A fresh poll shows Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton narrowly leading Democrat James Talarico in the must-win Senate race, offering Republicans a much-needed boost in a contest that has increasingly given party leaders heartburn.
<a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/texas-2026-poll-paxton-and-talarico/">An Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey</a> released Thursday shows Paxton with 47% support, narrowly ahead of Talarico at 46%. Another 5% of voters remain undecided, while 2% back another candidate.
The one-point difference falls within the poll&#8217;s three-point margin of error, making the contest effectively a dead heat. But it&#8217;s the first poll to show Paxton ahead since early June, according to <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/texas/talarico-vs-paxton">RealClearPolitics</a>, as Republicans worry that low GOP turnout and a Democratic-friendly political landscape could flip one of the reddest states in the nation — and with it, control of the U.S. Senate.
&#8220;Despite having a three-month head start and getting millions from out-of-state billionaires with deep ties to Jeffrey Epstein, James Talarico is already losing steam and falling behind,&#8221; RNC spokesman Zach Kraft told The Daily Wire. &#8220;It should come as no surprise that Texas wants a MAGA warrior like Ken Paxton over a gender-confused freak like Talarico.&#8221; 
Emerson College Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball said the Texas Senate race is sharply divided by age, with voters under 50 favoring Talarico by 15 points, 53% to 38%, while voters over 50 back Paxton by 11 points, 53% to 42%.
Digging deeper, Paxton holds his strongest advantage among white voters and men, while Talarico leads among most black and Hispanic voters. Talarico holds just a one-point advantage among women after facing backlash over his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">views</a> on Christianity, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-james-talarico-says-he-loves-trans-children-in-unearthed-clip">“love” for transgender children</a>, and disdain for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-audio-thats-blowing-a-hole-in-talaricos-christian-persona">American flag.</a> 
Top issues for Texas voters include the economy (30%), immigration (19%), threats to democracy (14%), and healthcare (13%). Republican voters rank immigration as their top issue (32%), while Democrats (33%) and independents (31%) rate the economy as their top concern.
Those issues have not stopped either campaign from diving into hot-button cultural issues as both sides wage a fierce battle for Christian voters who will likely play a pivotal role in November. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/13/texas-ken-paxton-james-talarico-religion-campaign-christianity/">The Texas Tribune</a> reported Thursday that Paxton’s and Talarico’s differing views of Christianity have emerged as a defining issue shaping the race in a state where nearly half of voters say faith is “very important” in their lives.
A pro-Paxton super PAC <a href="https://x.com/approject/status/2085795525354234239?s=20">went viral</a> after using artificial intelligence to remake Lyndon B. Johnson’s famous “Daisy” ad, depicting a young girl being prepared to undergo a sex-change operation as an AI-generated Talarico stands at the operating table.
“She dreams of growing up, falling in love, becoming a mother,” an AI narrator says. “The trans industry preys on confused children. Irreversible puberty blockers. Cross-sex hormones. Sex-change surgeries.”
Talarico, meanwhile, is seeking to make inroads with evangelical voters — the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/state/texas/">largest religious group</a> in Texas — by touting his Baptist upbringing despite his support for abortion, calling God “nonbinary,” opposing the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools, and his affiliation to a progressive Presbyterian denomination.
A <a href="https://x.com/jamestalarico/status/2087706393247952952?s=20">30-second spot</a> features his grandfather: &#8220;As a Baptist preacher in South Texas, he taught me to follow the two great commandments — love God, and love your neighbor,&#8221; Talarico says, suggesting the Gospel message includes reducing the cost of healthcare, housing, and groceries. 
A recent Fox News poll found that <a href="https://x.com/JWheelertv/status/2082987392626020796?s=20">78% of white evangelical Christians</a> in the Lone Star State plan to vote against Talarico, despite concerns that Paxton’s personal scandals and marriage struggles could alienate the key demographic. 
“I truly believe that God just delivered me, not because I am a great person, because God is sovereign and he does what he wants to do,” Paxton said on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgTrzsr0B_c">podcast</a>, referring to the unsuccessful 2023 impeachment effort against him. “I don’t take credit for it; it’s really by the grace of God.” 
The <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/senate/race/488686">Cook Political Report</a> ranks the race as Lean Republican.

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Ken Paxton Gets Some Much Needed Good News In Race Against Talarico

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The family of an 83-year-old devout Christian grandmother who opposed euthanasia said the elderly woman was killed through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, a process that was initiated while her family was on a brief scheduled vacation.
The family of Brigitte “GG” Stegemann said the grandmother strongly opposed euthanasia and told doctors she did not want to be killed after she developed Stage IV stomach cancer. Despite Stegemann&#8217;s objections, and the family&#8217;s objections, medical staff claim the grandmother consented privately to be euthanized while her granddaughter Brigitte Kranendonk, who was also her power of attorney, was on a brief scheduled vacation with her husband. Stegemann died through MAID a week later on July 10, notably without providing verbal consent, instead remaining silent and keeping her hands clasped in a prayer position.
<div id="attachment_1155841" style="width: 1162px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1155841" class="wp-image-1155841 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png" alt="" width="1152" height="824" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-300x215.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-805x576.png 805w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-768x549.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px" />Facebook: Brigitte Frances Kranendonk</div>
A Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165694418302871&amp;set=our-familys-experience-with-medical-assistance-in-dying-maidthis-is-our-familys-">post</a> published by the family outlines their experience with doctors, nurses, and staffers pushing MAID on Stegemann. The program is part of the nation&#8217;s &#8220;free&#8221; publicly-funded healthcare system.
When she returned from vacation, Kranendonk was told that the staff had &#8220;met privately with GG on two occasions during Brigitte&#8217;s 10-day vacation to discuss MAID.&#8221; When Kranendonk asked why these discussions were taking place after Stegemann explicitly objected to MAID because of her Christian faith, Kranendonk was met with anger and pushback. She said one nurse told her, &#8220;I don&#8217;t need to tell you anything.&#8221;
When Kranendonk asked her grandmother privately if she really wanted to be euthanized, Stegemann appeared &#8220;confused&#8221; and responded, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to die Friday? They&#8217;re going to kill me Friday?&#8221;
Still, the home where Stegemann was staying for supposed care went ahead with the procedure. The family was told Stegemann would give consent to be killed at the start of the process, but she did not. Stegemann was killed anyway.
&#8220;[The doctor] attempted to speak with GG. By this point, GG was silent, her hands tightly clasped together in a fixed prayer position,&#8221; the family wrote. &#8220;GG never provided a verbal response to Dr. K.&#8221;
&#8220;Our family had been strictly assured that GG would be asked for a final, explicit verbal confirmation on the day of the procedure to ensure she still wished to proceed,&#8221; the family added. &#8220;When GG remained completely silent and gave no response, Brigitte felt a sudden wave of relief and a big smile came over her face, believing that the procedure would finally be halted because the strict requirement for final consent had not been met. Tragically, we were left alarmed and horrified when the clinical team completely ignored her silence and carried the procedure forward regardless.&#8221;
The incident is fueling more criticism of the MAID program, which was legalized in 2016 and has dramatically expanded since, with the total number of assisted deaths set at roughly 100,000.
Critics of MAID argue about its ethics and the financial incentives for Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system, which can save money when patients are euthanized rather than receive long-term care. Notably, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that the 2021 expansion of MAID under Bill C-7 would result in approximately $149 million in net healthcare savings in its first year.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-catholic-priest-walks-into-a-canadian-hospital-they-offer-to-kill-him-twice">A Catholic Priest Walks Into A Canadian Hospital. They Offer To Kill Him, Twice. </a>

