• More young men are expressing a desire to become dads, revealing a hopeful trend that could reverse the fatherhood crisis and renew generational legacies.
• Active fathers are more likely to volunteer, vote, and lead in their communities.
• Research shows that fathers report higher life satisfaction, stronger purpose, and even increased workplace ambition and earnings.

​This year’s Father’s Day ended up being far more special than I had anticipated. My son and I had the chance to do something new together that wasn’t even on my mind a few days ago: we grilled a steak as a team.

My family and I left New York City for the weekend and were able to enjoy some grilling. This activity is both a rarity for me and a time of pure pleasure, often accompanied by some Jimmy Buffett music in the background.

I had selected my cuts, and I (evidently loudly enough for my son to hear) let my wife know that I was going to prepare the steaks for the grill. As soon as I said this, my son came running in and asked me if he could help set everything up and put the steaks into the fire. I was thrilled. He tied on an apron and we got to work.

While we were working, my son peppered me with questions. I was euphoric watching him put the steaks on the grill, then take them off to wrap them and let them rest.

My son was incredibly excited to taste his hard work. I was so proud of his enthusiasm, curiosity, and execution as we feasted on the steak. He was smiling the whole time, and I am so grateful for this amazing family memory.

Though a simple – perhaps even routine – experience, I share this story because a decade ago, I couldn’t imagine being a father. Back then, I could not even begin to comprehend or appreciate just how deeply and profoundly the positive impact of being a Dad would have on me in all aspects of my life.  

Fortunately, the very real benefits of being a Dad are becoming known to many young men today and this is good news for society. In contrast to attitudes a decade ago, when men weren’t enthusiastic about becoming fathers and often put off this life step, an increasing number of men are expressing a desire to become parents and are actively engaged with their children.

In our modern age of individualism, hypermobility, and persistent social fragmentation, American society as a whole would be well served to consider the fact that fatherhood is a powerful source of personal flourishing and social renewal.

Years of research and the lived experience of millions of men reveal that fatherhood, far from being a constraint or detour from one’s ambitions, often anchors men to deeper meaning, drives greater investment in work and relationships, and strengthens the social fabric at large.

But recently, a growing number of men are actively seeking the opportunity to become fathers. These men are not doing this out of obligation, but out of hope. This could be the early sign of a reversal of these societally damaging trends.

Fortunately, recent findings show that men today are more likely than women to say they want children.

The Pew Research Center found in 2024 that among younger adults – those aged 18 to 34 – men were more interested in becoming parents than women, “with 57 per cent of men hoping to become a father someday, while 45 per cent of women said the same.” Another 2024 study from Simon Fraser University in Canada found that 67% of men under 50 expressed a desire to have children, compared to just 55% of women.

As reported by CBC News, this gap is widening, and the two studies collectively reveal a striking reversal of the long-standing narrative that men are less family-oriented. In a culture that often depicts male identity in terms of avoidance or abstraction, this finding demands attention.

This commentary, therefore, explores the often overlooked but vital benefits of fatherhood on personal well-being, workplace engagement, and social cohesion.

Drawing on recent academic literature, large-scale surveys, and sociological theory, I hope to show that becoming a father is one of the most life-enhancing and socially constructive decisions a man can make, and, fortunately, it appears that many men in both the United States and Canada are beginning to get this very message.

Contrary to the assumption that children diminish well-being, a significant body of research finds that fatherhood often correlates with greater life satisfaction, emotional depth, and meaning. The Institute for Family Studies reports that married fathers with children consistently report higher levels of happiness than men without children; a finding replicated regularly in the General Social Survey.

Why the difference? Fatherhood provides not just emotional intimacy, but a framework of purpose. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson famously argued that the key to adult fulfillment is “generativity”—the concern for establishing and guiding the next generation. Fatherhood is perhaps the most immediate, tangible way to realize that need.

Moreover, parenthood reshapes time in psychologically beneficial ways. As sociologist Bradford Wilcox deftly explains, fatherhood essentially pulls men out of themselves and into relationships and something far bigger than themselves. It reduces excessive time spent on solitary leisure, often linked to depression and social isolation, and replaces it with structured, reciprocal commitments.

Yes, children disrupt sleep and spontaneity — but they also force men to become more human: more nurturing, more emotionally present, more future-oriented.

Fatherhood doesn’t just change how men feel — it also changes how they work. In direct contrast to stereotypes about disengaged or distracted fathers, the evidence shows that men often become more ambitious and responsible in the workplace after becoming dads.

Another major study by the Pew Research Center found that large numbers of working fathers reported that having children made them feel more motivated to succeed in their careers.

Economists have long observed the so-called “daddy bonus”: married men with children tend to earn more than their childless peers, even after controlling for education and experience. While some of this premium is due to employer bias favoring family men, much of it reflects genuine behavioral change: fathers work more hours, pursue promotions more aggressively, and often display greater organizational loyalty.

Importantly, fatherhood fosters a sense of stewardship. Men with dependents are more likely to delay gratification, invest in long-term plans, and avoid risky or antisocial behavior.

Economist Raj Chetty’s mobility research underscores this point: communities with strong father presence are also those where upward mobility and economic stability are strongest. Children benefit, of course—but so do fathers, who align their labor with larger narratives of growth, protection, and legacy.

Beyond the individual and economic dimensions of being a parent, there is compelling evidence that fatherhood plays a critical role in maintaining civil society. Alexis de Tocqueville, writing in Democracy in America, emphasized the importance of voluntary associations and family life in sustaining a healthy republic. Modern social science echoes that insight: fatherhood is a gateway to civic participation.

Men who are actively involved fathers are significantly more likely to volunteer, attend religious services, coach Little League teams, vote in local elections, and donate to community institutions. Fatherhood, in other words, roots men in place. It transforms them from abstract citizens into stakeholders — men with a vested interest in school boards, public parks, neighborhood safety, and shared cultural values.

Moreover, fatherhood promotes moral modeling.

Children, especially sons, who grow up with engaged fathers are less likely to drop out of school, commit crimes, or experience poverty. They are more likely to attend college, form lasting relationships, and become active citizens themselves. As James Q. Wilson – a treasured mentor of mine in graduate school – powerfully observed, the health of a society depends less on policy and more on the transmission of norms, norms that are most powerfully embodied and enforced within families.

Yet this ideal remains unevenly distributed.

In many urban and lower-income communities, fatherlessness is rampant, with devastating consequences. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 1 in 4 children live without a biological, step-, or adoptive father in the home. This absence is not just a personal loss — it is a civic emergency. Revitalizing fatherhood must therefore be part of any serious attempt to rebuild trust, reduce inequality, and foster solidarity in American life.

Despite its documented benefits, fatherhood remains undervalued—culturally, economically, and symbolically. Contemporary narratives often portray fathers as unnecessary at best, and harmful at worst. So much pop culture routinely depicts dads as bumbling, absentee, or emotionally stunted. Media tropes like “deadbeat dad” or the comedic but clueless father reinforce a view of fatherhood as an optional or diminished role.

But this runs directly counter to what the evidence tells us. Fatherhood matters—profoundly. Yet men receive little social encouragement or institutional preparation for this role. Educational systems, popular media, and even some public policy frameworks fail to affirm the dignity and importance of fatherhood.

That’s why recent writing from the Institute for Family Studies emphasizes the need for cultural encouragement. A 2024 blog post by Steve Bateman finds that young men today are open to marriage and family life, but lack guidance, support, and visible models.

Bateman essentially argues that so many of today’s young men are searching for purpose and a reason to live their lives in particular ways, and encouraging young men to marry and have children could be one of the most important things that society can do to promote social stability and personal happiness. What’s required is not just access to marriage or fatherhood, but a cultural shift that celebrates fatherhood and the institution of marriage as essential.

Such wisdom and similar ideas have long been present in many religious traditions that generally believe and promote the idea that fatherhood is not merely a biological or social function—it is a sacred vocation. Across Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other faiths, the role of the father is imbued with moral responsibility, spiritual leadership, and covenantal purpose. Fatherhood in these contexts is more than a task; it is a reflection of divine stewardship.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, for instance, fathers are called to “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6).

The biblical image of God as a loving Father serves both as a theological metaphor and a practical model for earthly fathers. As Pope John Paul II wrote in Familiaris Consortio, the father is “called upon to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family.”

In my own Jewish faith, the father-son bond is foundational, dating back to Abraham and his son Isaac.

