unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity and Why It Matters

by David Kinnaman

book data

368 ratings, 3.87 average rating, 131 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		30%
4		36%
3		24%
2		7%
1		1%

edit

published

October 1st 2007 by Baker Books

binding

Hardcover, 256 pages

isbn

0801013003 (isbn13: 9780801013003)

description

Based on groundbreaking Barna Group research, unChristian uncovers the negative perceptions young people have of Christianity and explores what can be...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | compare prices ($9.50)…

new topic
discuss this book

topics	posts	views	last activity
new reality	2	24	27 days ago, 09:14AM

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Favorite Christian Books

154 books | 176 voters

Best Non-Fiction (non biography)

353 books | 529 voters

More lists...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 875)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

02/17/08

Bagger rated it:

bookshelves: nonfiction, to-buy

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2008

recommended to Bagger by: Wally

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

05/04/08

Karen rated it:

Read in May, 2008

I picked up this book on a whim and almost tossed it aside when I realized it wasn't going to be about what I thought it was going to be about. But something made me read the first sentence - "Christianity has an image problem" - and that surely caught my attention.

The book is written by an evangelical Christian and has several sections of text written by active Christians. The discussion primarily centers around research conducted over a three year period dissecting vi...more I picked up this book on a whim and almost tossed it aside when I realized it wasn't going to be about what I thought it was going to be about. But something made me read the first sentence - "Christianity has an image problem" - and that surely caught my attention.

The book is written by an evangelical Christian and has several sections of text written by active Christians. The discussion primarily centers around research conducted over a three year period dissecting views of Christians/Christianity held by "outsiders" of various age groups. Through this research, the author discovered that not only are Christians perceived negatively (hypocritical, antihomosexual, insensitive, intolerant,judgmental, hyperpolitical, etc.) but that the negative perception increases as the age range of the group decreases. The purpose of the book is to sound the alarm to Christians about how they are perceived and to offer suggestions on how to improve their image. The concern, of course, is that Christianity is losing its following, particularly among young people.

It was refreshing to see that the author agrees with the idea that Christians have moved far away from the behavior and world perspective advocated by Christ. However, he doesn't quite take his argument far enough in explaining exactly how Christians could advocate for their own political interests (which he does support) while appearing non-judgmental, loving, and tolerant. Evangelical politically active Christians are always "against" things, putting them squarely in the GOP. If they were to politically advocate for the loving side of Christianity - charity, tolerance, others before self - that would put them on the other side of the aisle politically. I'm intrigued by the idea that in order to follow this gentleman's advice, the Democratic party would be inundated with born again Christians.

A thought provoking book thoroughly enjoyed by this outsider, who shares many of the perceptions illustrated by the study.

(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

01/08/08

Nate rated it:

Read in February, 2008

Oooh.... Shocking..........

Non-Christians have negative views of Christians!!!!! We're not the majority!!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!

Oh yeah. I almost forgot. That's what I think about American Evangelicals, too.

Seriously, this book is a good wake-up call for Christians to stop majoring in the minors and actually start living in a way worthy to be called Christian.

I like the fact that with every negative attitude, there is a positive response or ...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

03/23/09

Aoife rated it:

Read in March, 2009

recommends it for: People who really understand how social research and statistics work.

I dunno, dawg, this book was all over the place for me--to coin a Randy Jackson-ism. I wasn't really feelin' it toward the end, and it got a little pitchy in the middle, around the whole homosexuality part. I dunno. Paula?

There! Now I am HIP and WITH IT! and MEDIA SAVVY! and CREATIVE! and TUNED IN! Maybe now "outsiders" my age will be drawn to the Christian faith as though by a magnet!

Alas it's not so simple, and I would caution anyone from taking the research o...more I dunno, dawg, this book was all over the place for me--to coin a Randy Jackson-ism. I wasn't really feelin' it toward the end, and it got a little pitchy in the middle, around the whole homosexuality part. I dunno. Paula?

There! Now I am HIP and WITH IT! and MEDIA SAVVY! and CREATIVE! and TUNED IN! Maybe now "outsiders" my age will be drawn to the Christian faith as though by a magnet!