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Nearly half of Generation Z says one political factor is making them less likely to attend church, according to newly released survey data. 
The research found that 48% of Gen Z adults say Christian support for President Donald Trump makes them less likely to attend church. 
Political scientist and religion researcher Ryan Burge highlighted <a href="https://religionnews.com/2026/07/20/half-of-gen-z-says-trump-support-keeps-them-out-of-church/">newly released data</a> from the Billy Graham Center Research Institute examining barriers that keep young adults from embracing Christianity. The survey included 2,365 Gen Z adults ages 18 to 28 and was led by Rick Richardson of Wheaton College. 
Overall, nearly one in five respondents said they &#8220;strongly agreed&#8221; that Christians&#8217; support for the president discourages them from going to church services. 
“So, it’s fair to say young adults are pretty evenly divided on this idea,” Burge and Richardson wrote. “But these results are confounded by a few variables: Younger adults tend to be more left-leaning in their politics, and a significant share of Gen Z claims no religious affiliation, which means a lot of these respondents wouldn’t be going to church much anyway.”
Digging deeper, the survey found a sharp partisan divide. Among Gen Z Democrats, 67% said they &#8220;strongly,&#8221; &#8220;somewhat,&#8221; or &#8220;lightly&#8221; agreed that Christian support for Trump makes them less likely to attend church. Fewer than half of independents shared that view. Republicans, however, broke sharply in the opposite direction, with 74% saying they disagreed. 
About 72% of Gen Z atheists said Christians’ support of Trump has made them less likely to attend a church service. For agnostics, the figure fell slightly lower to 65%. Gen Z Protestants were least likely to feel that way, according to the report, which was highlighted by Religion News Service. 
“But even among Gen Z Christians, there’s a significant share who said Trump made it harder for them to attend at all: 44% of those who identified as a generic Christian, 42% of Catholics and 30% of Protestant young adults said they were turned off by the Christian-Trump alliance,” the report stated. 
White evangelicals have played a pivotal role in Trump&#8217;s electoral success, forming the backbone of the Republican coalition and backing him by overwhelming margins in all three of his presidential campaigns. In 2024, Trump captured 82% of the white evangelical vote, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0">according to exit polls</a>. Catholics also broke decisively in his favor, with nearly 60% backing Trump after <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/national-results">narrowly supporting Joe Biden</a> in 2020.
At the same time, other recent surveys suggest religion may be gaining traction among some segments of younger Americans. 
About 42% of men aged 18 to 29 now say religion is “very important” in their lives, up from 28% two years earlier, according to a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/young-men-religious-young-women.aspx">recent survey from Gallup</a>. The 14-point jump was the largest recorded among any demographic group in the poll’s recent history and returned young men to levels of religiosity not seen since the early 2000s.
Vice President JD Vance has <a href="https://x.com/VP/status/2056135528752234892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2056135528752234892%7Ctwgr%5Ec3aaf5b9e9b1bcf5d074b80023045f4e297c71f6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fthousands-of-christians-fill-national-mall-for-prayer-service-celebrating-americas-faith-heritage">hailed the numbers</a> as a rebuke to the expert class that has long predicted the demise of American Christianity. 
“Defying predictions, the experts said that religion and faith were dying. Today, a wave of young Americans is returning to the pews, and we know that they’re looking for meaning, for authority, for direction, and of course, for closeness with God,” Vance said. “That should give all of us hope for our future together.” 
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/05/14/how-americans-feel-about-religions-influence-in-government-and-public-life/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">A Pew Research poll</a> in May showed 37% of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in America, the highest share since 2002.

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Half Of Gen Z Say A Political Factor Is Keeping Them Out Of Church

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp stood up for his Christian faith by inscribing a Bible verse in silver next to the rainbow logo on his cap.
On Friday, the baseball team held &#8220;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pride-celebration">Pride Night</a>,&#8221; dedicating the game to a “celebration of Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community” that included “pregame festivities, in-game celebrations, and appearances.” The event featured same-sex couples renewing their marriage vows on the field in the presence of a drag queen, and the team celebrated the LGBTQ community <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/san-francisco-giants-pitcher-writes-bible-verse-hat-defiance-pride-night">through rainbow-colored hats</a>, according to FOX. 
A few players, however, took a stand — including Landen Roupp, who was raised in rural North Carolina and attended a <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/12/sports/giants-pitcher-landen-roupp-wears-pride-night-hat-with-bible-verse/">private Christian school</a>. Before heading to the mound, he inscribed the Bible passage from Genesis 9 on his cap.
The verses describe God’s promise to Noah and all future generations that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood, with the rainbow serving as the sign of that covenant.
&#8220;And God said, &#8216;This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.'&#8221; Genesis 9:12-16
An article from The Athletic <a href="https://x.com/nytimes/status/2066229208305594545?s=20">expressed outrage</a> over their decision, saying the Bible verses “missed the point”  during a night that was &#8220;supposed to be dedicated to support and belonging.&#8221; 
After the game, Roupp said his Biblical gesture reflected his moral convictions. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Why was it important to write that verse tonight?
ROUPP: &#8220;The rainbow is a symbol of God&#8217;s covenant to us, and us as believers stand firm in that&#8230; There&#8217;s no hate at all.&#8221;
What would say if somebody considered that derogatory toward them as a community?
ROUPP: &#8220;As a… <a href="https://t.co/jaEs3ikn4U">https://t.co/jaEs3ikn4U</a> <a href="https://t.co/yYOaJ0UvE7">pic.twitter.com/yYOaJ0UvE7</a>
— KNBR (@KNBR) <a href="https://x.com/KNBR/status/2065672807498015185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
“The rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant with us, and we as believers stand firm in that … There’s no hate at all,” he told reporters. “It’s just what I stand for and what I stand in, I believe in God.”
“What would you say if somebody considered that derogatory toward them as a community?” a reporter asked him.
“As a believer, I would push them to read the Bible. God has blessed me in so many ways, and I don’t think I’d be here right now if it wasn’t for Him.” 
Roupp was not alone. His reliever, Sam Hentges, refused to wear the hat at all, for a very similar reason. 
“I don’t morally support it,” <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/sf-giants-sam-hentges-explains-decision-not-wear-22304312.php">he said.</a> 
<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/710810/support-lgbtq-issues-remains-down-peak.aspx">A recent Gallup poll</a> showed that Roupp and Hentges are not alone, revealing declining support for LGBTQ+ issues across the board. 
The poll said same-sex marriage support dropped to 65%, which is down 6 points, and moral acceptance of gay/lesbian relations stood at 62% — the lowest since 2016. 
The decline in support was driven largely by Republicans, with only 35% approving of same-sex marriage, the lowest level since 2011. The percentage of Americans who view gender transitions as morally acceptable also fell to 38%.

