Marco Rubio’s Visa Plan Won’t Save America’s Youth

Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Hamas demonstrations in the aftermath of the October 7th attack in Israel. This order fulfilled what Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised at his confirmation hearing. While this plan is laudable, it glosses over a much larger problem: Many of these pro-Hamas students are Americans. 

If the new administration aims to protect Jewish students from further harm on college campuses, it will have to face the ideological forces preying on our nation’s youth. To save our culture and the future of the American experiment, Americans need to go back to church. 

Historically, there is a clear correlation between the loss of religion in America and the growth of social-political extremism — especially on college campuses. Since the 1960s, colleges have been hotbeds of student activism. Anti-Vietnam War protests and the sexual revolution rebelling against mainstream culture were just a few. Around that time, average church attendance began to decline across the United States. Disillusionment with mainstream institutions led to people seeking alternatives to what were normal pillars of society. 

This should make sense: Everyone desires to participate in something larger than themselves, and when American families gave up the habit of attending church and participating in religious activities, young people found new ways to feel connected. 

Church attendance in the United States has been on the decline for years. For most of the time since Gallup started collecting data in the 1930s, more than 70% of Americanswere church members. Only since the turn of the century has this number dipped under 50%. In 2020, less than half of Americans were members of a church. This trend is particularly true among college students. Post-pandemic, young people attend church at lower rates than the general population. 

Some may wonder what difference it makes that Americans in general and students, in particular, don’t go to church. People who attend church are happier, healthier, and more generous with their time and money. Moreover, regularly going to church fosters a sense of community among neighbors and in the nation more broadly. If Americans of all generations have a common sense of identity, that will protect our country from extremist ideologies. 

Today, Gallup found that only 20% of Americans attend church weekly. Even worse, 57% of Americans rarely or never attend church. This means that the institution that once united Americans of all backgrounds is now a significant factor in the lives of only one in five people. 

Young people today are isolated, with 73% of them reporting feeling lonely. Research has identified loneliness as a factor that drives people into the arms of extremist movements. Humans are social creatures and need to find a connection somewhere to thrive. People used to find connections at churches, but with religious associations on the decline they are driven to other social movements to find it. 

Given our national religious crisis, it should be no surprise that young people were so vulnerable to the false promises of community and righteousness offered by the pro-Palestine movement. After all, like any religion, extremist movements also provide people with ideologies through which to view the world, and systems of right and wrong by which to govern thoughts, words, and actions. Churches tell congregants that all people are sinners and we live in a broken world. The socialist agenda promoted in college classrooms tells students that the problems of the world all stem from the oppressions of Western civilization, which has been built on the ethical and moral principles of Christianity and Judaism. It’s a short leap to make from that assumption to the belief that Jews and Western imperialism are the cause of all injustice in the world. 

Religion has long been a pillar of American society. While not all of our founders were Christians, they all believed in the importance of a religious framework uniting the country. If America is to remain tied to its mission statement of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we must start going to church together. To move forward as a nation, we must have a common moral framework, and we will find it at church. 

Over the past two years, Hamas has exploited young people in America by capitalizing on their need to belong and their desire for purpose. Intelligence reported that Iran, Hamas’ biggest backer, was also funding pro-Hamas protests on U.S. campuses. Like a body fighting off a disease, American society has been at risk of infection due to a weak immune system. If we want to protect our Republic and extinguish the scourge of radicalism and anti-semitism, Americans need to start regularly attending church again. If we don’t, then we will be susceptible to whatever radical trend comes our way next. 

The new administration can pass as many executive orders as it wants to deport threatening persons from foreign countries, but none of that will address the ideological vulnerability that made American students susceptible to extremist ideas last spring. If we want to save our culture and the future of the American experiment, Americans need to go back to church.