Debunking the Bad Rap Against Evangelical Men

Finding #1: Devoted evangelical men make the best husbands  

Our culture has piled on men for years now – and critics aim their ire in special doses toward evangelical men. If the groupthink is to be believed, evangelical men are domineering, patriarchal, and know just enough of the bible to be harsh with it.  

Now, before going further, we must make the same crucial distinction Pearcey does. There is a significant difference between devout evangelicals and nominal (literally “in name only”) evangelicals. These encouraging stats apply to evangelical men who attend church at least three times a month (as opposed to nominal evangelicals who attend sporadically if at all).  

 Citing various studies, Pearcey notes that churchgoing evangelical men: 

• Have the lowest rate of domestic violence of any group in America (p.14) 
• Are 35% less likely to divorce than secular men (p.37) 
• Are four times as likely to report being sexually satisfied as men in relationships with no religious activity (p.44) 

Isn’t that cool? And you’ll see even more encouraging stats in a moment.  

I love that her data lines up with positive findings from my interviews and surveys of more than 20,000 men and boys over the last twenty years. Despite the implication of the “toxic masculinity” label, most men want to be good husbands and be good dads – and they are!  

Of course, sadly, that is not universal. There are men who abuse their masculinity in very harmful ways. There are men who don’t care to improve and grow. But statistically, the vast majority of men – especially churchgoing Christian men – want to use their strength to help, protect, and serve those they love, not abuse and overpower them.