The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

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The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

by Kevin Roose (Goodreads Author)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 6,087 ratings · 1,042 reviews

As a sophomore at Brown University, Kevin Roose didn't have much contact with the Religious Right. Raised in a secular home by staunchly liberal parents, he fit right in with Brown's sweatshop-protesting, fair-trade coffee-drinking, God-ambivalent student body. So when he had a chance encounter with a group of students from Liberty University, a conservative Baptist univer...more As a sophomore at Brown University, Kevin Roose didn't have much contact with the Religious Right. Raised in a secular home by staunchly liberal parents, he fit right in with Brown's sweatshop-protesting, fair-trade coffee-drinking, God-ambivalent student body. So when he had a chance encounter with a group of students from Liberty University, a conservative Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia, he found himself staring across a massive culture gap. But rather than brush the Liberty students off, Roose decided to do something much bolder: he became one of them.
Liberty University is the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's proudest accomplishment - a 10,000-student conservative Christian training ground. At Liberty, students (who call themselves "Champions for Christ") take classes like Introduction to Youth Ministry and Evangelism 101. They hear from guest speakers like Mike Huckabee and Karl Rove, they pray before every class, and they follow a 46-page code of conduct called "The Liberty Way" that prohibits drinking, smoking, R-rated movies, contact with the opposite sex, and witchcraft. Armed with an open mind and a reporter's notebook, Roose dives into life at Bible Boot Camp with the goal of connecting with his evangelical peers by experiencing their world first-hand.
Roose's semester at Liberty takes him to church, class, and choir practice at Rev. Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church. He visits a support group for recovering masturbation addicts, goes to an evangelical hip-hop concert, and participates in a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach, where he learns how to convert bar-hopping co-eds to Christianity. Roose struggles with his own faith throughout, and in a twist that could only have been engineered by a higher power, he conducts what would turn out to be the last in-depth interview of Rev. Falwell's life. Hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking, Kevin Roose's embedded report from the front lines of the culture war will inspire and entertain believers and non-believers alike.(less)

Hardcover, 324 pages

Published March 26th 2009 by Grand Central Publishing (first published March 12th 2009)

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The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

A Year in the Life

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Best Books of 2009

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Feb 10, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-books

At Reading Rants:

http://www.readingrants.org/2009/02/1...

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 08, 2011 S.D. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Let me start off by saying that I did like this book...I thought that Roose had some interesting insights into evangelical Christianity and this wasn't the "Evangelical Bashing" I thought it would be. I laughed at some of his confusion over things I grew up with...I understood how some things looked to him as an outsider. All in all, I think the book is a fascinating read.

With that said...here is what inherently bothers me/concerns me about the book:

1. Roose was clearly writing for different a...more Let me start off by saying that I did like this book...I thought that Roose had some interesting insights into evangelical Christianity and this wasn't the "Evangelical Bashing" I thought it would be. I laughed at some of his confusion over things I grew up with...I understood how some things looked to him as an outsider. All in all, I think the book is a fascinating read.

With that said...here is what inherently bothers me/concerns me about the book:

1. Roose was clearly writing for different audiences. He says he has a liberal family (repetitively mentioning their concerns with his experiment), lesbian aunts, and a book deal already in the works. Then he actually became friends with his Liberty schoolmates, found Falwell (gasp) non-evil in person, and had powerful moments of self-discovery. It's all too shiny and nice to be true. I believe there was probably a good deal of "writing for people" that occurred with this nineteen year-old's project. When I was 19 year-old journalist at my school paper, I was pretty full of myself, but I also got to interview some higher ups in my college. I always wanted to please them. I get this type of Disneyland cleanliness from Roose. Doesn't want to piss anyone off - and why would he? Piss off the liberals AND the evangelicals? Where is your book buying audience? Keep it walking the line between clearly offending anyone and I think you have what Roose has -- a calculated lie meant to sell books.

2. There was an agenda here: To write a book. Journalists with agendas write awesome stuff sometimes...but it's hard to know how much of what is written STILL isn't a clear view. He purposefully infiltrated groups on campus so he could write about them in the book. What comes to mind is meeting with the pastor who counsels homosexuals at Liberty. And then he went to the group with men dealing with masturbation? I mean...that meeting had six men in it? So, is it representative of what "Christian Evangelicals" are dealing with? Hardly.

3. It doesn't matter how you read it. Kevin Roose thinks most evangelical Christians are academically backwards. He specifically says that he could accept Jesus Christ as his savior before he could convert to young earth creationism or a religion that "bashes homosexuals". He just took those populations of believers and made them into the whole -- NOT recognizing the other population of believers who believe in the Big Bang and accept that perhaps "6 days" may not be literally 6 days. And there are a lot of them out there. There are also Christians out there who are not as distinctly homophobic as EVERY SINGLE PERSON he met at Liberty. Seriously. Seems like Roose is throwing the baby out with the bath water.
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Oct 19, 2010 La Petite Américaine rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: sucked, auto-bios-etc, rants

So, you know what happens when you take a liberal arts school student and throw him in the mix with the boys at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, a school where the dorms are segregated and residents have a curfew? Well, gee, whaddaya know, "what boys always do" happens: they sit around and play video games, talk about women and sex, they do their homework and contemplate their futures. Oh, and throw some prayer in, too, because it's a Christian University.

And what a shocker! Not all the stud...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Aaron rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ten years ago Rob Suskind's A Hope in the Unseen followed a poor, religious inner-city kid's struggles at Brown University. Now Brown U. is back with another hip-hop, flip-flop comedy. This time around, we get to see the hijinks of a Brown student going to a religious Southern school. And Kevin Roose manages to learn a lesson of tolerance and hard-fought understanding during the era of the culture war. Yay.

The problem is this book strikes me as incredibly cynical. In part, Roose as a narrator is...more Ten years ago Rob Suskind's A Hope in the Unseen followed a poor, religious inner-city kid's struggles at Brown University. Now Brown U. is back with another hip-hop, flip-flop comedy. This time around, we get to see the hijinks of a Brown student going to a religious Southern school. And Kevin Roose manages to learn a lesson of tolerance and hard-fought understanding during the era of the culture war. Yay.

The problem is this book strikes me as incredibly cynical. In part, Roose as a narrator is both calculating and dishonest. He does this stunt explicitly to get a book deal, and it makes me question everything that happens. The narrative seems a bit too pat and marketable to not wonder how much of it has been manipulated. Besides, he spent all of his time at Liberty lying. I think the only reason we have to trust what he says now is his commitment as journalist, and as a 20-year-old who seems more concerned about launching a writing career, this assurance isn't enough.

The distrust deepens as it seems that he has excised large chunks of the real story, such as why best-selling author A.J. Jacobs apparently had to hire a college freshman as his research assistant on the trip to Liberty which began Kevin Roose's whole spiritual journey. My guess it that Roose's well-connected parents set him up with a well-connected author, the scheme for the book was hatched by Jacobs and a publisher, and Roose never writes nothing about it because he spends the majority of his pages carefully crafting the image of himself which he presents the reader. I guess the hours he spends on Facebook (his primary research tool) paid off with that skill.

That this book is best-seller material is somewhat depressing in itself. Roose jokingly compares his time at Liberty as just like spending a semester abroad, but in all honesty that's exactly what this book is in terms of his experiences and the intellectual depth with which he delves. Yet nobody would consider buying a novel of some sophomore's ramblings about Barcelona, but apparently we (the Northern liberal that this book is clearly targeted towards) think Southern Baptists as radically more foreign than anyone living outside our own borders.

The one really strong point of the book is its great pacing, usually a stumbling block for young authors. Maybe these Millennials, growing up on blogs and social networking, will be able to compensate for their lack of intellectual rigor with a great sense of pace. I look forward to an awesome future of rocking summer blockbusters. My suggestion: a pair of identical twins -- one gets sent to Rikers Island, the other matriculates to Brown, and then they HAVE TO SWITCH PLACES. Action-packed laffs for sure.(less)

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Apr 23, 2009 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction, religion, favorites

When A.J. Jacobs was writing The Year of Living Biblically, he took on a slave (unpaid intern). The slave was Kevin Roose. After visiting Thomas Road Baptist Church (sanctuary of Jerry Falwell) with Jacobs, Roose decided to take a semester off at Brown and enroll undercover at Liberty University (Kingdom of Jerry Falwell).

What Roose finds at Liberty is an anomaly that changes his world. There is overt (faculty-encouraged) homophobia, antiquated views on race, and an emphasis on de-intellectualiz...more

10 likes · like · see review

Jun 15, 2009 Karina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian, non-fiction, spiritual, biography

I like this book. It's got good story-telling and a lot of humor. It was nearly impossible to put down. I guess they wouldn't consider me a Christian in that University either, since I'm Catholic, not Evangelic Christian. In some of my beliefs, I'm more like the author than the Liberty students. For instance, I too would find the Life History lessons preposterous (I know because just the other day I got a free book offer in the mail arguing for geocentricity with some sprinkling of Bible quotes...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Cheryl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

After recently wondering aloud what book I should read next, my sister (we’re both agnostic) recommended, yet again, that I read The Unlikely Disciple. I basically know nothing about the Bible or Christianity (I groan and can’t even begin to guess at the correct answers when “The Bible” is a category on Jeopardy), so I thought this book might be mildly interesting and entertaining, but worried it would be a long, slow read. Boy, was I wrong. I found this book fascinating and finished it in two d...more After recently wondering aloud what book I should read next, my sister (we’re both agnostic) recommended, yet again, that I read The Unlikely Disciple. I basically know nothing about the Bible or Christianity (I groan and can’t even begin to guess at the correct answers when “The Bible” is a category on Jeopardy), so I thought this book might be mildly interesting and entertaining, but worried it would be a long, slow read. Boy, was I wrong. I found this book fascinating and finished it in two days. I had no idea what evangelical Christianity was about, knew the name Jerry Falwell and had heard of Liberty, but beyond that, nothing.

The book details how Kevin Roose, a not really practicing Quaker, leaves liberal Brown University in Rhode Island to attend a semester, undercover, at evangelical Liberty University in Virginia in an attempt to bridge, as he puts it, the God Divide (though I’m sure the book deal at 19 didn’t hurt either).

Roose gives us an inside look at what goes on at Liberty, from classes and church services to extracurricular activities and dorm life. But it’s more than that. We find out about some of the people that are fundamental Christians (or are on the path to becoming one); people most of us might never meet unless they were trying to witness (aka convert) us. I really liked the fact that Roose threw himself into his semester at Liberty wholeheartedly, despite the fact that he disagreed with many of things he heard and saw, and that he kept an open mind about everything.

There was plenty about Liberty that annoyed me and, at times, boggled my mind from the intolerance, the way students weren’t supposed to question anything in the Bible, the almost obsessive compulsive praying over anything and everything and don’t get me started on the classes (yes, Dr. Dekker, I’m talking about yours). However, I really found myself liking and feeling for some of the students there (Though I think a few are working on ulcers worrying about how all of us heathens are going to try and corrupt them as soon as they enter the real world). Speaking of intolerance, I found myself kind of ticked off with the reactions of a good deal of Roose’s secular, liberal friends and family. (view spoiler)

Overall, this is a great read, with lots of humor and insight. Roose did a fantastic, balanced job of telling us what life at Liberty is like, without turning it into a farce or a bashing of evangelical Christianity. Highly recommended.
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Aug 28, 2012 Bibliotropic rated it 5 of 5 stars

(Rereading this, because it's awesome!)