I have long admired a notion in Kiddushin 30a of the Babylonian Talmud which proclaims that “Any father who teaches his son Torah, it is as if he taught his son, his son’s son, and so on to the end of generations” for this captures the seminal Jewish idea that it is a father’s responsibility to not just to care for his child physically, but also to pass down values, tradition, and sacred learning — extending his influence far beyond his own lifetime.

Recent sociological data confirms that religious engagement enhances paternal involvement.

A 2002 study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that religious fathers — whether evangelical, Catholic, or mainline Protestant — are significantly more involved with their children than their nonreligious counterparts. This involvement includes one-on-one activities, shared meals eaten together as a family, and attending school and youth events.

To put it bluntly, faith not only motivates paternal involvement—it offers a transcendent framework. Men see their role not as transactional, but as eternal. Children are not burdens; they are blessings entrusted by God.

Moreover, religious communities offer fathers much-needed support.

Churches, synagogues, and mosques are among the few remaining spaces where men find intergenerational mentorship, moral direction, and collective purpose. These institutions help fathers navigate crises, celebrate milestones, and raise children within a community of shared values. They reaffirm what modernity often forgets: fatherhood is not merely about provision—it is about formation.

Faith also situates fatherhood within a larger story of legacy. Rather than viewing parenting as a task that ends at age 18, religious fathers see themselves as shaping generations — passing down traditions, ethics, and rituals.

As findings from the National Study of Youth and Religion consistently show, children are more likely to continue in faith into adulthood when their fathers model an active spiritual life.

When parents — both mothers and fathers — engage actively in discussions about religion and attend services, their children are far more likely to maintain religious practices into adulthood.

Vern Bengtson’s multigenerational research has revealed that having a close bond with one’s father led to a 67% transmission rate of religious tradition (vs. 56% maternal transmission).

This all suggests that faith isn’t just inherited, it’s taught and experienced. It’s the intentional, everyday participation — prayers at the dinner table, church attendance, moral guidance — that truly forms religiosity in young people. And the stronger the father-child bonds, the stronger the intergenerational faith transmission. Emotional closeness, more than presence alone, solidifies the trans-generational passage of faith.

Fatherhood transforms men, not just practically, but spiritually. When fathers step into their role as spiritual mentors, their impact reverberates through generations — strengthening families, communities, and the moral fabric of society. This empirical reality gives men both motivation and meaning, tethering daily responsibilities to eternal significance.

In a secular age that often treats men’s spiritual lives as performative or peripheral, reclaiming the sacredness of fatherhood is a powerful antidote. It calls men to serve not just as providers, but as priests in the home — guides, blessers, and witnesses. It is not just a job; it is a calling rooted in love, shaped by tradition, and oriented toward eternity.

To be a father is to step into a story larger than oneself. It is to recognize that meaning is not found in autonomy but in responsibility; not in self-expression, but in self-giving. And as the research shows, men who embrace fatherhood flourish — not in spite of its demands, but because of them. I am a much happier and better citizen because of my son. I hope that I will always have the time and health to be an active part of his life.

Overall, fatherhood enhances men’s happiness, sharpens their professional purpose, and embeds them more deeply in the communities they call home. It strengthens civic trust, reduces antisocial behavior, and fosters generational continuity. It is one of the few remaining institutions that can bind together personal aspiration and public virtue, potentially helping to address what Sutherland Institute recently found among many men in both Utah and nationally: an appreciable number who are silent and struggling today.

We cannot forget, however, that fatherhood is also a fragile institution, increasingly undermined by economic inequality, cultural ambivalence, and the erosion of the institutions — marriage, religion, civil society — that once supported it. Revitalizing fatherhood must involve not only social and policy supports, but also spiritual imagination. The sacred dimension of fatherhood — its moral weight, its legacy, its echo of the divine — remains a source of strength and identity that our culture cannot afford to ignore.

The good news is that men are still choosing it, and the numbers are now growing. They want children. They want to be engaged. They want to belong.

Our nation’s decline in fatherhood can be reversed. Our fatherless crisis can be ended if we, as a community, are collectively careful in our policies and approaches to helping young men take the next steps toward family and children.

As research findings here have reminded us, what they need is encouragement, support, and a cultural narrative that affirms the profound significance of fatherhood — not just for their children, but for themselves and society writ large.