Crossed themselves: Young Americans are increasingly converting to Orthodoxy
The BBC has published an article according to which the number of people wishing to join the "Russian church" has increased in the United States. For example, the community of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) has tripled in the last year and a half. Mostly men aged 20-30 become parishioners. Izvestia has found out the reasons for the popularity of Russian Orthodoxy in the United States.
The number of Orthodox Christians in the USA is increasing
With Trump's arrival, the battle for believers in the United States is gaining momentum: representatives of all religious denominations attended his inauguration. Interestingly, Orthodoxy has also been gaining popularity in the United States lately. According to a BBC analysis, the community of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR) has tripled in the last year and a half, with young Americans moving here from other faiths.
The inauguration ceremony of US President Donald Trump
For example, Father Moses McPherson, who was raised a Protestant, changed his religion and became a priest of ROCOR in Georgetown, Texas. He explained his action as follows: "When my wife and I converted to Orthodoxy 20 years ago, we called it our most intimate secret, because people simply did not know what it was."
Today, Orthodoxy in America is gaining popularity, and most of the parishioners are men in their 20s and 30s, "who are uncomfortable with life in modern America."
However, in general statistics, the number of Orthodox Christians in the United States remains small. Father Moses McPherson clarifies that in six months he has prepared 75 people for baptism.
According to the Pew Research Center, only 1% of the 335 million U.S. adults identify themselves as Orthodox Christians.
Information about the growing number of parishioners is also confirmed by Ruslan Kalinchuk, an Orthodox missionary and assistant to the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa for monasticism. According to him, there were about 650-750 thousand Orthodox Christians in the United States in 2020.
Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, USA
— Given the dynamics, many experts and sociologists in the United States write that the number of Orthodox Christians has doubled in recent years. It can be assumed that there are about 1.3–1.5 million people there now," the expert says.
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2007, the number of men among parishioners in Orthodox churches was 46%, but in 2023-2024 it increased to 61%.
At the same time, 19% live in the Midwest, 20% in the northeast, 31% in the south and 21% in the west. The percentage also differs depending on the age of the respondents.
24% of those aged 18-29 consider themselves Orthodox, 35% of those aged 30-49, 23% of Americans aged 50-65 were Orthodox, and 17% of those in the oldest age group.
Why do Americans convert to Orthodoxy
One of the reasons for the popularity of Orthodoxy was the conservatism of this denomination. As Father Moses explained to the BBC, Orthodoxy is "not masculine," but "just a normal" denomination, while "in the West everything has become very feminine."
"I don't want to go to worship services that resemble a Taylor Swift concert. If you look at the language of "liturgical music," you'll see that it's full of emotions — it's not for men," he says.
According to Ruslan Kalinchuk, the reason for the increase in the number of Orthodox men in the United States is the decline of traditional faiths. According to the expert, Protestantism and Catholicism in the United States are increasingly deepening into the LGBT* agenda (the movement is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). In addition, he points out that currently the most discriminated category of the population in the United States are precisely white men. Due to the policy of emancipation and feminization of society, men are beginning to look for a religion that would allow them to remain men, heads of families.
— Although there are many Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States, young Americans are increasingly choosing Russian Orthodoxy. The largest Christian community in the United States belongs to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but its representatives also often engage in eco—activism and other activities that alienate conservative-minded parishioners, the expert notes.
He also draws attention to the fact that when coming to church, no one wants to listen to a sermon about migrants or other political agenda. Because of this, men in the United States began to look for more traditional faiths and more focused on traditional family roles.
As Alexander Stenko, a political scientist and religious scholar, told Izvestia, the reasons for this trend should be sought in the plane of general socio-political sentiments in the United States.
— Many American men who convert to Orthodoxy do so not in search of simple answers, but rather on the contrary — they are attracted by the complexity and depth of Orthodox theology. In the Western world, including in the United States during the previous democratic administration of Joe Biden, many traditional values were criticized or questioned, and gender roles were blurred. It is these men who are called redneck in the American countryside (the slang name for white farmers, residents of the rural hinterland of the United States. — Ed.), and during the recent American presidential elections, they became a stronghold of electoral support for Donald Trump, who relied on debunking the myth that there is no alternative to liberal ideology in the United States. It is precisely these men who find in Orthodoxy a kind of spiritual support, stability and clear guidelines," the expert explains.
Will the trend towards conversion to Orthodoxy continue in the United States
According to Ruslan Kalinchuk, the number of Orthodox Christians in the United States will continue to increase against the background of the sentiments of the Catholic Church.
At the end of 2023, the Vatican allowed Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, but did not allow the marriage ceremony. Transpersonal people were also allowed to be baptized, become godparents, and be witnesses at religious weddings, although this contradicts the letter of Scripture.
— All this will provoke people to turn away from faiths that promote the LGBT agenda. The more Protestants and Catholics go into things that have nothing to do with Christianity and contradict the Holy Scriptures and the commandments of God, the more people who truly seek God will convert to Orthodoxy, the expert concludes.
However, Alexander Stenko believes that the scale of the issue raised should not be exaggerated.
— Orthodoxy in the USA is still a relatively small denomination. The growth of its popularity may be limited by household factors: geographical dispersion of communities, cultural and linguistic barriers. However, more and more Orthodox parishes in the United States conduct services in English," the expert notes.
According to him, the general trend towards secularization in Western societies is a challenge for all religious groups, so it is difficult to make long-term forecasts, although the factors that attract the US population to Orthodoxy are likely to remain relevant.
Disillusionment with consumer culture and Western values, as well as the dissemination of information about Orthodoxy via the Internet, and the ability of Orthodox communities to carry out their mission can have a positive impact on the figures. The general socio-cultural shifts in the consciousness of the American population will also have an impact.
"It is likely that the moderate growth in the number of converts will continue, but time will tell whether this will turn into a mass movement," the expert concludes.
* World Bank statistics for 2023.
* The LGBT movement is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned.
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