I think it is not surprising that a youth poll would overlap with Pew. Pew identified beliefs of people who considered themselves LCMS, regardless of if they attended or were even on the rolls somewhere. Well, most people stop attending Church after high school. So this poll would include many future non-attendees who would still have a cultural attachment to the LCMS since they attended through High School. In other words, Pew and this youth poll are studying the same group of people (albeit a few years apart), a mix of committed and non-committed individuals who at least culturally identify with the LCMS. Both indicate that there is a large subgroup of individuals that we fail to pass the faith on to, who consider themselves LCMS, but do not attend Church.
I really see this as a need to build local support structures around the church. It needs to be the “third place” it once was instead of being a Sunday after thought. If you swim in the rivers of modernity constantly it shouldn’t be a big shock when you get wet. We need those proper alternatives to reinforce good doctrine.
"Also concerning was the YPS reporting ,'significant numbers of poll respondents [unprompted] said they want the church to talk more about loving neighbors rather than joining in a highly polarized culture.'" This is a big problem. This is often the way the authority of Scripture is undermined: through the deception that loving others necessarily entails "being nice" rather than following the Truth and encouraging repentance from sin and ultimately forgiveness. Polarization between the Church and the world is inevitable and Jesus told us this. When we make a peace with the world that is based upon lies, we are in danger of being at war with God. You see this trend again and again.
I also would be fascinated by a similar poll with HT attendees. It has been years since the church I attend has sponsored any youth to attend the NYG, and, from what I understand, that is pretty common across the District.
I would be hesitant to read too much into this poll. By its very nature, choosing from individuals who went through the effort to attend the conference, the results are going to be very skewed.
I would be like taking a poll of the most commited 10% of a church and applying it to the entire membership.
Great article. This is very useful information. By the way, your page no longer gives me the option of restacking. I can't figure out what that has happened.
Given several politically-related poll questions (on abortion, homosexuality and marijuana), and the polling on schooling (public, Lutheran, private, home), one other question would have been informative to include on the Lutheran Youth Poll:
“Do your parents typically vote for Democrat or Republican candidates?”
The chart, “2025 LYP Sex Divide”, shows a significant difference between male and female views, especially on issues that also are politically relevant.
This difference has become more noticeable in recent years, as discussed by Joel Kotlin in his February 11, 2026, Telegraph article, “Why are young white women so angry?” (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/c3ac684e75c032fc):
“Young women’s radicalisation may stem in part from the fact they are now far more likely to go to such indoctrination mills. Today, 47pc of women in the US have college degrees, compared to just 37pc of men – a 10-point gap that has widened dramatically. Research published in 2024 showed 2.4 million more female than male undergraduates enrolled in American colleges (8.9 million vs 6.5 million), and in 2021, men received only 42pc of bachelor’s degrees – the lowest share on record.
“This indoctrination is most common in the humanities and social sciences, departments that also tend to be more female….
“Young women are considerably more Left-leaning than men or married women. Among Americans ages 18–29, 52pc of women identify as Democrats compared with 35pc of men, while 38pc of young men lean Republican – nearly twice the share of young women.”
This may be seen as off-topic. If so please delete. But I think it is part of the problem reflected in Ad Crucem’s article and the polls.
I don’t understand how we can have this discussion without talking about what students are listening to, musically.
I earnestly pray that our church leaders—pastors, seminary professors, and synodical voices—will finally confront this long-ignored truth: musical style, with or without words, possesses genuine spiritual power and influence. It is never a neutral or indifferent matter.
The theology of music receives scant, superficial treatment. While isolated pockets of thoughtful discussion exist, most leaders are not trained musicians, so the prevailing assumption persists: worship music choices are merely personal preferences, cultural accommodations, or harmless adiaphora. Anything goes as long as there is a Christian word or phrase included in the text. But I believe the view that style doesn’t matter is mistaken. Music matters deeply and affects us all. It actively shapes hearts, molds faith, and either reinforces or subtly undermines the clear proclamation of the Gospel. This influence and those subtle messages can be especially potent—and concerning—among our young people, who are highly impressionable and can easily be carried away by emotion-driven contemporary worship styles that prioritize feeling over substance. And then there are the words to these songs, which are weak at best and rebellious at worst.