Alas it's not so simple, and I would caution anyone from taking the research or conclusions in this book as definitive. Their polls found some dramatic numbers, true, but for me a big red flag was raised when they revealed just how dramatically the current numbers differ from their own 1995 numbers. Not to mention, I happened to notice that their survey results (on the attitudes of young Americans towards Christianity) were much more dire-sounding than other surveys I have seen from other news sources. To me this says "re-examine your methodology and sample for possible biases and confounds and re-do the study." Not "publish a book decrying how horrible everything has suddenly and inexplicably gotten." Dramatic changes in attitudes can happen in 10 years, sure, but they are rare and must be carefully appraised before we start running around trying to decide what to do about the putative "crisis."

Kinnaman however takes the numbers at face value, and pelts them at you again and again. Young people--nicknamed as "busters" (that's me, high school class of 1998) and "mosaics" (that apparently includes everyone from my little brother to my kids)--think that Christianity is full of it. That we're hypocrites, and "boring" and "out of it" and "archaic" and "homophobic" and sin-of-all-sins in this postmodernist postethics moral relativistic world--we're "judgemental." We're just uncool, man, face it. We probably smell bad and wear coke bottle glasses and can't get anyone to take us to the prom, also!

(I'm actually rather certain that the Baby Boomers who file in and make up the majority of every mainline Protestant church I have visited said the same things back in about 1971, no? And they had their fun with the guitars and flowers in the pews and suddenly now they're putting checks in the plate to fund Bach Cantata night.)

To use the jargon of social research, I'm not entirely sure that Kinnaman is right in identifying these dire numbers as being a "cohort effect," that is, a true trait of an entire generation, shaped by the environment in which they were raised. I think he may be seeing a transient effect based on newly protracted adolescence and its attendant rebellion. Overprotected and coddled, today's high school graduates live out their adolescence from 18-35 in many ways. The 28 year old of today may well be more like the 18 year old of 1968.

Having said that, Kinnaman is right that some of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of Christians and Christian institutions. It is right to see where we have come up short, and how we could better serve our most important missions and directives. That would be, by the way, the Gospel. I am of the opinion that if we stay true to that course, young people will eventually come to us. Kinnaman feels the same, it seems, but he's a lot more freaked out about it and offers all kinds of frantic ideas on how to polish our "brand image" as it were. Some of these are good, some of these are not so good, but the overall tone of panic and hysteria, not to mention the constant belting of statistics, makes it hard to discern.

While I take seriously charges of hypocrisy and prejudice, I find it hard to take as seriously complaints about being "boring" and "too set apart." It is not the job of serious people of faith to entertain and fit in. And then on the other hand, Kinnaman charges that we are also too conformist! This is what comes of trying to stay with the trends--confusion, chaos, and loss of one's direction. I found the young "outsiders" (as he calls them) to sometimes have good points, but sometimes as well to be vapid, shallow, and judgemental and narrow-minded in their own ways. There is a case to be made that the church would do better to stay put and wait for these folks to eventually hit the shallow bottom of popular culture and come to us looking for something steadier and deeper. (Usually about the time they start either having kids or realizing they will one day pass away.)

The biggest flaw with the book, however, was its neglect to mention the effects of the media. The media is all about splashy headlines, so the most outre and ridiculous specimens of any group--including both Christians and secular young people--are the ones that get reported upon. This distorts our opinions of one another considerably, and it was easy to see that many of the statistics reflected opinions based on media exposure rather than exposure to an actual church or Christians. Once again I was confirmed in my belief that one of the single most important things a parent can teach a child these days is how to debunk and disbelieve media hype and reports. Kinnaman would do well to examine this question, perhaps in another book.(less)

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

12/26/07

Steph Jones rated it:

bookshelves: christian-living

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: born-again Christians eager to enact change in their churches

This book challenged me, ruffled my feathers, and inspired me. But, unfortunately, I wasn't all that surprised by the perceptions of Christians that were expressed. In fact, I found myself agreeing with the "outsiders" viewpoints, a lot.
The biggest challenge put to me, I think, was the reminder that Christians don't have to like or agree with those perceptions - there were other times I found myself disagreeing with the perception or saying things like "but that's just becau...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

08/02/08

Chris rated it:

Read in August, 2008

Fantastic book. David Kinnaman and the Barna Group conducted extensive surveys to determine how Christians and Christianity are perceived by younger generations. Kinnaman's book is a summary of the survey's results and a discussion of their practical implications for the Church and church leaders. He identifies and examines the common perceptions of Christians as antihomosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, old-fashioned, too political, out of touch with reality, and so on. This book is soberin...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

04/30/09

Bee rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, religion

Read in May, 2009

recommends it for: Christians

First off, let me disclose that I am an atheist. But before I was an atheist, I was a member of a very conservative, evangelical Christian church for years. Considering how religious the area I currently live in is, this is not a good thing to be. To detail my bad experiences with Christians would take a book of its own; to be brief, I have been threatened with physical violence more than once, mocked, ridiculed, insulted, ignored, and generally hated - all by True Christians(tm).