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***
Most people who have heard of the fine-tuning argument think they know what it says: the universe is wildly improbable, so God must have designed it.
The basic idea is simple. The laws of physics contain fixed numbers, called the constants of nature, that determine things like the strength of gravity, the mass of the electron, and the expansion of the universe. If some of these numbers were even slightly different, the universe would not have formed atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, or life. That surprising discovery is called fine tuning.
From there, the argument is usually presented in one of two familiar ways. One version tries to eliminate every alternative to design. The other compares the probability of fine tuning with and without an intelligent cause.
These two familiar versions are important. But they can also get bogged down in technical debates about probability and alternate universes and even drift into the problem of evil.
There is a third version of the <a href="https://www.physicstogod.com/fine-tuning-argument-for-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.physicstogod.com/fine-tuning-argument-for-god&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1779393446910000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0i2RUtUSf5zF4Wzq2mcUaM">fine-tuning argument</a> that is simpler, clearer, and stronger. Most people have never heard it.
Before we get to that, we need to look briefly at the two familiar versions.
The first, associated with philosopher William Lane Craig, is the argument by elimination. Fine-tuning must be due to necessity, chance, or design. The constants either had to be what they are, happened by chance to be what they are, or were set that way by an intelligent cause. Since necessity and chance fail as satisfactory explanations, design is what remains.
It is a clean formulation. But it has a vulnerability: an argument by elimination depends on the list being complete and the alternatives being truly eliminated. A critic can always ask whether some unknown explanation has been left out, or whether necessity and chance have really been ruled out.
The second version is the probability argument, featured in Stephen Meyer’s recent documentary film, &#8220;The Story of Everything.&#8221; Fine-tuning is far more likely if there is an intelligent cause than if there isn’t one. If a purposeful creator wanted a universe with stars, planets, chemistry, and life, then it is no surprise that the constants would have values that allow for exactly that. Without intelligence behind the universe, those constants landing in precisely the right range look extraordinarily improbable.
This version is powerful, but it can get complicated quickly. Critics challenge the probability assumptions. What does “improbable” mean when we have only observed one universe? The argument can also drift into theological debates about the problem of evil and what God would or would not choose to create.
Both versions are valuable. Neither should be dismissed. But there is a third version that avoids many of these complications and cuts closer to the heart of the matter.
It begins with a mystery that physicists already had.
Physicists can measure the constants of nature with extraordinary precision. What they cannot do is explain them. Their values are measured, not derived. No deeper theory tells us why they have the values they do.
Richard Feynman, one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, pointed directly at this puzzle. Discussing a number related to the strength of electromagnetism, roughly 1/137, Feynman noted that physicists knew its value with remarkable precision but had no idea where it came from. He called it one of the greatest mysteries of physics.
That is where the strongest version of the fine-tuning argument begins, not with probability or eliminating alternatives. It begins with a mystery already sitting at the heart of physics.
Only then does fine-tuning enter the picture.
Fine-tuning reveals something remarkable. The constants that first looked like arbitrary values sitting unexplained at the foundation of physics are not arbitrary in their effects. Their values are suited to a specific result: the emergence of a rich, ordered universe with atoms, stars, planets, galaxies, and life.
That is the crucial shift: fine-tuning is not the problem. Fine-tuning is the clue.
It tells us how to think about the mystery of the constants. They are not merely unexplained numbers. Their effects line up with the emergence of a rich, ordered universe. And that points to intelligence.
Intelligence, at its most basic level, is the ability to select one possibility from among many for the sake of achieving a goal. An author chooses precise words to express an idea. An engineer chooses the right materials and dimensions to build a structure. Intelligence selects the right means for an intended end.
The constants show that same pattern. From among the many values they could have had, they have the values needed for structure, order, and complexity to emerge. That indicates purposeful selection.
This is why the argument is not a “God of the gaps” claim. It is not based on what science has failed to explain. It is based on what science has discovered. Fine-tuning is positive knowledge about the constants. Their values appear to be coordinated toward the emergence of a structured universe.
The mystery of the constants was already sitting at the heart of physics. Fine-tuning did not create a new puzzle. It illuminated the one physicists already had.
The constants of nature appear to be set for a purpose. A cause that selects the right means to achieve a purpose is, by definition, intelligent. That is why the fine-tuning argument, properly understood, remains one of the strongest <a href="https://www.physicstogod.com/does-god-exist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.physicstogod.com/does-god-exist&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1779393446910000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2fzoHkXcdcCy3ZFFeVq8vI">science-based arguments for God</a>.
***
Rabbi Elie Feder, Ph.D., and Rabbi Aaron Zimmer host the “Physics to God” podcast.

