I should begin by saying that I am a Catholic. So is my momma. It is worth noting, though, that I did not want to be.
I was raised in a pan-Protestant home, a mix of Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Methodist traditions. I only began to take my faith seriously in my junior year of college. Under the guidance of several faithful men at Cru, formerly Campus Crusade, I dedicated my life entirely to serving Jesus Christ. Soon after, I chose to attend seminary, hoping to serve God and country as a military chaplain.
It was at a rigorous Protestant seminary that I first began considering Catholicism. Becoming Catholic would mean becoming unemployed. Naturally, like Martin Luther, I protested, but ultimately, could not resist the pull.
This is not an isolated experience. Several of my seminary classmates and friends from Cru made the same journey. Headlines from outlets as varied as Fox News and The New York Times have noted a surge in adult Catholic conversions, particularly among Gen Z men from Protestant backgrounds. What’s behind this momentum, and how can evangelicals help young men wrestle with Catholicism while maintaining their convictions?
Evangelicals Must Engage with Church History
Young men in my generation have been robbed of roots. We are taught to see ourselves as citizens of the world, which is another way of saying nowhere. We do not know where we came from or who we are. Gen Z men are looking for something with depth and continuity.
Seminary was my first real exposure to the idea that the church has a history. Before that, I imagined a direct line from the Book of Acts to Martin Luther, then to Billy Graham, and finally to me. In my studies, I encountered Christians who knew the apostles, Christians who witnessed the fall of Rome, and Christians who lived through the Middle Ages. Many of these early Christians sounded more like Catholics than evangelicals. That deeply troubled me.
If evangelicals want to retain young men seeking solid ground, they must engage seriously with church history and explain how one can draw a line from the Book of Acts to Augustine, Aquinas, and modern evangelicalism. Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and even non-evangelical Protestants such as Anglicans can connect those dots for themselves. Young men will prefer any answer to none at all. Ignatius of Antioch knew Peter and Paul and likely knew Jesus. If your church believes different things from Ignatius, you need to explain why.
Dr. Gavin Ortlund of Truth Unites is an excellent resource for evangelicals beginning to explore church history.
Evangelicals Need to Build a Thick Culture
Young evangelicals are not only disconnected from the past; they also struggle to make their faith present and tangible. Jesus became a man, not an idea. Catholicism centers on the sacramental life of the church. Communion is something you can touch and taste. The liturgical calendar shapes Christian life and marks the passage of time.
Evangelicals can benefit from recovering some of these practices. Studying sacred architecture and building beautiful churches can allow people to encounter faith in a concrete way. A greater emphasis on the ordinances, or sacraments, of Christian life can help make faith tangible. It may also be fruitful to collaborate with other churches in the area, creating a shared rhythm of worship and devotion that extends beyond a single congregation.
Evangelicals Must Understand Catholicism
If you live in the Bible Belt, you may have never met a Catholic. It is also likely that what you know about Catholics comes from non-Catholics. Gen Z, as digital natives, interact with Catholics directly.
If your son asked, “Why aren’t we Catholic?” how would you answer? “Because they do not read the Bible”? “Because they worship Mary”? “Because they think they can earn salvation”? Gen Z can easily check these claims online and may determine that they are inaccurate. Old soundbites do not hold up under scrutiny. Discovering that these claims are mistaken could undermine confidence in the answers they have been given.
Evangelicals need to know what Catholics actually believe, why they believe it, and where they disagree. It may come as a surprise that Catholics affirm the Bible as the inerrant Word of God and defend their beliefs using Scripture. They also point to early Christians who, they argue, read the Bible in ways more aligned with Catholic interpretation than with modern evangelicalism.
The growing interest in Catholicism among young men should be taken seriously. In many cases, it reflects a desire for historical rootedness, a more embodied faith, and a tradition that feels connected across time.
Evangelical churches are highly adaptive and are, therefore, well-positioned to respond to these desires. By engaging more deeply with church history, cultivating a richer and more tangible Christian life, and seeking to understand Catholicism on its own terms, they can offer thoughtful and compelling guidance to those asking difficult questions.
Elijah Newcomb is a graduate of Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He aspires to advance and defend religious liberty in public life.