When I first found out that A J Jacobs's "slave" was writing a book of his own, I was intrigued, and decided there and then that I had to get my hands on it. I'm happy to say that it was a fantastic book, a truly inspiration look at crossing the culture divide between religious and secular, showing how the line between left and right are not always as clear as many people want them to be.

Kevin Roose was inspired to take a semester away from Brown and transf...more (Rereading this, because it's awesome!)

When I first found out that A J Jacobs's "slave" was writing a book of his own, I was intrigued, and decided there and then that I had to get my hands on it. I'm happy to say that it was a fantastic book, a truly inspiration look at crossing the culture divide between religious and secular, showing how the line between left and right are not always as clear as many people want them to be.

Kevin Roose was inspired to take a semester away from Brown and transfer to Liberty University, a strict Christian university known for, is essence, being run by Jerry Falwell. It was a daunting prospect. Having to pretend to fit in while still maintaining journalistic distance, running the risk of making friends who have no idea about a very large part of his personality, spending time in close quarters with people whose ideology he didn't exactly share. Immersion journalism is always tricky, especially in a time of such contention between the religious and secular worlds.

I was quite impressed with the way Roose handled everything - that is, with humour and an open mind. He didn't try to instantly condemn everything from Liberty just because of its associations, neither did he attempt to fake blind acceptance. He struggled, he took chances, and he came away from the experience a changed man, but its a chance that he eventually felt somewhat comfortable with going through. He took something away from Liberty that he didn't enter with, more than just the notes he took.

What he discovered, in essence, is that the people on both sides of the divide are remarkable similar in their good and bad points. Both sides have their misconceptions of the other, both sides have their jerks whom nobody likes, both sides have their sweet caring people who make your life better for having known them, and both sides have their secret dissidents and malcontents. It's a prime example of not judging a book by its cover, of basing your opinions on experience rather than knee-jerk assumptions and self-imposed blindness.

You can't help but close this book with a feeling of deep respect for what Kevin did. You can't help but feel somewhat changed, yourself, after following along with his journey. There are things to laugh at (Jersey Joey's constant ribbing), things to raise a wondering eyebrow at (Every Man's Battle meetings to help stop masturbation), and things to give serious thought to (the way the university deems education as a dangerous thing that can lead students away from God), things to make readers pause and wonder just what all the fuss is about, on both sides of the debate.

Ultimately, this was a well-done experiment and a fantastic memoir that comes highly recommended for anyone on either side of the fence. Give it a chance; I guarantee you won't be disappointed.(less)

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Apr 29, 2010 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, cultural-and-social-commentary, philosophy-theology, five-star-nonfiction

I love immersion journalism when it's done well. I'm mightily impressed by this Kevin Roose kid. He's funny, respectful, bold, thoughtful, and a darned good writer.

At age 19, Roose decided he wanted to cross the "God Divide" that separates secular kids from ultra-religious ones. After a crash course in evangelical culture from a formerly evangelical friend, he spent a semester undercover at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University (a misnomer if ever there was one). He completely immersed himself in...more I love immersion journalism when it's done well. I'm mightily impressed by this Kevin Roose kid. He's funny, respectful, bold, thoughtful, and a darned good writer.

At age 19, Roose decided he wanted to cross the "God Divide" that separates secular kids from ultra-religious ones. After a crash course in evangelical culture from a formerly evangelical friend, he spent a semester undercover at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University (a misnomer if ever there was one). He completely immersed himself in campus activities, pretending to be one of "them" in every possible way. How does one pretend to be a Liberty evangelical? Here are just a few of Kevin's activities:

1) Singing in Falwell's Thomas Road Church choir every Sunday. This meant being on national TV every week.

2) Participating in a week-long spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach, Florida. They approached revelers on beaches and streets and invited them to accept Jesus. (This made me cringe for him. How embarrassing!)

3) Attending required courses such as History of Life, in which students are taught that Noah's ark was like a floating skyscraper that was large enough to carry dinosaurs. The professor suggested that they could have been "teenage dinosaurs," so as to take up less space. (This nearly made me spit out my crackers!)

4)Attending a meeting of a campus men's group called Every Man's Battle, where they openly discuss their struggles with masturbation and pornography.

5)Dating a variety of girls on campus in order to experience dating the "Liberty Way." Hand-holding the only acceptable form of physical contact. No hugs lasting more than a second or two. No kissing allowed, not even on the cheek.

6)Conducting a private interview with Jerry Falwell and writing an article on the good ol' boy for the campus newspaper.

All of this, and much more, Kevin did with a straight face and an open mind, with no intent to mock or ridicule. He ended up making some good friends and discovered that evangelical kids, however misguided, are a lot more like him and his secular college buddies than he would ever have imagined.

The book is both entertaining and educational. Roose's reportage is impressively fair and even-handed, with equal weight given to positive and negative aspects of his experience. (less)

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Dec 05, 2012 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Memoir readers, seminary students, anthrolpology majors, comparative religion majors.