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***
Catholicism is having a moment, and now the church is getting even more good press.
On Saturday, beauty brand founder Scott-Vincent Borba, 52, will give up his former life of fame and fortune to begin life as an ordained Catholic priest in his hometown of Visalia, California. 
&#8220;I have never been happier in my life,&#8221; Borba <a href="https://abc7news.com/post/former-elf-beauty-founder-scott-vincent-borba-preparing-become-catholic-priest/19083729/">told</a> ABC 7 of his massive life change. &#8220;Once I started to reorient myself, recalibrate myself with God&#8217;s help to the focus to Him, the joy started coming.&#8221;
Borba co-founded the makeup brand e.l.f. Cosmetics (“eyes, lips, face”) in 2004 with Joseph Shamah. The brand became a huge success in the mid-2010s thanks to clever marketing campaigns and affordable prices. Per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2026/02/22/management-without-managers-elfs-influencer-driven-beauty-revolution/">Forbes</a>, it reached $100 million in sales in 2014, and Borba was living a lifestyle to match his newfound success.
&#8220;We ran around with the likes of Paris Hilton and partying with Kardashians and just doing up the Hollywood life,&#8221; the brand founder told ABC 7. &#8220;I was a poster boy for luxury living. I was not in any which way humble. I was very prideful,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;I was vapid. I had a perverse life,&#8221; Borba <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moo80FP9M_Q">told</a> CBS 47 during another interview. &#8220;I went to L.A., I got sucked into the Hollywood lifestyle — it was almost to a point where I was trying to sell my soul, right, for all of the riches of the world, which is not what we&#8217;re supposed to be … I was living for myself.&#8221;
Borba is currently living as a deacon and, because he’s becoming a priest so late in life, is in the minority. But what makes his story so remarkable is how he lived with such success and turned away after realizing the money never delivered true joy.
Instead of turning to sex, drugs, and alcohol or chasing more success, Borba gave away all his earthly possessions and tried something radically different. 
&#8220;I asked our Lord to help me be the man that he created me to be. And upon that instance, I had this massive flood of love and mercy that came into my life,” Borba told ABC. “It was a very mystical experience.”
&#8220;I live in a little tiny room with &#8230; it&#8217;s sparse, nothing in it,&#8221; Borba said of his current seminary life. &#8220;I have a few bits of clothes and a few pairs of shoes. And my life has been culled down to the bare minimum.&#8221;
The e.l.f. brand founder said he always felt called to become a priest but ignored it until a few years ago, which is when he finally discovered that the treasures of the world would never fill the void in his soul.
This story couldn’t come at a more critical moment for the Catholic Church. While there has been a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-americans-are-finding-faith-but-social-media-is-changing-what-that-looks-like">massive uptick in converts</a> to Catholicism, including among young adults who have a particular interest in the traditional Latin Mass, there is also a huge shortage of priests. Parishes are merging and closing even as the number of interested congregants continues to grow.
According to the Church’s statistical yearbook, the number of priests worldwide fell to 406,996 in 2023, representing a multi-year decline that doesn’t appear to be changing. Older priests are retiring or dying, and not enough young men are coming to replace them, despite the massive number of Catholic converts.
Dan Monastra, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, said he has a theory about this. 
&#8220;One reason is the overall lack of desire in our culture to commit oneself to something permanent, especially among younger generations. We see this not only with the priesthood but with marriage as well. Another reason is that the priesthood is antithetical to what modern culture offers: namely, comfort,&#8221; he told Fox Business during an <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/revival-pews-crisis-altar-why-churches-closing-amid-catholic-comeback">interview</a> on the topic last month.
That explains why the global Catholic population has surpassed 1.4 billion, but there is still a critical shortage of men willing to step up and join the priesthood. People in Borba’s position are even rarer. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the average age for new priests is 33. Only 3% of current seminarians are over 50, according to Zach Flanagin, a professor of theology and religious studies at Saint Mary&#8217;s College of California.
&#8220;We are entering into a different time with new challenges. The world is constantly changing, and it is up to the Church to find ways to bear witness to Christ in the midst of these changes while still upholding the ancient faith,&#8221; Monastra said of the new reality.
With stories like Borba’s being reported, it could inspire more men who feel the call to change their lives to consider entering the priesthood, even if it’s a second act.
&#8220;I think that a story like his is a great opportunity to inspire people,&#8221; theology and religious studies professor Zach Flanagin told ABC 7 of Borba’s journey. &#8220;And certainly, his call, I hope it&#8217;s genuinely successful because if it is, then he will hopefully bring in people to know Christ.&#8221;

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He Lived The Hollywood Dream. Then He Found God.

Catholicism

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
She’s southern, stylish, and downright sensational. Ella Langley made history Sunday night, sweeping the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards with a whopping seven pieces of hardware, marking a win in every category in which she was nominated.
The 27-year-old Alabama native is arguably the hottest name in country music right now. Her hit &#8220;Choosin&#8217; Texas,&#8221; which won song and single of the year, holds the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the all-genre Hot 100 by a female country artist. She broke the record set by Taylor Swift’s &#8220;We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together&#8221; in 2012. The smash hit also crushed every country chart by being the only country song by a woman to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, Hot Country, and Country Airplay charts all at the same time.
With records like that, it could be hard to be humble, but the one thing keeping Langley level-headed is her faith.
&#8220;All I gotta say is thank you God for putting me in a room with these three people right here,&#8221; Langley said after winning the award for Song of the Year with &#8220;Choosin’ Texas.&#8221; (The three people she was referring to are her co-writers on the song.)
She would return to the stage several times throughout the nearly three-hour award show for performances and more accolades, but when she took home the biggest honor of the night, she once again stopped to thank the man upstairs.
&#8220;Thank you, Jesus, for letting me do this for a living,&#8221; Langley said on stage after winning Female Artist of the Year.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="@ellalangleymusic Accepts the Award for ACM Female Artist of the Year [61st ACM Awards]" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oy0A337RAAE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In the same speech, she openly talked about her struggles the morning of the award show and how praying helped calm her.
&#8220;Today I was having a strange day,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what it is about awards. I walked right into Lainey [Wilson]&#8217;s room, and I just got emotional, and she hugged me, wrapped me up, and started praying for me.&#8221;
In a world of award shows where faith is rarely mentioned, Langley&#8217;s language stood out. But her relationship with God is something she doesn’t shy away from in her speeches or her music.
In fact, on her sophomore album &#8220;Dandelion,&#8221; released last month, she sings explicitly about her faith. The track &#8220;Speaking Terms&#8221; is not about an on-again, off-again romantic relationship, but instead a relationship with God.
It eloquently depicts someone who doesn’t talk to God as much as she did as a child, opening up with the line, &#8220;I used to kneel beside my bed at night when I was small. It was easy as breathing, believing wasn&#8217;t hard at all. I knew that you were there close as my next prayer.&#8221;
The chorus focuses on reconnecting with God: &#8220;I&#8217;m waiting on a whisper, just something to confirm that you and me are still on speaking terms.&#8221;
Another song on Langley’s new album that has a faith focus is &#8220;Loving Life Again,&#8221; which the chart-topper wrote after spending some time reading her Bible back in Alabama last year.
&#8220;The last year of my life, 2025, is when it really got intense for me a little,&#8221; Langley told a concert crowd back in March of this year. &#8220;So I took a couple weeks off. I cancelled everything that I had … I got to spend two weeks sitting there with my mom and my daddy. I got to read my Bible and be next to my family in a way that I hadn’t gotten to do since I was 18 years old.&#8221;
Shortly after that message to fans at a show, Langley shared an Easter message to her nearly 4 million followers. On top of a video of her singing “Because He Lives” on her Instagram story, she wrote:
&#8220;Even though I’ve been a believer in Christ my whole life, my relationship with Him has changed drastically over the last year,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I started to have ‘faith.’ I started to view the days we have been given as a gift instead of a chore. I am so grateful for a God who leads with love and compassion. Thank you Jesus for giving me a way to spend eternity with you. I hope everyone had a great day. Happy Easter!&#8221;
While her faith was strengthened this last year, the &#8220;Dandelion&#8221; singer grew up in a small Baptist church just south of Montgomery, Alabama, where she sang before she knew how to read.
&#8220;I sang at church a lot. I learned how to read from singing hymnals,&#8221; she told Theo Von on the &#8220;This Past Weekend&#8221; podcast.
Her family recognized back then that Langley had a talent, and the practice she got in the pews every Sunday prepared her voice for a career in music. But her faith is what keeps her grounded as her skill and popularity grow.

Credit: David Becker/Getty Images

Country Music’s Hottest Star Keeps Pointing Back To God

Country Music

family

Music

Thousands of believers gathered in the nation’s capital on Sunday for an all-day prayer and worship service honoring America’s Christian heritage ahead of the country&#8217;s 250th anniversary.
The event — <a href="https://freedom250.org/celebration/rededicate-250-a-national-jubilee-of-prayer-praise-and-thanksgiving">Rededicate 250</a>, part of the Trump administration’s Freedom 250 initiative — featured a host of political, Catholic, and evangelical leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary Pete Hegseth, Bishop Robert Barron, and Franklin Graham, who did not hold back in condemning what he described as America’s moral decline.
&#8220;People have become lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God,&#8221; Graham said, painting a dire picture of the country&#8217;s biblical literacy. &#8220;America has become morally rotten, completely sick with sin, transgenderism, same-sex marriage, opening women&#8217;s locker rooms to men are just the tip of the iceberg.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfyAL0e6ei0">In a recorded address,</a> Trump struck a similar tone, reading a passage from 2 Chronicles that calls for repentance and urges people to turn from their wicked ways.
Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., thousands braved 80-degree heat and waited in hour-long lines that stretched for blocks to call on their fellow Americans to repent and join each other in prayer and worship. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Large crowd waiting in line for Rededication 250 event <a href="https://t.co/eJCZwAM5Ft">pic.twitter.com/eJCZwAM5Ft</a>
— Jacob Wheeler (@JWheelertv) <a href="https://twitter.com/JWheelertv/status/2056072888407507331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
Grammy-winning Christian artist Chris Tomlin performed &#8220;Holy Forever&#8221; to the thousands on their feet.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
HOLY FOREVER
&#8220;Your name is the highest 
Your name is the greatest 
Your name stands above them all 
All thrones and dominions 
All powers and positions 
Your name stands above them all&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/christomlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@christomlin</a> <a href="https://t.co/7ie11Vtn9z">pic.twitter.com/7ie11Vtn9z</a>
— Real America&#8217;s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealAmVoice/status/2056139300798877984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
In front of a crowd wearing Bible-themed shirts and waving Jesus-inspired flags, top Trump administration officials and Republican leaders offered historical and personal reflections.
&#8220;On this day, two and a half centuries ago, our forefathers gathered for the second time in as many years for a national day of fasting and prayer,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/StateDept/status/2056011858201764095?s=20">Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Roman Catholic, said.</a> &#8220;They knew that what they were trying to do had never been done before in human history, but with the dark storm clouds of war looming on the horizon, they did what Christians have always done across place and time for 2000 years. They turned their eyes to heaven and placed their faith in the hands of God.&#8221;
&#8220;This is who we are. It is who we have always been. America is still a young nation, measured against the record of history, and from the beginning, we have carried the belief that our country represents something new in the world, but the soul of our nation has always been rooted in an ancient faith,&#8221; Rubio added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
On this day 250 years ago, our forefathers gathered for a national day of fasting and prayer. Today, Americans will come together again as one Nation under God.
This is who we are and who we’ve always been. <a href="https://t.co/0r4QUsy1hY">pic.twitter.com/0r4QUsy1hY</a>
— Department of State (@StateDept) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/2056011858201764095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) spoke about Christianity in personal terms.
&#8220;I stand before you as living proof that prayer, the power of prayer, changes lives,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/Freedom250/status/2056090057812111708?s=20">Scott said.</a> &#8220;It&#8217;s prayer that inspires our nation. It&#8217;s prayer that transforms our world. There is no way to grasp the last 250 years of America without looking to the power of prayer.&#8221;
Actor Jonathan Roumie, best known for portraying Jesus Christ in “The Chosen,” urged Americans to recommit to the idea of being “one nation under God.”
&#8220;No matter who you are, or what you&#8217;ve done, or how long it&#8217;s been, or how bad things might all seem when you get stuck in the doom scroll of it all, simply stop and pray,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RSBNetwork/status/2056079289926259196?s=20">Roumie said.</a> &#8220;And if you still feel burdened, maybe it&#8217;s time to go to confession. There is power in repentance.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
FULL SPEECH: Actor Jonathan Roumie Provides Testimony and Reflects on Portraying Jesus &#8211; 05/17/26 <a href="https://t.co/8DFzOZSYZz">pic.twitter.com/8DFzOZSYZz</a>
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/RSBNetwork/status/2056079289926259196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
The nod to faith comes amid increasing signs of a religious revival in America, especially among young men.
About 42% of men aged 18 to 29 now say religion is “very important” in their lives, up from just 28% two years prior, according to a<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/young-men-religious-young-women.aspx"> new survey from Gallup</a>. The 14-point jump marks the steepest increase measured across any demographic group in the poll’s recent history and returns young men to levels of religiosity not seen since the early 2000s.
Vice President JD Vance said the trend is defying what the expert class had predicted.
&#8220;Defying predictions, the experts said that religion and faith were dying. Today, a wave of young Americans is returning to the pews, and we know that they&#8217;re looking for meaning, for authority, for direction, and of course, for closeness with God,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;That should give all of us hope for our future together.&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
WATCH: Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s Rededicate 250 message:
“I always ask people to pray for wisdom and for courage for their leadership. Pray for wisdom that we know the path God wants us to walk. Pray for courage that we have the ability to walk that path.” <a href="https://t.co/5hKNESi7hV">pic.twitter.com/5hKNESi7hV</a>
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/2056135528752234892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/05/14/how-americans-feel-about-religions-influence-in-government-and-public-life/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">A Pew Research poll</a> this week showed 37% of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in America, the highest share since 2002.
&#8220;No one saw this coming, and this is something that the world, I think, wasn&#8217;t really prepared for but is in awe of watching,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/foxandfriends/status/2055993621027905540?s=20">The Daily Wire host Isabel Brown</a> said of<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/bible-sales-surged-following-killing-of-charlie-kirk-7da17aec"> rising Bible sales</a> and <a href="https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/">Gen Z leading a resurgence in church attendance.</a> &#8220;I think because of the secularism and the moral relativism we&#8217;re living through every single day in our secular culture. We&#8217;re finding the answers in God.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
REDEDICATE 250 🇺🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/theisabelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@theisabelb</a> joins <a href="https://twitter.com/RCamposDuffy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RCamposDuffy</a> at the event to discuss the Gen Z revival in attending church! <a href="https://t.co/rNs4YidI4y">pic.twitter.com/rNs4YidI4y</a>
— FOX &amp; Friends (@foxandfriends) <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/2055993621027905540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>

