Is the Andrew Tate phenomenon really something the Catholic Church should be talking about?

The former professional kickboxer made the news in 2022 when he was  arrested with his brother, Tristan, in Romania on charges of rape and human trafficking. He has been the news again recently, after he returned to the US to face a civil case from a woman who alleges he and his brother coerced her into sex work and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.

On Friday, Tate said he was returning to Romania to clear his name, and denies all the accusations.

Tate is one of the most prominent figures on the internet, famous for his self-described misogynist views and promotion of a hedonist lifestyle. I admit, I only vaguely knew about him, since he appeals to a much younger audience.

Yet I saw a video about him from Joe Heschmeyer’s website Shameless Popery. He spent an hour discussing Tate, but what hit me most was hearing Heschmeyer say 80 percent of British boys aged 16 to 17  had consumed Tate’s content in 2023. My two sons aren’t yet that old, but they are getting close.

(Heschmeyer’s video is over an hour long, and gets into a lot of theology. I found it very interesting, and it can be found here on YouTube.)

The Catholic apologist noted Tate presents himself as the richest, handsomest, and most successful man in the world, but was not satisfied. He included the following speech from Tate:

“I was starting to analyze, saying: Well, if I’m currently king of the world, what did the kings of old do? Maybe they were doing something cool, and then you realize that life hasn’t changed very much. The world hasn’t changed very much. If I was an emperor during Roman times, I’d probably be smoking some form of tobacco, I’d probably have some diamonds, have some chicks, eat good food, hang around with my boys. I’d have the fastest horse, got the fastest cars… nothing’s changed. Think about it: 2,000 years ago for fun, people would drink alcohol, turn on music and dance with stupid chicks, [and] go to the club.

“But my point is that we haven’t really evolved much in the space of fun. It’s the same junk it’s always been. So then you have to understand that the only thing that’s going to fulfill you is a purpose, and my purpose is attacking and fighting the Matrix. So do I have an army? Yes! All of you at home: My fans who sit and listen to my messaging, and change how you act, so it’s harder for the Matrix to lie to you and purport the infantile asinine ideas which are required for your slavery.”

Of course, most fathers should be horrified if this was the path pursued by their sons, but Tate also has a high volume of followers in their 20s and 30s.

In his video, Heschmeyer points out the contradiction to Tate’s actions: He realizes that his pagan lifestyle isn’t making him happy, so he thinks the solution is telling men – well, mostly young boys – how to live this same pagan lifestyle.

Heschmeyer notes how Tate has a lot of young, impressionable boys following him, and “Tatism” is moulding them.

The Catholic apologist notes that Tate’s philosophy is similar to much pagan philosophy throuth history, in that it does not mention kindness, compassion, forgiveness, repentance, or humility; let alone the Christian theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

“You are made for greatness, and it’s not arrogant to say that. Thus, if his soul is endowed with great virtue, magnanimity makes him tend to perfect works of virtue – and the same is to be said of the use of any other good, such as science or external fortune,” Heschmeyer says, noting that these are gifts from God.

Of course, these are Christian virtues. In England – where I live – only 46 percent of the population identify as Christian, even though the Church of England is the state religion. (In the United States, it is 66 percent.) This means more teenage boys know about Tate than know about Jesus.

There is a passage in the Book of Exodus: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Before I was a father, this passage gave me hope. Now I think of my sins and fear the rise of “Tatism” in my sons’ generation.

Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome