unchristian
What a new generation really thinks about Christianity . . . and why it matters
by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
2007 Baker Books. 253 pages. Available in print, for Nook, and for Kindle.
unchristian takes a look at how modern Christianity is viewed by young adults. Kinnaman is the president of Barna Group. Since joining Barna in 1995, he has designed and analyzed nearly 500 studies for a variety of churches, nonprofits, and corporations. Lyons is the founder of Q - learning community that mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society. Lyons commissioned Kinnaman to conduct a study that became the basis for the book unchristian. What was to be a 3-month study ended up becoming a 3-year research project.
In a nutshell, modern Christianity has an image problem. It is viewed as being unChristian by a majority of young “outsiders” in America.
Kinnaman defines 4 age brackets in his study. Based on age (in 2007) these are Elders (61+), Boomers (42-60), Busters (born between 1965 and 1983), and Mosaics (born between 1984 and 2002). His study focused primarily on the older Mosaics and young Busters, age 16-29. He defines primarily 3 groups of people according to their faith.
Outsiders - those individuals who look at Christianity “from the outside in.” This group includes atheists and agnostics, those affiliated with a faith other than Christianity, and other unchurched adults who are not born again Christians.
Born again Christians – people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today, and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Respondents to his surveys were not asked to identify themselves as “born again.”
Evangelical Christians – people who meet the born again criteria above, as well as seven other conditions. These include (1) saying their faith is very important in their life today; (2) believing they have a personal responsibility to share their beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; (3) believing that Satan exists; (4) believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; (5) believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; (6) asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and (7) describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being an Evangelical is not dependent on church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents to his surveys were not asked to identify themselves as “Evangelicals.”
The audience of this book is targeted to both Christians and Outsiders. I can see that depending on one’s point of view as a Christian, a reader’s reaction could span the range between that of anger or being emotionally upset over the content, to one of “I don’t do that.” But perhaps the better way of looking at this book is to come from humility and ask “Do I do that?”
In Barna’s national surveys, the three most common perceptions of present-day Christianity by young Outsiders (age 16-29) are:
- Antihomosexual (91%).
- Judgmental (87%).
- Hypocritical (85%).
Six chapters of the book are dedicated to each of the following perceptions: Hypocritical; Get Saved!; Antihomosexual; Sheltered; Too Political; Judgmental.
Each of these six chapters is structured with an introductory quote from one of the young Outsiders; a statement of the Perception; a goal for a new Perception; the body of text describing the issues of the chapter, and a series of short essays by national Christian leaders under the heading of “Changing the Perception.” For example, Chapter 4: Get Saved! Starts with the following quote and perceptions:
“Christians are too concerned with converting people. They are insincere. All I ever hear is “Get Saved!” I tried that whole “Jesus thing” already. It didn’t work for me before, and am not interested now.” - Shawn, 22.
- Perception: Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others.
- New Perception: Christians cultivate relationships and environments where others can be deeply transformed by God.
The first two chapters of the book lay the groundwork for the next 6 chapters (on the perceptions of present-day Christianity), followed by a concluding chapter that discusses the path from unChristian to Christian.
As a survey-based method (Kinnaman is essentially a professional pollster), Kinnaman has done a good job of dissecting the statistics so that they are not dry and boring. He discusses the background of the results in terms of generational differences between the young adults and the Boomers/Elders. For example, statistically speaking, compared to Boomers/Elders, the young adults are more likely to have grown up with exposure to more violence, more likely to have come from a single parent home, are more media savvy, have been “marketed” and recognize when they are being “marketed,” and are perhaps a little more cynical when someone discusses any topic out of the blue. The majority of young adults surveyed have had some exposure to formal church settings while in their teens, many of them becoming de-churched by their early 20s.
Kinnaman discusses various statistics across the book. For example, if someone is disenchanted with Christianity by their late teens, there is only a 6% chance they will return later in life. 1 in 6 high school teens have considered suicide and 1 in 12 have attempted it. Evangelicals (who the young outsiders have a negative view towards as being the Religious Right) are politically 59% Republicans - quite a ways from aligning as a whole with the Religious Right.
He also points out that some of the perceptions are deserved if one believes what is in the Bible, but as Christians we still have the choice on how and when to discuss Biblical Worldview issues with Outsiders in a tactful rather than hateful way. But to soften the message of Christ is hijacking Jesus. Jesus had some tough messages for people in the Bible. But other perceptions fall on our own shoulders when we as Christians might be bigoted or hypocritical.
This book had me constantly asking myself “Do I do that?” It is the most thought-provoking book I have read in some time.
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