IMG_2579

America’s Spiritual Revival Just Sent A Powerful Message

America 250

Trump Administration

Agriculture Department employees sued USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday, alleging she subjected workers to “government-sponsored religious coercion” by promoting an Easter message.
<a href="https://www.au.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-NFFE-v-USDA.pdf">The lawsuit, filed by a union representing 19,000 USDA employees,</a> centers on an Easter message Rollins shared, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and other faith-based holiday messages.
On Easter Sunday, Rollins shared a memo with the roughly 100,000 USDA employees, saying, “Happy Easter — He is risen indeed!”
&#8220;From the foot of the Cross on Good Friday to the stone rolled away from the now empty tomb, sin has been destroyed. Jesus has been raised from the dead. And God has granted each of us victory and new life. And where there is life — risen life — there is hope,&#8221; Rollins wrote, <a href="https://www.au.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Happy-Easter.pdf">according to Politico</a>.
That message, according to the lawsuit, violated the First Amendment&#8217;s Establishment Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act.
&#8220;Secretary Rollins’s practice and policy of subjecting agency employees to proselytizing messages conveys the expectation that USDA employees share in the Secretary’s religious beliefs, even when doing so would betray an employee’s own beliefs,&#8221; the lawsuit reads. &#8220;It is exactly the sort of government-sponsored religious coercion, religious sermonizing, and denominational preference that the Establishment Clause prohibits.&#8221;
For nonreligious USDA employees, the Christian message amounted to religious indoctrination.
&#8220;Secretary Rollins’s Easter Sermon draws heavily on biblical references that promote a particular religion — Christianity — which the Secretary’s message evangelizes as fact. The denominational favoritism conveyed in Secretary Rollins’s communications indoctrinates USDA employees and has caused them to feel coerced, unwelcome, excluded, and like outsiders to the agency,&#8221; the lawsuit said. 
The organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the progressive legal advocacy group Democracy Forward also joined the case.
In a striking request, the plaintiffs ask the court to block Rollins and any other USDA official from issuing “such religious communications” and to declare the secretary’s religious messages unlawful.
“While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily Wire. 
A vocal Christian, Rollins regularly speaks about her faith and has said she holds a Bible study with other members of the Trump Cabinet.
&#8220;We are very deep into studying service and being servants of God and servant leaders, but also being able to resist the temptation that comes with power — staying humble and serving God in these positions,&#8221; <a href="https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/articles/fighting-for-the-soul-of-america">she said in June 2025</a>.

