Regent’s Park College is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Kristin Aune as Senior Research Fellow. She will lead a new research project, New Christian Masculinities: Searching for Meaning and Security in a Polarised World, funded by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust.

This project aims to understand young men’s engagement with Christianity in a context of global insecurity, changing gender attitudes, and the fragmentation of identity in a divided society.

As Professor Aune explains, ‘Surveys suggest that young men and women’s values are becoming more polarised. I’d like to find out what this means for the church. How does Christian engagement change or shape young men’s views on masculinity and their roles in church and society? And what implications does this have for churches and youth workers?’

Led by Professor Aune with Dr Chris Shannahan and Dr Adam Fenton (Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University), the team will conduct the first in-depth interview study with thirty young men aged 18-30 who have found faith or the church in the past 5 years to uncover what is happening and why.

Working in partnership with the national Christian youth organisation Youthscape (Dr Hannah Bowden), the team will translate their findings into practical resources to enhance youth workers’ training, alongside wider dissemination to a range of practitioner and academic audiences.

Some recent surveys suggest that young men in several countries – including the UK, USA, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands – are attending church and identifying as Christian at higher rates than before. Media coverage has highlighted this trend, with headlines such as ‘Make Christianity cool again: why Gen Z is flocking to church’ (Independent, 20.04.25). These suggestions are refuted by some scholars, and the Bible Society recently withdrew their ‘Quiet Revival’ report suggesting a rise was happening in the UK due to errors in the way the polling company they had commissioned conducted the research.

The project will explore how factors such as value polarisation – where young men’s gender attitudes are becoming more conservative and young women’s more feminist – alongside social media, digital cultures, and global political instability, are shaping these developments.

The New Christian Masculinities project will address key questions, including:

• Who are the young men embracing Christianity?
• Why are they embracing Christianity?
• What forms of theology and church are young men drawn to?
• In what ways are they adopting Christianity?
• How has their Christian engagement impacted their view of masculinity and identity as young men?
• What are the implications for churches, Christian organisations, youth organisations and local and national policy on security and resilience?

The project will produce a range of outputs, including a research report, academic publications, and a webinar featuring young men sharing their experiences. In collaboration with Youthscape, it will also contribute to podcasts, training resources, workshops and events aimed at supporting youth workers and church leaders.

Professor Aune is a sociologist specialising in religion, gender and higher education. She brings extensive experience in teaching, doctoral supervision, and leading major externally funded projects, including those supported by the AHRC, the European Commission, and the Leverhulme Trust. You can learn more about Kristin here.

Kristin will join Regent’s in late April, with the project launching in May 2026. The final report is expected in early 2028. Further updates will be shared on the New Christian Masculinities webpage, where you can learn more about the project.

Director of Research, Dr Helen Cameron, said ‘we are delighted that Prof Kristin Aune is joining us at Regent’s, strengthening our capacity to deliver high impact qualitative research in theology and religion. The New Christian Masculinities project spans a number of our areas of interest including how people exercise their freedom of religion or belief, the intersection of religion and gender, and the ways in which contemporary church life is changing.’

At a time of significant social and cultural change, the New Christian Masculinities project seeks to shed light on the relationship between faith, identity, and gender. Its findings will help inform conversations across church, academia and policy, supporting more informed and constructive engagement in the years ahead.