, the whole world would be in jeopardy. The Middle East will be blown up and the whole world will be in jeopardy.” .@POTUS: "I want him to preach the Gospel, I’m all about the Gospel. But I also know you cannot let a certain country, which is a very mean-spirited country, have a nuclear weapon. If they did, they would use it… So the pope can disagree." pic.twitter.com/dW6b3HnQov— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 16, 2026 “We’re very close to making a deal. That’d be a great thing. The pope has to understand, Iran has killed more than 42,000 people over the last few months. Think of it. Protestors, without guns, without anything. They were totally unarmed protestors. The pope has to understand that this is the real world,” he continued. “It’s a nasty world. But as far as the pope and saying what he wants, he can do that. … And I’m sure the pope is a great guy. I haven’t met him. But I disagree with the pope.” A pretty amazing response from President Trump to this reporter question:REPORTER: Iran is going to execute four more protesters, including the first woman protester. What do you tell Iran?TRUMP: Tell that to the Pope. pic.twitter.com/K3jTlaMVX0— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) April 16, 2026 “I want him to preach the Gospel. I’m all about the Gospel, but I also know that you cannot let a certain country, which is a very mean-spirited country, have a nuclear weapon. If they did, they would use it, and I think they’d use it quickly, and they would kill many millions of people. So, you know, the pope can disagree with me on that, but certainly we’re allowed to have that. I’m all about the gospel. I’m about it as much as anybody can be, but I can’t allow, as president of the United States of America, I can’t allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. And here’s the story. They won’t have. They’ve already agreed not to have. That’s good news, and I think the pope will be very happy.” Seemingly in response to a March 29 comment by Leo that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” Trump blasted the pontiff on social media as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” At the Vatican, Pope Leo took time to address the conflict with Iran and admonish those who wage war, suggesting that “He (God) does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them…” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the comments. pic.twitter.com/2mM7j8to6m— EWTN News Nightly (@EWTNNewsNightly) March 30, 2026 “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country,” he continued. “And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” Leo responded Monday to Trump’s broadside, saying he had “no fear of the Trump administration,” and vowed to continue advocating for peace rather than distract from his ministry by debating the president. "I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel."Pope Leo XIV said that he will continue to speak out “loudly” against war, stressing that his role is to preach the Gospel, not to enter into political disputes.… pic.twitter.com/p1yIIn8fuR— EWTN News (@EWTNews) April 13, 2026 “The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone, and the message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” Leo told reporters. “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do. We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.” Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Pope Leo Dismisses Media Narrative of Rift With Trump appeared first on The Daily Signal.

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, April 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday his envoys would return to Pakistan for new talks with Iran, while threatening new attacks on Iran’s bridges and power plants unless it accepts his terms. Trump said the U.S. delegation would arrive on Monday evening, a timetable that leaves just a day for talks to make progress before a two-week ceasefire ends. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he posted on social media. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” However, there was no immediate confirmation from Iran that it would attend any new talks. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that there had been no decision taken to send a delegation while a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports was in place. A White House official said the U.S. delegation would be headed by Vice President JD Vance, who led the war’s first peace talks a week ago. Trump’s envoy Steve Kushner and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would also attend. Earlier, Trump had told ABC News and MS Now that Vance would not go. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, earlier said the two sides had made progress but were still far apart on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz. The vital shipping strait remained closed on Sunday, a day after Iran fired on two vessels that tried to cross. Iran, which has blocked off the strait to ships apart from its own since the United States and Israel attacked on February 28, had announced on Friday it would reopen it. But it reversed that decision on Saturday after Trump declined to lift a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. “Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!” Trump wrote in Sunday morning’s post. “That wasn’t nice, was it?” Strait of Hormuz Still Shut Trump’s renewed threat to hit Iran’s power plants and bridges fits a pattern of such warnings throughout the war, several of which preceded moves to de-escalate. He abruptly announced the ceasefire two weeks ago just hours after declaring that Iran’s “whole civilisation will die tonight”. Iran has said that if the United States attacks its civilian infrastructure it would hit power stations and desalination plants of Gulf Arab neighbours. Now in its eighth week, the war has created the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history, sending oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments. Two liquefied petroleum gas tankers were seen on ship-tracking websites moving eastbound towards the strait early on Sunday morning, but the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iran’s armed forces turned them back. Marine traffic data showed no other movements after midnight. Friday’s announcement that the strait would reopen caused the sharpest one-day drop in oil prices in years, while stock markets hit fresh all-time highs on the expectation that the disruption would soon end. But with the strait yet to reopen, markets could face new volatility when they reopen on Monday. Amrita Sen, founder of the Energy Aspects think tank, predicted oil prices would rise on Monday when traders returned to their desks having realised they might have been prematurely optimistic last week. “Events over the weekend with Iran firing on merchant vessels and shutting the strait again highlight just how precarious the situation is,” she said. Thousands of people have been killed by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and in an Israeli invasion of Lebanon conducted in parallel. Iran responded to attacks with missiles