Recommended to Bill by: Self

Shelves: memoir, religion, expose

Kevin Roose is curious: What would it be like for a barely Christian young student at Brown University spent a semester at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University - in the heart of the Bible belt? We, the readers, find out in grand fashion. Roose takes pains to fit in and NEVER acts up or disrupts anything - he keeps a low profile but does a great job in describing student life at this ultra-conservative school. I read the book expecting a harsh criticism of Liberty's impact on young, suggestible min...more Kevin Roose is curious: What would it be like for a barely Christian young student at Brown University spent a semester at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University - in the heart of the Bible belt? We, the readers, find out in grand fashion. Roose takes pains to fit in and NEVER acts up or disrupts anything - he keeps a low profile but does a great job in describing student life at this ultra-conservative school. I read the book expecting a harsh criticism of Liberty's impact on young, suggestible minds. Instead, I read a sensitive portrayal of very bright young students who (mostly) accept the rigid dogmatic ideas fed to them by their profs. Roose identifies a number of malcontents who stay anyway - there are even a handful of students who are closet atheists - rather shocking considering the curriculum: mandatory Bible courses with a strictly literal interpretation. Roose manages to befriend several students. He falls in love but awkwardly distances himself from his romantic attraction when he realizes his own personal beliefs are at odds with those of his love interest.
Roose finds he really likes these people. He enjoys being with them, having fun with them -and even praying with them. His own religious tradition was - and is - very liberal. While he tells us he's nominally a Christian, he is not "saved" as most evangelicals would wish him to be. He never really lies to them but many of his student friends infer - or assume - that he is "saved" by his demeanor and actions.
I enjoyed this book and I like Roose's first effort. He's very young - only 22 or so when he published this book. But he definitely has a promising writing career ahead of him if he wishes to pursue it.
Towards the end of the book, he has a spectacular encounter with Jerry Falwell himself - not long before Falwell dies suddenly from a heart attack. I would strongly recommend this book for any and all seminary students - regardless of where you fall in the political-religious spectrum. It's a sensitively written eye-opener.
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Aug 11, 2009 Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in different religions or cultures

Shelves: nonfiction, memoirs, spirituality-religion

I could not put this book down.

Kevin Roose, an Ivy League-educated liberal agnostic with a Quaker upbringing, decided that instead of doing a semester abroad like everyone else at Brown University, he would explore a different culture right here in the U.S.A., that of evangelical Christianity.

He spent a semester somewhat undercover at Liberty University, which was founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell. His parents and in particular, his lesbian aunts, were very worried about his decision to consort with...more I could not put this book down.

Kevin Roose, an Ivy League-educated liberal agnostic with a Quaker upbringing, decided that instead of doing a semester abroad like everyone else at Brown University, he would explore a different culture right here in the U.S.A., that of evangelical Christianity.

He spent a semester somewhat undercover at Liberty University, which was founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell. His parents and in particular, his lesbian aunts, were very worried about his decision to consort with the enemy. They worried that he would be outed as a liberal, or worse, become converted and change entirely.

Although Roose found much to trouble him (blatant homophobia, subtle and not-so-subtle racism, pure disregard for science and history, and sexist attitudes toward women, men, and marriage), he also found himself making friends. He realized that not all evangelical Christians are as conservative or straightforward as he had thought. He discovered that he actually envied their passion and the deeper meaning and purpose in their lives. He found that living a "cleaner" college life (without alcohol or partying) resulted in feeling a whole lot healthier. He actually enjoyed some of his religion classes, and found himself challenged by some of the curriculum (while other classes were hopelessly full of defenses of the bible vs. science and other academic truths). He made some great friends with people whose company he truly enjoyed, even though their backgrounds and beliefs were very different.

Beyond classes and university life, his adventures included going on a spring break trip to Daytona Beach to attempt to convert the partying heathens; going on dates with evangelical girls (one of whom he becomes very attached to, and decides to stop seeing because he realizes he's not being honest with her); singing in the massive choir at Jerry Falwell's enormous church; going to see a pastor/professor who specializes in helping gay men conquer their sexual orientation; interviewing Jerry Falwell for a university magazine article and finding that he could be charming as well as infuriating; and being actually moved by Falwell's death, when he saw the way the community reacted to the event. (Falwell died a few days before the end of the semester.)He also had a violently homophobic roommate who was convinced that Roose was gay (if only because he didn't join in the homophobic taunts), and Roose actually began fearing for his safety during his time there.

What I liked about this book is that it shows us that if everyone can find some common ground, perhaps we would all understand each other a little better. Roose did not get "born again" when he was at Liberty. His aunts, parents, and Brown friends were relieved when he left.

As of publication, Kevin Roose was a senior at Brown. The fact that he could write such a compelling, well-written book, combined with his ability to keep his mouth shut and stay somewhat undercover during his semester "abroad," means that he will be a much better journalist than I ever could be.

I will always remember sitting in a bible study during my freshman year at PLU (which attracted a lot of evangelical Christians because it was a Christian university), and the other girls were expressing worry that some of their friends would go to hell. I said that my best friend from high school was Jewish (and turned out to be gay, as well), and I didn't believe for one second that a loving God would send him to hell. We got into a heated debate, and I never went back. This was essential for my sanity and well-being...but perhaps not so good for the hope of everyone understanding each other's viewpoints better. I find that I do not have patience to get into heated debates with other people, especially if I sense that the other person does not respect my opinion.

Roose, however, was respectful and open to being changed by the experience. If every person could spend 3 to 4 months in another culture, religion, or environment, we would be a more peaceful world, because we would understand each other just a tiny bit more. And that would be a wonderful thing. I look forward to reading more of Kevin Roose in the future. (less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Seth Little rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was a lens through which to review my own background, and I appreciated it immensely. I nearly attended Liberty University after high school. While my journey has led me out of and away from the Bible Belt, I am more convinced than ever before that Biblical Christianity, as opposed to a cultural Christianity, is as sure a system as exists. This book helped me to divorce the good system from it's cultural application (and perhaps mis-application), and I recommend it to believers who wan...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Anila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-am-x-reviews-behind

This is the first year common book at the university where my mom teaches, so she got a free copy. SHE KEEPS COMING INTO MY ROOM AND PUTTING IT ON MY DESK. I'm like, "Mom, do you even see the cardboard box full of library books in the corner? Do you really think I have time?" and I put it back out on her desk. BUT IT COMES BACK.
She finally took it and read it herself and now it's back again, sigh. However, the fact that my mother - whose tastes tend more towards benign fantasy where no one gets...more

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Apr 22, 2009 Elpheaba rated it 5 of 5 stars

How do I know I went to Liberty University?
Well, I do know all the verses to Victory in Jesus
I do know more about tithing than my major,
and I laughed over this book, cried over this book,
and understood what he was trying to say.