Vice President JD Vance Speaks At A Manufacturing Facility In Des Moines, Iowa

‘He Is Risen’ Message Sparks Meltdown Against Top Trump Official

brooke rollins

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Something seems to be changing in American culture. Some have described it as a “<a href="https://a.co/d/07YhPOKQ">vibe shift</a>,” like a tangible sensation of spiritual change in the air, perhaps not all that different from the way a sailor might sense when the winds are about to turn. But last month, new data came out that give a specific shape to one key dimension of this shift. The polls point to an unprecedented spiritual reversal happening with young men in America, and one that has turned very suddenly.
Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/rise-young-men-religiosity-realigns-gender-gaps.aspx">released numbers</a> in April showing that the share of American men ages 18 to 29 who say religion is “very important to them” jumped from 28% to 42% between 2023 and 2025. That&#8217;s a 14-point swing in two years — a 50% proportional increase, and the single largest shift in our lifetime on how young men relate to religion. This vibe shift erased a nearly 25-year decline in religious interest in just two years.
While the change is statistically unprecedented, if you have been watching the culture rather than the polls, none of this should surprise you. The polls are just catching up.
The statistical decline of traditional religious participation and the rise of those who claim to believe in “nothing at all” began in the mid-1990s. The New Atheist decade that followed made a specific wager: Strip away “superstitious” beliefs of our bygone religious past, and civilization will march onward in an unfettered path of progress. But by the 2010s, as we moved into an era of intense cultural tumult dubbed the “Great Awokening,” it was obvious we were not getting that promised utopian outcome from our anti-religious experiment.
What we got instead was a “meaning crisis” and a generation of young men who grew up feeling the weight of hopelessness. They watched as deaths of despair skyrocketed, institutional trust declined, and civilization slowly descended into ruin as Marxist and postmodern ideologies rushed to fill the religious vacuum.
They were handed a world stripped of the timeless guiding stories upon which everything good in American culture had been built, and they were told that all guiding stories — including the stories of scripture — were just propaganda power plays or backwards superstitions. The colloquial phrase for the result was simply “the young men are not okay.”
What the data now suggest is that a critical mass of young men have decided this anti-God experiment has run long enough. Young men are tired of not being okay.
The early signals were everywhere. Jordan Peterson sold out theaters lecturing on Bible stories with millions more watching on YouTube, hungry for someone to show them a story that could give their lives meaningful direction. Tom Holland’s &#8220;Dominion&#8221; became the book that thoughtful young men discussed in dorm rooms, with its thesis that the moral foundations of the modern West — human dignity, universal rights, concern for the downtrodden — is Christianity all the way down, whether we remember it or not. Justin Brierley, who spent 15 years hosting debates between Christians and the New Atheists, began to notice that young men weren’t listening to the New Atheists anymore. He covered the precipitous decline of New Atheism’s influence in &#8220;The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.&#8221;
If anyone has been paying attention to the most popular podcaster on the planet, they’d notice a similar religious arc happening with Joe Rogan. Not that long ago, Rogan sounded like the average red-blooded American male of the old cultural moment: bemused by traditional religion and comfortable with the assumption that faith was something smart people had outgrown. In the last several years, his posture has shifted so visibly it has become a running theme of his show. Guest after guest, from biblical scholars such as Wesley Huff to Christ-curious comedians, get invited to wrestle seriously with the question of God rather than brush it aside. In 2025, Rogan himself started attending church, something <a href="https://x.com/paulanleitner/status/1874246583820157084?s=61&amp;t=GEWkhsehIN24AI-EHnUXaQ">I predicted</a> would happen in 2024. 
There were other signs in pop culture that, in strange ways, hinted at a coming spiritual turn. In late 2023, young men started playing old Creed songs again without an ounce of cynical irony — songs drenched in a sincere, hungry religiosity the 2000s had trained everyone to mock. In 2024, Creed had its highest-grossing year as a band, propelled primarily by young men who were too young to listen to the band&#8217;s religiously tinged albums when they first came out.
The popular stories that filled our screens began to reflect the ache men had for a positive vision of male heroism rooted in sacrificial love and the pursuit of something bigger than oneself. They made &#8220;Top Gun: Maverick&#8221; and &#8220;F1&#8243; enormous hits — films that refuse the postmodern move of telling you the male hero is an oppressive force of the patriarchy. More recently, they embraced &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hollywood-makes-a-story-where-doing-the-right-thing-still-matters">A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</a>,&#8221; a story about an earnest young man who wants, with his whole heart, to be genuinely good in a franchise famous for insisting that wanting to be good is how you get killed. They cheered for &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ryan-gosling-breathes-new-life-into-a-tired-genre-with-project-hail-mary">Project Hail Mary</a>,&#8221; whose “hopecore” message is built on a man named Grace laying down his life for the sake of the world.
None of these pop culture signposts are as explicitly “religious” as a Sunday school lesson, but what do they all have in common? They show that young men are hungry for hope, meaning, and purpose in their lives. They reflect a shift from the spiritual “closedness” of the last two decades to a fresh spiritual openness, and a growing appetite for timeless religious themes of virtue, sacrifice, and the quest for a higher purpose.
Is this a full-blown religious revival? Revival probably isn’t the best word to describe what’s happened. Young men’s interest in traditional religion has spiked, and some have started to fill the church pews. I suspect more will follow. What it does point to should be encouraging for anyone who cares about the future of America.
Young men are increasingly willing, in numbers now measurable, to entertain the possibility that the religious wisdom we had discarded was something we needed, but did not see the need for until we tried to live without it.
For 25 years, the trend line pointed in one direction, and even some of the most devoted church-going observers assumed it would keep tailing downward. It did not. It broke. In the span of a few short years, a generation of young men looked around at the trajectory of an anti-God culture and, with something like collective intuition, decided they had had enough.
***
Paul Anleitner is a cultural theologian whose work focuses on the role of culture and story in our quest for meaning. He is the author of “Based on a True Story: Vibe Shifts, the End of Deconstruction, and the Reboot of Meaning.”

Young Men Are Finding Their Way Back To Something The Culture Tried To Replace

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
I’ll never forget the night Johnny Manziel was drafted into the NFL. He walked on stage doing his famous “money” gesture — hands raised, fingers counting an invisible stack of cash — with a big grin on his face. For him, it was a choice to celebrate what came with this moment. This past Thursday night provided a redo, as many young men chose to promote what they brought to the moment.
Three hundred and twenty thousand people in attendance. Another 12 million people are watching the broadcast on some of the world’s biggest networks, including ESPN, ABC, and the NFL Network, using 55 cameras and eight production trucks. For 32 young men, the biggest moment of their lives was about to be on display for all. The NFL draft is the ultimate spectacle in celebrity. 
And yet, the number one pick didn’t show up. And when his time to speak came, he honored God. When asked how the last few months have changed his life — which included an NCAA national championship, a Heisman Trophy, and now being selected as the first pick in the NFL draft — Fernando Mendoza said, “The last five months have been such a blessing by God, and I can’t thank him enough.” Mendoza gave this interview from his parents’ home as he made the decision to be with his mother, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and he didn’t want to burden her with traveling to Pittsburgh.
And he wasn’t alone. Two picks later, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love emphasized that his success was in God&#8217;s plan. After being selected eighth overall by the New Orleans Saints, Jordyn Tyson said, “The Lord’s doing work on me.” He went on to say, “The Lord said it’s going to be hard. Life is hard.” Spoken like a true contrarian member of Gen Z. And later, the eleventh overall selection, Caleb Downs, gave “all glory to Jesus Christ.”
In fact, this became the theme on Thursday night, when fame appeared to take a back seat to faith and family. At least a dozen first-round picks explicitly invoked God, the Lord, or Jesus during draft night. In a moment manufactured to glorify them, these men deflected. And like Mendoza, more than half (18 of 32) prospects decided not to be in attendance and instead celebrate the biggest moment of their lives with family. 
Faith in sports isn’t new. We all remember Tim Tebow’s famous kneeling-in-prayer celebration. And many players cross their hearts and point to the sky after big plays. What’s different is the context. In our new social media environment, there is so much pressure to brand oneself personally. And on the night when it mattered most, many took the focus off themselves.
I hope Gen Z football fans were observing their peers. After all, they are the “anxious generation,” with six in 10 reporting <a href="https://www.youthmentalhealthcoalition.org/gen-z">feeling overwhelmed</a> by news and events. Amplified by the fact that one in three <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/12/12/teens-social-media-and-technology-2024/">say they are on social media</a> “almost constantly.” Surveys are great, but sometimes we need to taste the real thing to create countercultural pressure. And draft night delivered a full serving of faith, discipline, responsibility, and meaning on the biggest stage. 
What we also can’t ignore is the connection between these players’ mindsets and the brutality of their profession. While Gen Z’s unemployment rate sits at <a href="https://econofact.org/factbrief/fact-check-is-unemployment-for-young-us-workers-the-highest-since-the-pandemic">twice the national average</a>, these men are entering perhaps the hardest profession to make it in, the NFL, where only a tiny percentage succeed, and careers are short. Add to that the constant and extreme levels of physical and mental pressure. While some in our culture are teaching young people to avoid hardship and redefine standards, these men are proving and promoting that hardship is part of the deal.
To re-quote Jordyn Tyson, “Life is hard.” He followed that up with, “You have to persevere; life is not easy.” Translated for Gen Z: Hard is the norm. You prepare to deal with it. You don’t negotiate your way out of it. 
We keep hearing that young men are lost, but maybe we’re looking in the wrong places. While not all, many men who pursue an NFL career come from the socioeconomic backgrounds that researchers typically blame for bad life outcomes: poverty, fatherless homes, and crime-ridden neighborhoods. Hardship is their common denominator. The NFL doesn’t select for comfort; it selects for resilience. Maybe all of Gen Z isn’t lost. Some are just stuck in a comfort crisis.
This year’s draft was a metaphorical contrast for the lives of many young Americans. On one side, the stage. On the other, the living room. On one side, entitlement; on the other, hardship and gratitude. For many young men entering the NFL this week, the latter choice prevailed in each scenario and, along the way, provided waypoints on the map of meaning: where to look for hope, what moments really define a life, and who to bring with you on the journey.
Johnny Manziel wasn’t counting money for long. He played two seasons and exited the NFL stage almost as quickly as he crossed it on draft night. 
But this year, the prospects waited to count their money. Instead, we saw young men select mom over the moment and God over the glitz and glamor. The only thing more ordered than the draft selections was the prospects’ priorities.
***
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People with Gates Garcia. Follow him on X and Instagram @GatesGarciaFL.