...more First off, let me disclose that I am an atheist. But before I was an atheist, I was a member of a very conservative, evangelical Christian church for years. Considering how religious the area I currently live in is, this is not a good thing to be. To detail my bad experiences with Christians would take a book of its own; to be brief, I have been threatened with physical violence more than once, mocked, ridiculed, insulted, ignored, and generally hated - all by True Christians(tm).

And I'll certainly never forget the flood of hate mail (including death threats) a local young man received from the good Christians in the area when he "came out" in the newspaper several years ago.

So, when I found this book by chance while searching for Dawkins, I was a little floored. Christians who actually believe that Christians don't act in a Christian manner sometimes? No way!

There's no doubt that this book is written more for Christians than "outsiders" like me. However, as an "outsider," I found it fairly interesting. The writing style was dull at times, and I found myself skipping over most of the graphs since the statistics were all cited in the text anyway.

In theory, there's some good advice in here for Christians. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd certainly have a more pleasant experience in life if I could go to grocery store without a True Christian(tm) telling me that the world would be a better place if I never be born since I'm an atheist, or go into McDonald's without a True Christian(tm) throwing a bible at me (both events really happened, by the way).

Still, sometimes the book seems painfully naive. Maybe it's just the area I live in, but I just don't see Christians being widely known as loving, accepting people...ever. That is definitely not my personal experience, and when the author was detailing some of his hoped-for perceptions of Christians, I felt like laughing. And then I felt bad for wanting to laugh at him.

There were some really problematic parts for this outsider, though. The author mentions teaching people how to think, which in this context, just made me think of brainwashing.

Another part that bothered me was one of the "guest" speakers at the end of the chapters mentioning that he's never met a Christian who wanted a theocracy and that Christians don't really want one in place. In a book supposed to be full of statistics and data, this personal observation was out of place and unsubstantiated. I've met several Christians who want a Christian theocracy established in the United States, for example. The author himself spent a good deal of time talking in the "politics" chapter about how Christians apparently want laws based on "biblical principles," which is hedging closer to a theocracy. I'm also puzzled by how so many Christians decry governmental interference but are also in favor of "nanny laws" regulating moral behavior (the book discussed anti-gay laws briefly and how many Christians support them).

Also, a lot of people who most likely think of themselves as Christians (Catholics, Mormons, pro-choice Christians, gay Christians, etc) will find that they're dismissed as "outsiders" just like me, the atheist.

The author tends to have a martyr complex in some parts of the book, and some of his phrasing really rubbed me the wrong way. At least he did note that many non-Christians are more versed in the bible than Christians; I can't tell you how many times I've been able to outquote Christians trying to convert my heathen self back into the fold.

And the fact that their statistics vary so much in the span of just a decade seems troublesome.

Still, I think this book is a good first step. I'd love for some of the True Christians(tm) around here to read it.(less)

Like this review? yes

add a comment

12/30/08

Iamthird rated it:

Read in December, 2008

To rebuild our lives and restore our nation, we have to restore love and concern for others. We cannot give out something we've never received.
7 elements of spiritual formation
-worshipping God intimately and passionately
-engaging in spiritual friendships with other believers
-pursuing faith in the context of family
-embracing intentional forms of spiritual growth
-serving others
-investing time and resources in spiritual pursuits
-having faith-based...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/16/09

Dave rated it:

Read in March, 2009

"If only our view of outsiders were more like that of
Jesus. And if only we condemned hypocrites the way he did: "They crush people with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden." (Matt 23:4)

"Think of the overwhelming perception among young outsiders that we are merely hypocrites. Does your life point people to a life in Christ that bursts with freedom to love, restoration, purity, and transparency?

