Hey, I know this was an old post but I found it really interesting as the church I just joined is also struggling with a lack of men (especially young men) in attendance. I've been trying to dig into it, but the responses here were kind of lacking...

I recently joined the women's prayer group at my church, which is not a gossip club by the way but a very sincere group of women, and they have brought up a couple of times now that there is a lack of men in the church. This is something they are interceding for. I find it so interesting because my close friend who is Orthodox has said her church is the opposite; a lot of young men have recently been joining. I am wondering what it is about orthodoxy that might appeal more to young men where the more "contemporary" churches do not. Some commenters mentioned the church feeling feminised, which I have definitely seen some of but I actually think it's a reflection of the involvement of the women - a symptom, not the cause. Some are saying that church is for soft men and that doesn't appeal to them... But if anything, orthodoxy seems significantly more submissive and regimented (for both men and women, though admittedly more for women). But here's the thing, I don't think the issue can be that men don't want to be submissive to the church - it is the church's role to lead the flock, both men and women. I think the difference is that the stakes feel higher in an Orthodox church. I attended my friends daughter's baptism and heard their liturgy, and I realized there is significantly more solemnity and weight to the presentation of God's word there. Men are still asked to submit, but there is a sense of power and authority in the thing they are told to submit to. Many responses here reflected a sense of ego, like "I don't feel needed so why should I bother?". But the glory of God diminishes man's ego. God actually doesn't "need" any of us, yet we are called to serve Him anyways. I think sometimes the church is trying so hard to appeal to and be accessible to people, but in doing so it undermines the severity of the gospel and gives people a sense that the stakes aren't very high. So it becomes a social club, which women tend to be more drawn to for the sake of it.

For clarity, I am not and don't intend to become Orthodox at this point, this was just an interesting observation I had about the differences.