Las Vegas Raiders Introduce Fernando Mendoza

The NFL Draft Just Delivered A Lesson Gen Z Desperately Needed

Life doesn’t come with a handbook, and neither does death.
Why do we keep it hidden away? Why do we try so desperately to cheat it? I suppose we’ve come a long way since Walt Disney froze his head (fact check: <a href="https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/walt-disney-frozen-after-death-myth">false</a>), but forever-young <a href="https://time.com/6315607/bryan-johnsons-quest-for-immortality/">Bryan Johnson</a> isn’t any closer to living forever, and, judging by his thawed-over looks and massive supplement regimen, I’m not sure most people would find that route appealing anyway. But <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/silicon-valleys-quest-to-live-forever">Silicon Valley</a> pushes ahead with its plan to play God ­— or at least outwit Him. Spoiler alert, not a good plan with <a href="https://www.bibleanalysis.org/saul-the-rise-and-fall-of-israels-first-king/">Him</a> or the <a href="https://www.caltaxadviser.com/top-10-worst-celebrity-tax-cheats-in-history/">IRS</a>.
But when someone like Ben Sasse comes along, it’s hard to look away. In fact, we must look and look with wonder and awe.
The former senator from Nebraska was diagnosed with inoperable stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December 2025. He was the guest on New York Times columnist Ross Douthat’s “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/opinion/ben-sasse-death-pancreatic-cancer.html">Interesting Times</a>” podcast on April 9, where he called the diagnosis “a death sentence.”
Days later, Sasse went viral. It wasn’t because of his appearance on the podcast, per se, but because of a <a href="https://x.com/AlexGoldenNBA/status/2042407968528880070?s=20">clip</a> of a young couple sitting courtside at an Indiana Pacers game engaged in a conversation. It was later revealed to be about Sasse’s thoughts on the state of liberal arts colleges and America’s higher education system, as discussed with Douthat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Pacers TV had these fans on the broadcast, and she is NOT having it 😂
After he finally stops yapping, she says, “that’s you…what the f*** are you talking about?” <a href="https://t.co/XdXMC6xhE9">pic.twitter.com/XdXMC6xhE9</a>
— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexGoldenNBA/status/2042407968528880070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Source: @AlexGoldenNBA/X.com
So here we have a made-for-meme moment starring two Pacers fans breathing fresh life into a man not just dying before our eyes but leaning into it so far that Sheryl Sandberg is taking notes. Now we can’t look away.
The good news and bad news are the same: you are going to die. We are all going to die. Fear not! There is no commitment on your end — other than the fate of your eternal soul. The trick to seeing both ways is to pause and consider what this means in life.
Americans are a dynamic, forward-thinking, happy-go-lucky crew who have too much going on at any given moment to stop and think about when things will stop forever. That mentality has had its benefits. We boldly ventured into the great Western frontier, stormed European beaches not once, but twice, to bail out our Old-World brethren from tangles of their own making. We rule the seas and explore the skies.
But all that moving and world-shaking leaves us wholly unprepared for the end. So yes, we’re all going to die. Death and taxes, as the saying goes. Except taxes can be managed, depending on who wields the political levers of power, or if you have an accountant whose address is a P.O. box and insists you pay in cash. Death has no workaround, comes with no instructions, and looks different for every person on the planet. But the good news is that being reminded of our mortality crystallizes the urgency and preciousness of life, and that life isn’t lived out on our timeline, no matter what technological advances the tech wunderkinds promise, and there are no one-size-fits-all guidelines.
In Tim Burton’s 1988 film “Beetlejuice,” married couple Barbara and Adam Maitland (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) die in a car accident and find themselves stuck in the afterlife with nothing but the “Handbook for the Recently Deceased” to guide them. It contains tips and quips: “Live people ignore the strange and unusual,” and “The living usually won&#8217;t see the dead.” But Burton’s film is a fictional tale with a fictional book, devoid of faith, and it spares us the actual dying part.
Ben Sasse doesn’t have a handbook on death or dying, yet here he is publicly facing his mortality in the most painful and gruesome way. Sasse is turning Beetlejuice’s “Handbook” on its head, doling out valuable insight and wisdom to the living, and we treat it like a spectator sport, except this Pacers fan boyfriend, who is trying to impart a piece of that wisdom to his girlfriend. “What the f*ck are you talking about?” she responds. Keep trying, buddy; a nation is cheering for you, and for Ben Sasse.
Douthat asked Sasse if he felt “ready to die.” He replied that although he didn’t feel ready, he had hope, due to his Christian faith, that he would be with God, “I know that that’s what I need,” he said.
We can plan for the afterlife: I want Elvis singing over the loudspeakers and free cigarettes at the funeral cash bar. But mostly, I want people to reflect on how they’re spending their limited time among the living — because even a one-day crash course on death could have repercussions in life. And that is exactly what Ben Sasse did and is doing: offering his death so we might reflect on our lives.
That’s not something we can find in any handbook.

Capitol Hill Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

Ben Sasse Is Going To Die — And So Are You

Ben Sasse

DW Opinion

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