I also remain deeply troubled by the oft-repeated assertion, in one form or another, that only corporate worship in the church sanctuary truly “counts,” while so-called “private worship”—including the music Christians choose to listen to, sing, or immerse themselves with at home —is unimportant. This perspective downplays the pervasive, formative role music plays in a believer’s daily life, devotion, and spiritual formation. It must be confusing to kids.
In my opinion, we need to recover and faithfully teach a robust, confessional Lutheran theology of musical style—one that:
- Recognizes its God-given depth and power (as Luther himself affirmed);
- Guards against misuse that prioritizes self over God;
- Equips pastors, teachers, musicians, and congregations to discern wisely what truly honors God and edifies His people, musically and text-wise.
For context, I somehow ended up on a mailing list from a contemporary worship music station that sends weekly lists of “top songs” for me to rate with a “like” or “not like.” That’s bad enough. But with only two or three exceptions, these are overwhelmingly “I-me” focused tunes: with scant Scripture, heavy on raw emotion, paired with relentless, raucous beats that bear no organic relation to the texts. All feeling, a lot of dreck and little doctrinal depth or scriptural anchoring.
Each week I respond with essentially the same feedback: “Please prioritize pop tunes that are God-centered, where the music genuinely supports and elevates the text, where Scripture is sung or clearly reflected, and where the focus is not primarily on feelings (which have their place, but are far from the be-all and end-all). It would be great to hear a hymn or a bit of Bach too.’
They never respond.
I’m surprised they still send me these lists.
May the Lord grant our church the courage to address this elephant in the room before more hearts—and especially our youth—are unwittingly but subtly led astray. Everything is permissible but not everything is edifying. How much like the world should we look like? No easy answers.
Amen to that. I have effectively stopped listening to any and all unChristian music. It wasn't even a resolution, to be honest, and sometimes a less than savory tune resurfaces. But the truth is that the desire is mostly gone out of me, as I have discovered worlds of music in the sacred realm. Bach is our heritage and birthright. Not everyone has to like him as much as I do (that would be a lot to ask considering how much I like him), but you should at least like his music a little bit.
I think it is not surprising that a youth poll would overlap with Pew. Pew identified beliefs of people who considered themselves LCMS, regardless of if they attended or were even on the rolls somewhere. Well, most people stop attending Church after high school. So this poll would include many future non-attendees who would still have a cultural attachment to the LCMS since they attended through High School. In other words, Pew and this youth poll are studying the same group of people (albeit a few years apart), a mix of committed and non-committed individuals who at least culturally identify with the LCMS. Both indicate that there is a large subgroup of individuals that we fail to pass the faith on to, who consider themselves LCMS, but do not attend Church.
I really see this as a need to build local support structures around the church. It needs to be the “third place” it once was instead of being a Sunday after thought. If you swim in the rivers of modernity constantly it shouldn’t be a big shock when you get wet. We need those proper alternatives to reinforce good doctrine.
"Also concerning was the YPS reporting ,'significant numbers of poll respondents [unprompted] said they want the church to talk more about loving neighbors rather than joining in a highly polarized culture.'" This is a big problem. This is often the way the authority of Scripture is undermined: through the deception that loving others necessarily entails "being nice" rather than following the Truth and encouraging repentance from sin and ultimately forgiveness. Polarization between the Church and the world is inevitable and Jesus told us this. When we make a peace with the world that is based upon lies, we are in danger of being at war with God. You see this trend again and again.
I also would be fascinated by a similar poll with HT attendees. It has been years since the church I attend has sponsored any youth to attend the NYG, and, from what I understand, that is pretty common across the District.
I'm not so sure HT would want to do such a survey. Their brand has a lot to lose and little to gain.
I would be hesitant to read too much into this poll. By its very nature, choosing from individuals who went through the effort to attend the conference, the results are going to be very skewed.
I would be like taking a poll of the most commited 10% of a church and applying it to the entire membership.
Great article. This is very useful information. By the way, your page no longer gives me the option of restacking. I can't figure out what that has happened.
Thanks, let me check on the restacking.
Given several politically-related poll questions (on abortion, homosexuality and marijuana), and the polling on schooling (public, Lutheran, private, home), one other question would have been informative to include on the Lutheran Youth Poll:
“Do your parents typically vote for Democrat or Republican candidates?”
