Kenda Creasy Dean. Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Almost Christian is based on a detailed survey of the religious beliefs among American teenagers conducted between 2003 and 2005. The National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) surveyed American teens and interviewed many of them. The conclusion comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with religion in America.
The most committed teens—around 80% active in their church and otherwise demonstrating a strong understanding of their faith—are the Mormons. Next, around 65% are conservative Protestants; close to them around 60% are black Protestants. Next, around 45% are mainline Protestant. Still lower around 20% are Roman Catholics. Lowest, less than 10% were the Jews.
By conservative Protestant, the study means churches that emphasize a personal gospel and believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God. Other groups such as Orthodox, Buddhist, or Muslim were too small of a number to come to any statistically significant conclusions.
Overall, among Trinitarian Christians, about one in four took their faith seriously. One could argue that this was predicted by Jesus in the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:2-20)—that one in four who hear the Word would take it to heart and flourish.
Almost Christian devotes one chapter to Mormonism. There is no question that this group is the most focused on bringing up children in their religion. They put a lot of emphasis on the family and many Mormon teens go to “seminary,” daily lessons in the religion before school. And I thought I had it rough attending confirmation classes every Saturday for two school years!
Almost Christian spends relatively little time discussing the two most clearly orthodox Christian groups, the conservative Protestants and the black Protestants. It does note that summer camp experiences can be important for them, and that most of them have at one time or another shared a personal testimony about God working in their lives. Teens sharing testimonies and hearing the testimonies of others in church are two factors that contribute to them taking their faith seriously.
The book also does not spend much time discussing the Catholic teens, either, other than suggesting that the faith of most is fairly shallow. Ditto with the Jewish teens, perhaps because their identity is as much ethnic as religious.
Almost Christian focuses on the mainline Protestant teens. It is well-known that the mainline Protestant churches have declined in attendance and membership since the 1950s. The book describes the phenomenon but not really the reasons for it. Like the overall majority of the teens in the US, they think that religion is a good thing, but it is not that important in their lives. Even a majority of those who identify themselves as atheists think that religion helps people.
The book tells us that this is because a majority of Americans believe in what the writer calls a Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. This has become a kind of American civic religion. Be nice (moralistic), religion can help you (therapeutic), and there is probably some kind of God behind everything (deism). Columnist and community organizer Nicholas Von Hoffman called it the American Mush God.
Almost Christian notes that most teens do believe similarly to their parents. Departures, if they occur, tend to happen in college or later. If a majority of mainline, Catholic, and Jewish teens believe this way, it is likely because their parents do.
Such a view may help in getting along socially. The author quotes a conversation her daughter had with a Hindu friend which she said, in effect, that all religions were basically the same, so everyone can get along. I recall once hearing the Dalai Lama speak to a New York City audience; he told them, “Be nice.”
The Mormons and the black and conservative Protestants were far more likely to pray with their parents, read the Bible (or Book of Mormon in the case of the LDS youth), and claim to have a personal relationship with God than the others. Almost Christian is not directed toward those groups. It is clear that its intended audience is the mainline Protestant. However, it is not clear how much the author took to heart from this study.
One whole chapter is devoted to what appears to be irrelevant twentieth century German theology. That is often the focus of training in mainline seminaries, and it establishes the author’s credibility among them, but has little to do with the question of teen faith in contemporary America.
Apart from the chapter on Mormon teens, nearly all the examples in the book about successful youth ministries are from mainline churches. One is a young pastor whose Sunday school classes alternate between Karl Bath and the Bible, giving equal time to both. Another has as many high schoolers as possible go on short-term mission trips. This is something more typical of the conservative and black Protestant churches, and, the book notes, often provides an opportunity for testimony.
While the mainline church I grew up in was pretty conservative (2 years of confirmation classes as noted), there was a kind of unwritten rule against testimonies. While we sometimes heard testimonies from our pastor—he had been a missionary in Africa and had some great stories—it was understood that anyone who shared a testimony was boasting, and that was un-Christian. Even today, I rarely share my experiences with people. This book helped me realize that I really do need to share my testimony with others.
The author never admits it, but if we honestly consider the problem that mainline and Catholic churches have of retaining youth or having their youth take them seriously is precisely that many of them teach the Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. If I am nice, feel good about myself, and believe in some kind of higher power, then I am OK. And you are probably OK, too. What does this have to do with historical Christianity? The Bible? Or even the basic faith outlined in the Apostles’ Creed? Not much.
The author confesses that even though she is an ordained Christian minister, she is uncomfortable with the concept of the blood of Jesus. She writes that she associates that idea with old ladies and older hymns. A hundred years ago her denomination still had a lot of life in it. It had evangelists. Its preachers would speak of the necessity of the blood of Jesus. A few older ladies loyal to her church would remember those things.
Jesus is definitely moralistic—indeed, the Sermon on the Mount sets a higher standard than the Ten Commandments. Jesus is therapeutic—He changes lives, he saves, He heals, He delivers. But He is no deist. He is the God-man who came in person to the earth He created and, yes, shed His blood to save the people in it.
The author credits George Whitefield and John Wesley for the title of the book. The two eighteenth-century “mainline” evangelists (Anglican and Methodist) each composed and preached a sermon entitled “Almost Christian.” The message of both was directed to people who believed in God, tried to lead a moral life, but had not yet committed themselves to Christ.
That reminded me of an evangelist I read about in one of the former Warsaw Pact countries. He wrote that nearly everyone was interested in hearing that God loved them; but when they were told that Jesus is Lord, the majority did not want to hear about that.
Yes, there is no question that some practices in the churches can make a difference, but kids are most likely to imitate their parents and other influential adults. Belief affects behavior. We know that. At root is not the programs, though they may help. What is crucial is what we truly believe about Jesus, the Bible, and the Kingdom of God. Is it the Mush God or is Jesus Lord?