Matthew McConaughey Says This Is Why Young Men Are Turning to Faith

Published: October 1, 2025

By Gavin Boyle

In a world that says otherwise, Matthew McConaughey believes what young men truly desire is a life of purpose — something faith can give them.

“Let’s stay on young men for a while. And this does not exclude young women, but for the sake of this conversation, I’m going to block it over here and say young men. We want to be relied on. We want and need to be depended on,” McConaughey said on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast recently. “And a sheer independent, individual lifestyle with nothing that you’re responsible for outside of what you only need [is harmful]. No other gardens you have to tend. No other collective communal who relies on us.”

McConaughey believes society has tricked too many men into believing they can just float along through life and be happy. Instead, though, he says that it is only by having responsibility and working hard that people, especially young men, can truly be happy. McConaughey knows this first hand as he spent many years as an agnostic, chasing a hedonistic lifestyle which left him feeling empty.

“Don’t just rely on fate. Too many people are doing that, man. I’ve had my agnostic years where I was not a believer at all; fully self-reliant…” McConaughey said. “When I came out of that, I was like, ‘Oh, those two aren’t mutually exclusive’ — self-reliance and belief…Yes, I’m responsible. The choices that I make today have to do with where I’ll be tomorrow. Yes, they have consequences. My choices matter.”

Christianity has seen a surge of interest from young men in recent years.

Among Gen Z men, Relevant reported, “commitment to Jesus jumped from 52% in 2019 to 67% in 2025,” and they’re more likely than young women to follow Jesus.

While society teaches that freedom comes from having no responsibilities, McConaughey knows that this is completely backwards, and, in fact, it is through responsibility that we find freedom — and purpose.

“When you become a parent, your peripheral vision becomes better, whereas before you’re a parent, you can have tunnel vision,” the actor said previously. “You can take one-trip tickets to anywhere you want to go. No more one-trip tickets when you become a parent. It’s round trip tickets because you know you have to get back and you’ve got dependents.”

“You can take care of your stuff, chores, you take care of yourself, you will have more freedoms in the future,” he added.

It is encouraging to see McConaughey speak so boldly about this topic that goes against the grain of culture and that so many young men and women are finding this truth on their own and turning to the Lord for purpose.

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