Key Takeaways

The Segment: A Four-Minute Conversation That Covers What Most Coverage Misses

On September 25, 2026, Communio founder and president J.P. De Gance appeared on American Sunrise on Real America’s Voice to respond to new data from the Institute for Family Studies showing a record number of young American men are single.

The numbers are striking. More than 30.4 million U.S. men between 18 and 39 were single in 2025, nearly 10 million more than in 2000. In the same period, the number of married men in that age group fell from 18.1 million to 15.4 million, a 15% decline. The segment’s host framed the obvious question: is this primarily an economic problem?

De Gance’s answer was direct: culture is a much larger factor.

► Watch the full American Sunrise segment → youtube.com

The Core Finding: Parental Priorities Are Shaping a Generation’s Choices

De Gance pointed to Pew Research as a window into the cultural shift driving the bachelor crisis.

Nine out of ten parents say it is very important that their children are financially independent. Nine out of ten say it is important that their children have a fulfilling career. But only one in five say it is important that their children get married. Only one in five say it is important that their children have children of their own.

Young adults are living out their parents’ priorities. And when marriage is not on the priority list, the downstream consequences are measurable.

Material expectations have risen in parallel. In 1970 and 1980, fewer than 30% of married men owned a home at the time of their marriage. Today that figure is 60%. The bar for beginning a life together has been set dramatically higher, delaying the commitment that the research consistently shows is the greatest predictor of individual flourishing.

De Gance also noted that in 1993, 83% of high school senior girls said getting married was important to them. Today that figure has fallen to 61%. By almost any measure, the cultural norms around marriage are shifting — and the shift is leading directly to what he called a happiness crisis and a public health crisis.

The Counterintuitive Angle: The Loneliest Americans Are in Their 30s. Not Their 70s.

The segment’s most arresting moment came when De Gance addressed who is actually carrying the weight of loneliness in America.

The assumption is that the elderly are the loneliest among us. De Gance challenged that directly: the loneliest Americans are not the elderly and not the widowed. They are the unmarried in their 30s.

According to the UCLA Loneliness Index, loneliness is associated with a lifespan roughly 15 years shorter than those who are not lonely. Research from Miami also found that married people are significantly less likely to be diagnosed with cancer, particularly cancers linked to risky behaviors. And communities with fewer married men see rising crime, greater vulnerability among women and children, and higher rates of human trafficking — because the married man, De Gance noted, has historically been the greatest defender of women and children in any community.

This is not a social commentary. It is a public health argument: if we are concerned about health, happiness, and safer communities, the marriage decline is one of the most consequential and underaddressed factors in the national conversation.

What This Means for Your Church

At Communio, the American Sunrise segment makes the case that J.P. makes consistently across platforms: the marriage crisis is not a private or religious concern. It is a public health emergency with measurable consequences for individuals, families, and entire communities.

The local church is uniquely positioned to address it, not through political advocacy, but through the pastoral and relational work of forming young adults for commitment, helping families prioritize marriage alongside career and financial independence, and building the kind of community where marriage is visible, celebrated, and supported at every stage.

Communio helps churches build exactly that culture. Watch the full segment and share it with your leadership team.

Take the Next Step

► Watch the full American Sunrise segment with J.P. De Gance → youtube.com

► Explore Communio’s resources for churches → communio.org

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the IFS data show about young single men? New Institute for Family Studies data cited in the segment shows that more than 30.4 million U.S. men ages 18 to 39 were single in 2025, nearly 10 million more than in 2000. The number of married men in that age group fell from 18.1 million to 15.4 million, a 15% decline in a single generation.

Is the bachelor crisis primarily an economic problem? De Gance argues culture is a much larger factor than economics. Pew Research shows nine out of ten parents prioritize financial independence for their children, but only one in five say marriage is important for their kids. Material expectations have also risen sharply: home ownership rates among newly married men have doubled since 1970. Both reflect cultural shifts in what adulthood and success are supposed to look like.

Why does De Gance say marriage is a public health issue? According to the UCLA Loneliness Index, loneliness is associated with a lifespan roughly 15 years shorter than the norm. The loneliest Americans are not the elderly but unmarried people in their 30s. Research also links marriage to lower cancer rates and reduced risky behavior. Communities with fewer married men experience higher crime and greater vulnerability among women and children, making the marriage decline a measurable public safety concern as well.

What is the connection between fewer married men and human trafficking? De Gance noted in the segment that married men have historically been the primary defenders of women and children in their communities. With significantly fewer married men present in families and neighborhoods, the protective social infrastructure that has historically buffered against exploitation and trafficking is weakened.

Credit: This post draws on J.P. De Gance’s appearance on American Sunrise, Real America’s Voice, aired September 25, 2026. Watch the full segment here.