The chart, “2025 LYP Sex Divide”, shows a significant difference between male and female views, especially on issues that also are politically relevant.
This difference has become more noticeable in recent years, as discussed by Joel Kotlin in his February 11, 2026, Telegraph article, “Why are young white women so angry?” (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/c3ac684e75c032fc):
“Young women’s radicalisation may stem in part from the fact they are now far more likely to go to such indoctrination mills. Today, 47pc of women in the US have college degrees, compared to just 37pc of men – a 10-point gap that has widened dramatically. Research published in 2024 showed 2.4 million more female than male undergraduates enrolled in American colleges (8.9 million vs 6.5 million), and in 2021, men received only 42pc of bachelor’s degrees – the lowest share on record.
“This indoctrination is most common in the humanities and social sciences, departments that also tend to be more female….
“Young women are considerably more Left-leaning than men or married women. Among Americans ages 18–29, 52pc of women identify as Democrats compared with 35pc of men, while 38pc of young men lean Republican – nearly twice the share of young women.”
This may be seen as off-topic. If so please delete. But I think it is part of the problem reflected in Ad Crucem’s article and the polls.
I don’t understand how we can have this discussion without talking about what students are listening to, musically.
I earnestly pray that our church leaders—pastors, seminary professors, and synodical voices—will finally confront this long-ignored truth: musical style, with or without words, possesses genuine spiritual power and influence. It is never a neutral or indifferent matter.
The theology of music receives scant, superficial treatment. While isolated pockets of thoughtful discussion exist, most leaders are not trained musicians, so the prevailing assumption persists: worship music choices are merely personal preferences, cultural accommodations, or harmless adiaphora. Anything goes as long as there is a Christian word or phrase included in the text. But I believe the view that style doesn’t matter is mistaken. Music matters deeply and affects us all. It actively shapes hearts, molds faith, and either reinforces or subtly undermines the clear proclamation of the Gospel. This influence and those subtle messages can be especially potent—and concerning—among our young people, who are highly impressionable and can easily be carried away by emotion-driven contemporary worship styles that prioritize feeling over substance. And then there are the words to these songs, which are weak at best and rebellious at worst.
I also remain deeply troubled by the oft-repeated assertion, in one form or another, that only corporate worship in the church sanctuary truly “counts,” while so-called “private worship”—including the music Christians choose to listen to, sing, or immerse themselves with at home —is unimportant. This perspective downplays the pervasive, formative role music plays in a believer’s daily life, devotion, and spiritual formation. It must be confusing to kids.
In my opinion, we need to recover and faithfully teach a robust, confessional Lutheran theology of musical style—one that:
- Recognizes its God-given depth and power (as Luther himself affirmed);
- Guards against misuse that prioritizes self over God;
- Equips pastors, teachers, musicians, and congregations to discern wisely what truly honors God and edifies His people, musically and text-wise.
For context, I somehow ended up on a mailing list from a contemporary worship music station that sends weekly lists of “top songs” for me to rate with a “like” or “not like.” That’s bad enough. But with only two or three exceptions, these are overwhelmingly “I-me” focused tunes: with scant Scripture, heavy on raw emotion, paired with relentless, raucous beats that bear no organic relation to the texts. All feeling, a lot of dreck and little doctrinal depth or scriptural anchoring.
Each week I respond with essentially the same feedback: “Please prioritize pop tunes that are God-centered, where the music genuinely supports and elevates the text, where Scripture is sung or clearly reflected, and where the focus is not primarily on feelings (which have their place, but are far from the be-all and end-all). It would be great to hear a hymn or a bit of Bach too.’
They never respond.
I’m surprised they still send me these lists.
May the Lord grant our church the courage to address this elephant in the room before more hearts—and especially our youth—are unwittingly but subtly led astray. Everything is permissible but not everything is edifying. How much like the world should we look like? No easy answers.
Amen to that. I have effectively stopped listening to any and all unChristian music. It wasn't even a resolution, to be honest, and sometimes a less than savory tune resurfaces. But the truth is that the desire is mostly gone out of me, as I have discovered worlds of music in the sacred realm. Bach is our heritage and birthright. Not everyone has to like him as much as I do (that would be a lot to ask considering how much I like him), but you should at least like his music a little bit.
See also: https://oldluth.com/2025/12/06/the-need-to-purify-music/