Students need to encounter Christian piety and practice that is rigorous in cruciformity, but rooted in the imputed righteousness from Christ by faith alone. We must counter the “Be a man” secular virtue ethic with Reformed sanctification. Call disciples to “leave their nets” and follow Jesus with mortification of sin and calls to holiness, but rooted in the assurance of salvation by faith in Christ. 

“I’m looking into the Catholic Church.” 

“What do you know about Orthodoxy?”

As a campus pastor, I have heard these sentences dozens of times from Gen Z students. In each situation, the student grew up in either big-box evangelical or poorly catechized Reformed churches. Despite my best attempts, to date, I have dissuaded only one student from converting to Orthodoxy or crossing the Tiber.

Why are students drawn to Rome or Constantinople? Of course, the answer is slightly different for every student. But, generally speaking, my students are attracted to the (alleged) monolith, both in culture and history, of the Catholic church in contrast with the fragmentation of American Protestantism. They like the history, structure, aesthetics, and “vibe” of Catholic mass or Orthodox Divine Hours. They are attracted to the robust sacramentalism of transubstantiation, against evangelical memorialism or even anti-sacramentalism. They find the idea of “communing on Christ” to be beautiful. 

Adjacent to these factors is the aesthetic appeal. Stained glass windows, iconography, incense, processional mass, chanting — these elements are nothing like their strip mall evangelical churches with coffee bars, generic art, highly produced worship songs written after 2015, and therapeutic-leaning, barely-expository messages. 

One student told me, “It’s real. What they are doing is the stuff that matters, and the smoke machines at other churches just don’t compare.” 

Compared to their evangelical upbringings, the Roman church feels grounded, old, authoritative, and stable in ways that a seeker-friendly, non-denominational church cannot. Beyond the theological, Roman Catholicism meshes well with the post-2016 rightward “vibe shift” happening especially among men, along with the very real trends toward revival and renewed interest in spirituality among Gen Z. 

Rome leans hard into practical “do’s and don’ts” of life, a baptized version of Jordan Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life.” The BBC and others report that men are attracted to the “masculine” ethos of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Social media memes extol the honor of the Crusades, “TradLife,” and “red-pilled,” or “based” Christianity in Rome. Included in this masculine edge are all the “daily habits” of the liturgies, catechisms, and Confessions. 

Shopping for a New Experience

As a Presbyterian minister, I am both fascinated and alarmed by this trend in the students I care for. In doctrine and practice, Catholicism and Orthodoxy have significant errors. While I welcome renewed interest in faith and history, I take my ordination vow seriously that the Westminster Confession and Catechisms represent the most accurate distillation of our “faith once delivered to the saints.” 

How do we encourage the good in this new fervor, without condoning moves to traditions that are unbiblical and deviate from historical faith? When talking with these students, I lead with, “Though we share many foundational truths with them, there are significant theological and historical problems with the Roman Catholic Church.” 

From there, I address some of the larger concerns, including justification by faith alone, Real Presence, the authority of Scripture, Mariology, and the adoration of the saints. Every time, students listen, but I can tell they remain unconvinced. For months I have wondered why, and in polling my cadre of RUF campus ministers, it seems that we are all seeing the same phenomenon. 

Every student’s reasons are unique, and “cultural shifts” can be a catch-all phrase for blogs, podcasts, and think pieces that make the Roman or Eastern Orthodox churches seem attractive.

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