How To Distinguish Between Clean and Christian Fiction

Pardon me for a moment while I step up on my soapbox.

The last thing I want to be is controversial, but there is a topic which needs addressing–the melding together of clean fiction and Christian fiction. It seems that more and more authors on both sides of the coin are trying to blur the line between these two types of fiction, and quite frankly, it bothers me.

Why does it ruffle my feathers so?

Well, for starters, a reader should be able to pick up either type of book and know exactly what they’re getting. And on top of that Christian fiction and clean fiction are entirely two different animals, which explains my reason for writing this post.

Through this article I hope to clarify the difference between clean and Christian fiction to help distinguish between the two and hopefully encourage my fellow authors to correctly categorize their novels.

Christian fiction or clean fiction? How to know which is which.
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Characteristics of Clean Fiction

Let me first state that I have no problem at all with clean fiction. I happen to believe that it serves the great purpose of providing smut-free entertainment, a great commodity in our anything-goes-society. Listed below are what I consider to be the characteristics of clean fiction.

Characters tend to have better-than-average moral standards compared to other secular works of fiction.
There is little to no foul language in the story.
There is little to no sensual content in the story, though there tends to be more than in Christian fiction. Sensual content may be implied or inferred rather than described.
There is usually little or no violence in the story.
Stories are written from a secular world view.
The primary purpose of clean or sweet fiction is entertainment/escape.

What characteristics would you use to describe “clean” fiction? Join the discussion here>>>
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An easy-to-pin/share graphic delineating the difference between Christian fiction and clean fiction.
Characteristics of Christian Fiction

More and more often here of late I have downloaded a book categorized as Christian fiction which turned out to be anything but.

Sometimes the book in question was actually what I would classify as clean fiction as per the characteristics above.

At other times, the book verged on a secular romance with overt sensuality, which I find highly disturbing. The characteristics of true Christian fiction are:

The plot and theme of the story deal with faith-based and scriptural content.
Most of the characters, if not all, are professing Christians and live their lives accordingly.
There is often a character who becomes a believer and Christ-follower in the course of the story.
There is usually no cursing or overly-descriptive sensual content in the story.
Any violence in the story is down-played and not graphic.
Stories are written from a Christian world view.
The primary purpose of Christian fiction is not merely to entertain, but to also spiritually challenge the reader.

What characteristics describe “Christian” fiction? Join the discussion here>>>
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My Soapbox Spiel

When I first entered the realm of Christian fiction writing, I was surprised to learn that Christian fiction was considered by the publishing world as a hot market. My personal belief is that because of the hot market, many secular writers–some of who were Christian and some who were not–began writing Christian fiction in the hopes of broadening their readership and boosting their sales.

In addition to this, I was flabbergasted to learn that many publishers refused to publish works of fiction they considered to be overtly religious. Huh? Then why call it Christian fiction? *shaking my head in disbelief*

Because of both of these facts, many books labeled as Christian fiction are what I would call either”watered-down” versions of Christianity or blatantly non-Christian.

To me it takes more than a character saying a prayer or going to church on Sunday morning for a story to truly be Christian in nature. A quickly-muttered prayer doesn’t make a book Christian any more than an elephant in a pink tutu makes the elephant a ballerina.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m not trying to say one type of fiction is better than the other. They both have their place and serve distinct purposes. My gripe comes in authors trying to straddle the fence and blur the lines between the two for monetary or other unsavory purposes.

It’s either one or the other. There is no both.

A prayer in a book doesn’t make it Christian anymore than an elephant in a tutu makes a ballerina.
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In Conclusion

Whew! Thanks for allowing me my mini-rant. I feel much better now. (stepping down from soapbox…)

While I realize most of this post is editorial in nature, I also believe it contains truth. Let’s call these two different types of fiction by their true names, rather than blurring the lines between them.

No more dressing the elephant in a pink tutu and calling it a ballerina.

 What about you? Do you find the lines between clean and Christian fiction somewhat blurred? I welcome your input.

 

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