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Apr 10, 2009 Staci rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was so good. I cannot believe he was 19 when he thought of this and started writing. Really interesting and well done.

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Jan 04, 2012 Angélique rated it 3 of 5 stars

3 1/2 Stars. I greatly respect Roose for being willing to engage Liberty students in a way that not very many non-conservatives (Christians included) would. He wrote with a level of compassion, honesty, and open-mindedness that I pray I can one day achieve. Ultimately, I think the book has made me a little more tolerant of my more conservative sisters and brothers in Christ (and the institutions built for them) while also opening me up to a range of questions about my personal religious and spir...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Abbe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-library

Like most college students, Kevin was eager for a semester abroad-a nice long break from all the beerpong, frat parties, gender-neutral bathrooms, cold pizza and mind-numbing sameness of life at Brown University, one of the most liberal colleges in the country and home to both a sizable chapter of the Young Communists League and the annual orgiastic party called SexPowerGod. Four months in Barcelona perhaps? Paris? Athens? No, everyone goes to those places. So Kevin searched for the most foreign...more Like most college students, Kevin was eager for a semester abroad-a nice long break from all the beerpong, frat parties, gender-neutral bathrooms, cold pizza and mind-numbing sameness of life at Brown University, one of the most liberal colleges in the country and home to both a sizable chapter of the Young Communists League and the annual orgiastic party called SexPowerGod. Four months in Barcelona perhaps? Paris? Athens? No, everyone goes to those places. So Kevin searched for the most foreign place he could imagine and ended up right in America's backyard. Liberty University is the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's fundamentalist Christian version of West Point, a training ground for his coalition of hardcore conservative Christians. Falwell described his mission for Liberty as “training Champions for Christ.” Liberty's 10,000 undergraduates learn everything-from Anthropology to Zoology-through a strict lens of Biblical literalism. They have majors in Evangelism and Worship Music, every professor is a born-again Christian (and was vetted for faith by Falwell himself), and their student code of conduct, called the Liberty Way, lays out a host of rules and regulations (i.e. no witchcraft allowed, period). Every spring break, they take a bus to Daytona Beach to convert the heathens. But Kevin did not go to poke fun at the students or the way of life there, far from it. He went there to try to get a better understanding of the people who are so similar and yet so different from him, to see if perhaps they have found a way to live that is more rewarding than his own. What begins as a journey to reveal what is actually going on at the nation's largest Christian fundamentalist school ends up revealing more about Kevin than he could have possibly imagined. SUMMARY: No drinking.No smoking.No cursing.No dancing.No R-rated movies.Kevin Roose wasn't used to rules like these. As a sophomore at Brown University, he spent his days drinking fair-trade coffee, singing in an a cappella group, and fitting right in with Brown's free-spirited, ultra-liberal student body. But when Roose leaves his Ivy League confines to spend a semester at Liberty University, a conservative Baptist school in Lynchburg, Virginia, obedience is no longer optional.Liberty is the late Reverend Jerry Falwell's "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, his training ground for the next generation of America's Religious Right. Liberty's ten thousand undergraduates take courses like Evangelism 101, hear from guest speakers like Sean Hannity and Karl Rove, and follow a forty-six-page code of conduct that regulates every aspect of their social lives. Hoping to connect with his evangelical peers, Roose decides to enroll at Liberty as a new transfer student, leaping across the God Divide and chronicling his adventures in this daring report from the front lines of America's culture war.His journey takes him from an evangelical hip-hop concert to choir practice at Falwell's legendary Thomas Road Baptist Church. He experiments with prayer, participates in a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach (where he learns to preach the gospel to partying coeds), and pays a visit to Every Man's Battle, an on-campus support group for chronic masturbators. He meets pastors' kids, closet doubters, Christian rebels, and conducts what would be the last print interview of Rev. Falwell's life. Hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking, THE UNLIKELY DISCIPLE will inspire and entertain believers and nonbelievers alike.(less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Ryan Fisher added it

This was a really great book. Generally I sort of meander through several books over a period of time, but this one was hard to put down. The author's experiences and story are compelling. He is authentic, genuine, and likable which makes the book all that much more interesting. In addition he gives his work the most fair and balanced review imaginable. I probably wouldn't have been as fair as the author about the experiences he wrote about, which speaks volumes. Christ followers everywhere shou...more

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May 09, 2013 Gwen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Gwen by: either something from AJ Jacobs or Hanna Rosin

Shelves: religion

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did--it's a much better ethnography than The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, also read recently.

Every now and again, Roose shows his age (a mere 19 years old when writing first began), namely when he incorporates the work of sociologists (it's a little clunky but forgivable, especially when I dare go back and reread some of the horrible things I wrote when I was 19...perish the thought!) and a little bit of a lackadai...more I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did--it's a much better ethnography than The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, also read recently.

Every now and again, Roose shows his age (a mere 19 years old when writing first began), namely when he incorporates the work of sociologists (it's a little clunky but forgivable, especially when I dare go back and reread some of the horrible things I wrote when I was 19...perish the thought!) and a little bit of a lackadaisical attitude toward (admittedly irrelevant to the narrative arc) facts--Manassas is nowhere "near" Lynchburg. Same state, definitely, but Manassas isn't just down the road.