"Or are you ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

11/29/08

Mary-wilkes rated it:

Really enjoyed this book. I had a small group discipleship group that went through this over the course of a year...a little incompletely, but the chapters were full of examples about how we as Christians so often say one thing and do another. No wonder we live in a world where people do not believe Christians and are completely turned off to the gospel, in how we regularly respond and act differently from what is commanded and set forth in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This should be a wake up ca...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/03/09

David rated it:

bookshelves: christianity-and-culture

Read in March, 2009

This book investigates recent studies that show how 16-29 year olds truly see the Christian faith. The results are not good, though perhaps not surprising: anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, old-fashioned, too political, and sheltered. The authors go beyond these simple statistics to help the reader see why young people feel this way. Though these results are depressing for those of us who are Christians, there is also reason to hope. The authors spend time in each chapter giving ide...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

12/06/08

Shaun rated it:

bookshelves: christian

This book takes an in-depth approach on the appearance of Christians from a Christian and non-Christian perspective. This book is based on research from Barna Research about people between the ages of 18-29. Topics discussed include Christians being anti-homosexual, too political, being judgmental, hypocritical, and being sheltered. Surprisingly Christians and Non-Christians have similar views on Christians on these areas. The book provides incites from people interviewed and provides strategies...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

10/18/08

Erin rated it:

bookshelves: meh--rather-boring, non-fic

Read in June, 2008

I pretty much figured that this book was going to be yet another review of the issues that non-Christians have with Christians. Not a shocking read - most of it just recaps all the reasons I'd left the church in the first place - because it comes off as hypocritical, judgmental, obnoxious, and completely intolerant of any view other than it's own - *even just for discussion*. What bothered me the most about this book though was how dry it was! It was like reading the research papers my classmate...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

07/11/08

Travis rated it:

I have mixed feelings about this book.

On one hand, I think it is fabulously important that all Christians are aware of the issues presented in this book and how deeply true most of the concerns are. On the other hand, the book is very, very satistical in its approach to the subject as the author is a researcher. Analyzing surveys can only be interesting for so long.

Furthermore, the author is still VERY biased in his opinions of what he believes to be right and wrong and ...more

Like this review? yes

1 comment

03/29/08

David rated it:

Read in November, 2008

recommended to David by: Barna website
recommends it for: Christians of all stripes, people with concerns about the Christain church

I had a hard time with this one. I would read it awhile, then go read a novel, then come back to it again, then go read something else. I finally finished it with new resolve on a trip to Haiti with a couple of loooong airplane rides and waits in airports.

It wasn't the content that kept pushing me away; it was the writing (I think).

The book is based on research by George Barna's outfit (www.barna.org)that interviewed and surveyed young people (16-21) about their att...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/31/08

Chrissy rated it:

Read in March, 2008

For the most part, an honest and accurate picture of what the current generation thinks of Christian culture, and what we can do to change their perceptions. The book does quite well to avoid pointing fingers at "outsiders" overall, though at times does slip into making slight generalizations; ie, as an "outsider" for 25 years, I can tell you that not all non-Christians are into self-mutilation or promiscuous sex practices to fill the apparent God-shaped void in their lives. ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

11/27/08

fbuser1131056130 rated it:

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Gary by: Berean Forum / Catalyst Conference
recommends it for: Not sure I would

So-so; not too many "revelations" or "new insights" in here, but the compalation of them in one book makes a strong case against our traditional pursuits as "Christians." Personally, I am not "sold" on all the conclusions that are reached herein, nor the "facts" that are given. And, in some cases, I do not "disagree" with the negative allegations that are presented as "wrong" based on perceptions of "non-believers."

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/22/08

Austin rated it:

Read in March, 2009

It's not so shocking that Christianity has an image problem with the younger generations, but this book is backed up by so much data it is really interesting. It shows that the problems exist with the image of Christianity being one that is not at all true to what actual Christianity is and how young Christians can respond. Didn't Jesus teach against being judgmental and hypocritical? Then why is this the impression of Christians that is perpetrated to the world. Would Jesus tolerate the rel...more

Like this review? yes

2 comments

12/15/07

Jessica rated it:

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Christians who aren't crazy

unChristian looks at the main stereotypes that people have about Christians. There are six main stereotypes that the authors discover after three years of interviews and research into what people think about Christians and Christianity. The stereotypes are: 1) hypocritical, 2) get saved! (only interesting in converting everyone),
3) antihomosexual, 4) sheltered, 5) too political and
6) judgmental. In each chapter the authors look at the stereotypes, discuss why and how that is the...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/10/09

Marsh added it

Read in January, 2008

I learned how the Gen Xers and Gen Yers view Christians and why. The stereotypes of Chrisitans--mean-spirited, judgemental, hateful--were hard to swallow, but true in most cases. The book prompted a lot of discussion in my Parents of Teens Sunday School class. I am much more conscious of how I live after reading this and know more how to reach the younger generation.

Like this review? yes

add a comment