and drones against its Arab neighbours that host U.S. bases. Pakistani Capital Locks Down for Talks Two giant U.S. C-17 cargo planes landed at Pakistan’s Nur Khan air base on Sunday afternoon carrying security equipment and vehicles in preparation for the U.S. delegation’s arrival, two Pakistani security sources said. City authorities in the capital Islamabad halted public transport and heavy goods traffic through the city. Rolls of barbed wire were rolled out near the Serena Hotel where last week’s talks were held. The hotel told all guests on Sunday to leave. When U.S. and Iranian negotiators met last weekend in Islamabad, Washington proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity, while Iran suggested a halt of 3 to 5 years, according to people familiar with the proposals. A statement from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies. Apart from the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war set to expire early on Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon announced a separate ceasefire last week. (Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Susan Heavey, James Mackenzie and Peter Graff; Editing by Sergio Non, William Mallard, Alex Richardson and Tomasz Janowski) The post Trump Says US Delegation to Go to Pakistan for Iran Talks, Threatens New Strikes appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Planned Parenthood released its 2024-2025 annual report over the Easter weekend. Every year, the publication provides a glimpse into Abortion Inc.’s medical and financial data. It was a record-breaking year for abortions. Taxpayer funding was at an all-time high.  It’s been almost four years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade. You’ve probably seen the headlines about brick-and-mortar clinics closing or consolidating in recent years, but that is actually a long-term trend. Planned Parenthood operates nearly 600 clinics now, compared to 860 clinics 20 years ago. There are certainly challenges to Planned Parenthood’s business model, but that hasn’t stopped efforts to promote abortion in every state. Since Roe was struck down, Planned Parenthood has helped 171,000 women travel get abortions, spending $3.7 million last year to assist 12,200 clients. It’s worth noting that for all the Left’s talk about abortion as “reproductive care,” Planned Parenthood delivered zero babies in 2025 and performed 143 abortions for every adoption referral made last year.  In the medical data section, Planned Parenthood reported: 434,450 abortions, an all-time high, up from last year’s 402,230 abortions. 331,417 breast cancer screenings and Pap tests, down from 364,594 the previous year. 125,422 preventive care visits, down from last year’s 129,594. 3,038 adoption referrals, up from 2,148 the previous year. 2,268,991 contraceptive services, down from 2,223,680 the previous year. 2.09 million patients, slightly up from last year’s 2.08 million, but quite a drop-off from the 2.4 million reported five years ago. Today, dangerous abortion pills distributed through the mail make it possible for the abortion industry’s tentacles to reach everywhere—even states that have enacted strong pro-life protections. Planned Parenthood, for its part, is providing mail-order abortions in 24 states, a direct result of policy decisions made in previous administrations. Abortion pills have been available in the U.S. since 2000, but they weren’t always the go-to method. Things changed in 2016. President Barack Obama weakened safety protocols for abortion pills, including expanding the cutoff from seven to 10 weeks’ gestation and ending requirements for in-person post-abortion care. In 2021, President Joe Biden used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to allow abortion pills to be obtained online via telehealth and shipped through the mail. In the graph above you can see the corresponding rise in abortions in 2016 and 2021 thanks to those reckless policies. Planned Parenthood for its part reported a 31% increase in telehealth appointments in just one year. Abortion pills are a key reason. Planned Parenthood’s annual report shows it continues to also be a leader in the trans industrial complex, while burying its gender services in an “other” category. The organization’s public reporting first mentioned these offerings in 2015-2016. At the time, there were 8,153 procedures in that category. In the latest report, that number ballooned to 50,411, and Planned Parenthood now brags that it’s “the second-largest provider of hormone therapy” in the U.S. Different accounting mechanisms, or perhaps Planned Parenthood’s involvement administering COVID-19 vaccinations, may account for the dramatic spike in 2021. But there’s no way to know from the annual report, because Planned Parenthood has never provided a specific breakdown. Last summer, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Among other things, it defunded abortion providers like Planned Parenthood of their Medicaid reimbursements for one year (Medicaid makes up the bulk of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding). That defund provision kicked in July 2025. This year’s Planned Parenthood report covers the financial year ending June 30, 2025. We’ll have to wait for next year’s annual report to see how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act affected Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. But here’s what we know about Planned Parenthood’s finances right before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In the financial data section, Planned Parenthood reported: $2.496 billion in net assets, slightly down from $2.522 billion the previous year. $832 million in government funding, up from $792.2 million the previous year. More than $2 billion in total revenue, almost equal to the previous year. $728.2 million in private contributions and bequests, up from $684.1 million the previous year. If Congress pursues another budget reconciliation bill, it must apply the defund provision to the full 10-year timeframe that other provisions are subject to. Otherwise, Planned Parenthood will start receiving Medicaid reimbursements again on July 4, 2026. What a horrible way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. President Donald Trump, for his part, can reinstate the Protect Life Rule for Title X family planning funds. During his first term, this regulation enforced physical and financial separation of federal family planning grants from any recipient’s abortion activity. Rather than comply with the rule, Planned Parenthood walked away from $60 million in family planning grants. It appears the Department of Health and Human Services is on its way to restoring this commonsense requirement.  More than 400,000 boys and girls lost their life thanks to Planned Parenthood last year, with many of their mothers harmed in the process too. A pro-life Congress and presidential administration should support real women’s health care, not force the American people to subsidize the abortion industry and make 2026 another record-breaking year for Planned Parenthood. The post 434,450 Reasons to Defund Planned Parenthood appeared first on The Daily Signal.