The traditionalist Mark Wahlberg

Usually, Cockburn is somewhere on the pessimistic side, talking about how so-and-so isn’t good, how who-knows-what is corrupting society. But today he’s feeling nice for once. Mark Wahlberg, in a recent Instagram video, congratulated his son Michael for getting confirmed and praised other young people who want to serve God by way of the Catholic Church’s teachings.

And it’s got Cockburn feeling light.

“Congratulations to my son Michael on making his confirmation,” Wahlberg said. “All the young people out there who are confirmed and taking their relationship with the Lord into their adulthood, what a commitment you guys have made.”

It’s exceedingly rare these days for a celebrity to raise a child in a way that centers on faith…or participates any religion for that matter (outside of Scientology, at least).

Like Cockburn, movie stars, musicians, and other public figures love to flaunt the vices that hold them back. Yet that is not the case with Wahlberg. He has his own redemption story, true, yet there are no scandals or overdoses here. A celebrity who is encouraging his son and others toward religious faith is a far cry from what we have come to expect in society.

Wahlberg credits his Catholic faith for improving his life. Seeing him congratulate his son on being confirmed got Cockburn thinking about Gen Z, whose relationship with religion is uncertain, to say the least. Some say Gen Z will be the least religious cohort to date, while others claim they will blaze a new path towards traditional religious faith and bring about a new Revivalism.

While Cockburn doesn’t think Wahlberg’s comments will necessarily have any direct impact outside of his family and friends, the wider context around his statement could have an influence on the choices younger people are making. The question is: how will Gen Z fit into the religious orders of their forefathers? Between wiccans, atheists, scientism, and other non-traditional attitudes in society, will the young once again seek out God as their rock, as Wahlberg has?

Only time will tell, but Cockburn can wait if he needs to. He has plenty of gin to get him through.