But other than that, Roose did a pretty fantastic job of explaining Liberty University from the perspective of an sensitive outsider. He's curious, insightful, and aware of his shortcomings: "I'm starting to wish that I had a PhD in anthropology, so I'd be able to contextualize all this new information immediately, shuffling it into categories and translating it to academic jargon. Campus Church would become Inculcation Exercise 6A in my notes. Distance would be built in. But as it stands, I have no defense but the strength of my will." (96)

I literally cheered aloud when Roose recognized his own privilege: "...it's becoming clear that I'm in the best possible position to enjoy Liberty. As a white, Protestant, heterosexual male, it's relatively easy for me to come here and find things to like about it. If even one of my demographic categories were changed, I'd be having a much different time, potentially filled with much more hostility and much less desire for reconciliation. If I were black, I'd be facing some of the same issues as Paul [in an interracial relationship]. If I were a woman, I'd be seeing a much different side of Liberty's gender dynamics. And if I were a Muslim or a gay man, there's no way I'd be here at all. I have to keep that in mind." (124) YES. It's so rare that a man in his position is aware of just how lucky he can be, based on the accident of birth alone, and I'm impressed that his education, whether self-guided or in an academic setting, brought him to this recognition.

I loved what Roose wrote about Durkheim's concept of 'collective effervescence' as relates to church services, how "appealing [it is] to take part in a communal activity, to feel like I'm part of something bigger than myself." (232) "It's sort of sad that most secular colleges have no real substitutes for this kind of ecstatic group activity [ie, Campus Church]--or at least none that occur weekly, involve the whole student body, and are enjoyable while sober. At most schools, the social, intellectual, and spiritual components of the college experience are confined to separate experiential spheres. We party, we learn, and we contemplate the metaphysical, but we rarely do all three simultaneously and en masse." (266)

Roose's takeaway from his semester at Liberty: "...I've learned that faith, worn correctly, can be amazing and life-changing. Having met Liberty students who use their faith to improve their lives and the lives of the people around them, I can say with relative certainty that although I don't always believe in God, I believe in belief." (284) (less)

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Mar 08, 2013 Amanda Mae rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion

Something's been gnawing at me since this book was first published that told me I needed to read it. What an interesting and strange idea to have -- take a semester off from Brown University to attend Liberty University and try to find out what makes its students tick! Roose is a great writer. His turns of phrase really impressed me, and I hope to hear more from him. I mean, he started this project as a 19-year-old sophomore, and was able to make some very deep observations about Liberty, Jerry...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

So I thought this book would be ultra-shticky based on the book description, and I am soooo not into that sort of thing. (This is why I refuse to read Eat, Pray, Love, by the way. Anything that feels like "let's put this person in this odd situation aaaand watch what happens"? Barf.) But actually, this wasn't bad! I know, I sound surprised. There were interesting moments that made the book...not so pointless. I mainly felt that the pastors were genuinely warm people that wanted to better people'...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Heila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: journalism, memoir

The whole premise of this idea is just so timely. This young man goes "undercover," into a population of people that he doesn't understand or admire - in fact, fears and judges. His goal is to find out what they're really like. He seeks commonality, at least partly. I wish we'd do this more. Instead, there's so much taking sides. Republicans versus Democrats. Southerners versus Northerners. Battling religions. And by religion, I mean things like secularism or materialism or elitism as well, not...more

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Jan 15, 2013 John Betts rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion

I got this one, along with a great big pile of other books, very cheaply thanks to the implosion of Borders. Their unfortunate demise was to my benefit I suppose you could say, because this is one of the best books I've ever read about a slice of contemporary culture. Besides the premise and subject matter, what makes this book all the more amazing to me is that the author Kevin Roose was only 19 at the time. He has an incredible talent from what I saw in this book and I hope to see more from hi...more I got this one, along with a great big pile of other books, very cheaply thanks to the implosion of Borders. Their unfortunate demise was to my benefit I suppose you could say, because this is one of the best books I've ever read about a slice of contemporary culture. Besides the premise and subject matter, what makes this book all the more amazing to me is that the author Kevin Roose was only 19 at the time. He has an incredible talent from what I saw in this book and I hope to see more from him in the future.

The book's premise was very intriguing to me of a Northern secular liberal secretly infiltrating a prominent bastion of the American Religious Right: Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church, the heart of the Evangelical empire of the late Jerry Falwell. Here was the man who for most of my life had been on a crusade of sorts against folks like myself, with such incredibly noxious rhetoric that I certainly had no problems agreeing with Barry Goldwater when he said that "every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass". Yet what Roose discovered once he was there, really surprised him:

"[T]he Liberty students I've met are a lot more socially adjusted than I expected. They're not rabid, frothing fundamentalists who spend their days sewing Hillary Clinton voodoo dolls and penning angry missives to the ACLU. Maybe I'm getting a skewed sample, but the ones I've met have been funny, articulate, and decidedly non-crazy."

I have to say that this is what made Roose's book so compelling to me. By this I do not mean that I was shocked to find out that the people he met didn't fit the stereotype he had imagined, I myself have had similar experiences with a number of Religious Right folks over the years, but the level of detail and description he gave was a good and much needed reminder of this to me. Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in politics and/or our own particular grudges that we tend to forget that most of those we disagree with aren't living personifications of evil but just as flawed and human as we are, trying to make sense of everything the best way they can. This doesn't mean that one should jettison their principles or whitewash their disagreements with others, not at all, only that we need to maintain perspective and not lose sight of the humanity of others. Besides the story he had to tell, which by itself was fascinating to read, I guess this reminder was the best thing I took from Roose's book.(less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Dmitry rated it 4 of 5 stars

All serious Christians can greatly benefit from a thoughtful reading of this book, particularly in light of the author's statement that 51% of Americans do not have an evangelical Christian within their sphere of communication. The book is a good wake-up call for us to re-evaluate our communication with non-Christians.

