By Lena Vasquez, Community Features & Culture Editor

Having real friends is not just a nice extra. Researchers rank solid social ties right alongside not smoking and not being obese when it comes to living longer. Yet even in a hyper-connected world, public health experts keep warning about young men slipping into isolation.

The Institute for Family Studies’ Young Men’s Survey of American men ages 18 to 29 puts a hard number on the problem. Four in ten report having two or fewer close friends. One clear bright spot stands out in the data: religion.

Men who described themselves as religious were the most likely to report close friendships, more so than education level or marital status. Twenty-two percent of religious young men said they have six or more close friends, nearly double the rate among secular men. Only 3 percent of the religious group reported having no close friends at all, compared with 12 percent of secular men.

The survey also shows other patterns that matter. Young men who are not working report the highest rates of isolation, with 17 percent saying they have zero close friends. Married men with children sit at the other end, with just 1 percent reporting no close friends. College graduates do better than those without a degree, but none of those gaps match the size of the religious-secular divide on the high end of the friendship scale.

In Sacramento, Pew research data reports 20 percent of local residents attend religious services at least once a week, lagging the national average of 25 percent. Nonetheless, the Sacramento region boasts numerous thriving congregations, some of which have multiple campuses and weekly attendance in the thousands. Bayside, Calvary Christian Center, and Capital Christian Center are just a few examples of religious communities locally that are flourishing.  

In a country already wrestling with rising mental health struggles among young men, the numbers are pushing some researchers to look past the usual policy fixes. The data suggests that the communities and institutions that once formed the foundations of male bonds, may still remain a more effective solution than another wave of digital outreach or mental health spending.