First, it is fascinating to read an account of a secular person who was immersed into the conservative evangelical environment. The author's reaction to some aspects of the Christi...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Jay Glickman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-religion

I loved this book, but I hate the author. Why, you ask? Because the little bastard hadn't even graduated from Brown when he wrote this, and its a damn sight better than anything I could do at the age (or now, for that matter). God, I loathe natural talent. Anyway, its still a great read, and if you aren't the jealous type I'm sure you'll like it just fine.

In addition to people who are more talented than I, I also hate religious fundamentalists - and that's what the book is about, from the persp...more I loved this book, but I hate the author. Why, you ask? Because the little bastard hadn't even graduated from Brown when he wrote this, and its a damn sight better than anything I could do at the age (or now, for that matter). God, I loathe natural talent. Anyway, its still a great read, and if you aren't the jealous type I'm sure you'll like it just fine.

In addition to people who are more talented than I, I also hate religious fundamentalists - and that's what the book is about, from the perspective of a secret infiltrator - Roose himself, who took a semester off from Brown University to enroll in Jerry Falwell's Liberty College. Liberty, as you may know, was started several years ago, during the heyday of the Moral Majority, to educate good Christians, while still maintaining their insulation from climate of foul sin that surrounds most Liberal Arts schools. (I went to UC Santa Barbara, by the way, and majored in beer bonging.)

Recently, though the school has enjoyed a surge in notariety and popularity, largely instigated by the fact that the Bush Administration chose a large number of Liberty graduates as Executive Branch personnel (often despite their tender age and total lack of experience, or in many cases competence). Roose, the son of Quakers, decided to spend a year among the faithful to observe and comment, quite objectively, on the experience.

And Roose is objective. In fact, for die-hard atheist like me, he is almost too understanding of some of the wackier students and faculty at Liberty. But his understanding seems to come from a genuine sense of open-mindedness, as well as a responsibility to be objectlve and fair (a responsibility much abused these days by many of his soi disant elders and betters). Roose also successfully leavens the facts with trenchant (though never mean-spirited) humor, and refreshingly authentic and mature reflections on his beliefs as they compare to the often rigid orthodoxy he finds himself surrounded by.

Finally, Roose delivers the most important information to the reader - the inside scoop. Are girls (or guys)who pledge virginity more likely to be extra-kinky when they fall? (And they do fall.) How exactly do you teach Creationism without laughing uncontrollably? (It helps if you cheat.) What is Dr. Falwell (or Jerry, as he is known to the students, really like? This last question is pivotal, because Roose, through an accident of fortuitous timing, wound up getting the last personal interview Jerry Falwell gave before his sudden death of heart disease in 2009, an event which shocked the campus to its core, and which gained the author a singular insight into the schools and its students.

I have read a lot of books on Christian Fundamentalism. Some have been clever, some have been angry, some factual and others pure polemic. This one was uniquely personal, moving, honest and fair, and, despite my envy, I give great credit to Kevin Roose for doing the necessary research, and for pursuing objective and engaging journalism.(less)

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Oct 24, 2012 Tommy Tran rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dear Whomever May Concern,

Earlier today I was discussing my love for the book The Unlikely Disciple (a story of Kevin Roose a Brown student coming to Liberty in search of a better understanding of Christian culture) with one of my good friends when I was interrupted by another student on the bus. She told me, "That dumb secularist didn't even get the whole point of this college." And said, "How could he come here and not find God?" While I totally understood what she meant by this comment I was...more Dear Whomever May Concern,

Earlier today I was discussing my love for the book The Unlikely Disciple (a story of Kevin Roose a Brown student coming to Liberty in search of a better understanding of Christian culture) with one of my good friends when I was interrupted by another student on the bus. She told me, "That dumb secularist didn't even get the whole point of this college." And said, "How could he come here and not find God?" While I totally understood what she meant by this comment I was also a bit offended she would call Kevin Roose a dumb secularist. Kevin Roose was at an Ivy league school and at the age of 19 wrote a brilliant novel. She continued to tell me that it was not that impressive that Kevin had come to Liberty University due to the fact that she had many Christian friends who went to secular schools. This is where I got a bit upset. I understand that Kevin Roose wrote all about the school, Jerry Fawlell Sr. and a lot of interesting events that happen at this college. I do also recognize that he seemed to overlook Jesus. Yet he still came, he searched, and he did see we were different. What my peer on the bus failed to recognize was the lesson in the book. WE NEVER KNOW WHO IS WATCHING! One of my favorite parts of this nonfiction novel is at the end where Kevin tells all his friends at Liberty what he was doing... his roommate apologizes! He says "If I would of known I wouldn't of acted the way I did." Can't we just take a moment to reflect and realize that even on a Christian campus that everyone here MIGHT NOT BE "SAVED". To the other comment about having friends that go to "secular school." JESUS went to where the people were. JESUS called US to go to THEM not the other way around. Christian means Christ like. We are supposed to strive to be like Christ. Instead of being angry at Kevin for not getting Jesus maybe we should reflect on ourselves and wonder why didn't he see Jesus? The lesson in the book is a self reflection. He was a complete outsider, a Quaker child, a genius from Brown, who came among Christians. Yes, I was highly disappointed that Kevin did not become a Christian BUT I am overjoyed that he came here! He saw us as different and maybe one day he too will be one of us. So instead of critiquing people why don't we just look in the mirror and ask ourselves "Am I Jesus to the least of them?"

sincerely,

Tommy Tran(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Sally rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir

The subtitle on this book irks me, but it also effectively demonstrates the crux of the author's problem: a basic misunderstanding of what faith is about. As I read about his semester "underground" at Liberty University, I kept wondering about the conversations that hadn't made it into the book. Surely he knows that everyone at Liberty--everyone in the WORLD--is a sinner, according to the Bible? So he's not the only one there. And to call Liberty "America's Holiest University" is a misnomer. Mor...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Jacqueline rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think that I liked the premise of this book more than the book itself. A Liberal, Brown-enrolled 19 year old enrolling at ultra-Conservative, Liberty University? Sounds intriguing to say the least. While I enjoyed Roose's pacing and his delivery, I did not enjoy the fact that he repeated certain facts over and over and OVER. How many times must you remind us that Zipper is your next door roommate or that Jersey Joey is the rebel of the dorm? We get it.

What would have made this a much more sub...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Shana rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose may not seem like a good poolside book, but it actually wasn’t half bad. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. Going along with my Christian Evangelical theme, I absolutely had to read this account of a Brown student spending a semester, somewhat undercover, at the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. I love these undercover-ish exposes of populations that are totally mysteries to me.

Although this could have easily turned into Evangelical-bashing, and some may sa...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Bruce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes writers get lucky. When Jon Krakauer joined an Everest expedition in the spring of 1996 to cover the extremes and effects of ecotourism, he wasn’t expecting to be an eyewitness to disaster. He was just in the right place at the right time. Likewise, when 19 year-old rising Brown sophomore Kevin Roose sought to scale the heights of Lynchburg, VA by spending a semester enrolled at evangelical Liberty University in the spring of 2007, he wasn’t hoping to score an historic interview with J...more Sometimes writers get lucky. When Jon Krakauer joined an Everest expedition in the spring of 1996 to cover the extremes and effects of ecotourism, he wasn’t expecting to be an eyewitness to disaster. He was just in the right place at the right time. Likewise, when 19 year-old rising Brown sophomore Kevin Roose sought to scale the heights of Lynchburg, VA by spending a semester enrolled at evangelical Liberty University in the spring of 2007, he wasn’t hoping to score an historic interview with Jerry Falwell. He, too, was just in the right place at the right time.

But books like Into Thin Air and The Unlikely Disciple don’t write themselves; they require talented, sensitive observers who put themselves in position to capitalize on their circumstances. A la Branch Rickey, luck is the residue of design, or for an evangelical, Design. Credit where credit is due (which is primarily here to Roose), yet while the author is cramming to salvage his Liberty GPA, God is nonetheless working in perverse ways.

Roose makes the most of his semester inbroad; as a liberal-leaning, secular Quaker he expects a fair amount of culture shock as he seeks to get an inside view of evangelical life and thought. His book brims with cognitive dissonance as he mentally struggles to blend in and understand those who seem so blissfully free of doubt. In a school whose core curriculum includes courses on justifying creationism (“History of Life”), that inculcate a pro-life stance (which we learn at p. 87 permeates “lessons of every stripe, and is often thinly veiled, if it’s veiled at all,”) and which preach homophobic world views (GNEDII, with a fill-in-the-blank workbook that includes sections entitled, “Myths Behind the Homosexual Agenda”), one might reasonably expect Roose to narrowly escape death at the hands of a violently intolerant roommate. Fortunately, he’s able to sneak off with friends in his Liberty dorm to watch an R-rated movie more often than not, in the process enjoying a wee bit of diversity among the devout.

The rigidity and assurance posed by the school’s anti-intellectual stance can be stifling for those who haven’t fully adopted Liberty’s worldview, seductive to those who desire external limits on thought and behavior. The best moments in the book occur when this dynamic tension is screwed to its height: in Roose’s exploration of Liberty’s dating scene (which almost has him falling in love), in a busmen’s Spring Break holiday to Daytona Beach with a SWAT team of student proselytizers like one Claire determined to bring the Word of the Lord to the gleefully damned (“Sorority girls laugh in her face. Bikers stare at her chest, then laugh in her face,” p. 151), or when he joins a faculty-led support group designed to keep the hormonal collegians from masturbation. (“Call me if anything, uh, comes up.”) Nor can the reader be blind to how close the farce Roose presents are to tragedy. Liberty is not an evil place, but it approaches evil in the seams of its banality, sewn through with trivial repressions and obsessions. As Roose writes at p. 252:

It comes back, I guess, to the difference between the form and content of Liberty’s religious system. I love the way Pastor Seth’s faith motivates him to help me in my struggles. I admire his compassion and selflessness. I just wish he were calling to see whether I was returning my mom’s phone calls, or whether I had left good tips at restaurants, or whether I had been nice to everyone I met today. Working on masturbation when I have so many other flaws seems like putting fuzzy dice in a car whose transmission is falling apart. I suppose it’s better than nothing, but it doesn’t feel like a particularly good use of anyone’s time.

The book is intensely readable. We road-tripped to Orlando for the last week of August, and all four members of the family took turns making The Unlikely Disciple into an audio book. (Although I have to say, Roose’s voice sounds a bit odd coming out of the mouth of a 12 year old girl.) It lingers a bit too long at the end -- I guess the author had trouble saying goodbye at the end of the semester – but Roose ties up all loose ends in a tremendously satisfying epilogue. Well, all except one. The book kicks off with a lingerie party filled with teaser characters who sadly never return to the story. Did they get the boot from Bible Boot Camp?
(less)

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About Kevin Roose

Kevin Roose is a 21-year-old senior at Brown University, a freelance journalist, and the author of "The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University." During his sophomore year at Brown, Kevin left to spend a semester "abroad" at Liberty University, Jerry Falwell's "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, in order to learn about the lives of his Christian peers by living...more

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“...I realized how naive I was. My aunt Tina was right: this stuff does exist, and it does hurt people, and although there are lots of people at Liberty who condemn violence against gays--including Dr. Falwell himself--the number of students who want to give them the Goliath treatment isn't zero. In fact, the number who live in my room isn't zero.” — 2 people liked it

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