Q&A: Facing Christianity's Crisis

TIME: You seem like a low-key type. Would you be opposed to describing the change in non-Christian perception of Christians as a "crisis?"

Kinnaman: Actually, an early version of the book title was "The Crisis of Christianity." Mental and emotional barriers regarding Christianity are higher than ever. As the young generation becomes the dominant part of the population, skepticism of Christianity will become a permanent and unavoidable feature of life in America. Christians do not have to like what outsiders are saying, but we have to deal with the negative image we have.

Yet Christians constitute a large majority.

Sure. For instance, Christianity is still the main spiritual route through adolescence. But because this generation of adolescents is exposed to a whole range of spiritual perspectives through entertainment and friendships, and puts a high value on individualism and experimentation, it is more and more affected by non-Christian attitudes. Even among the 'outsiders,' a majority tell us that they've attended a Christian church, usually for several months. They give it a test drive. But despite these experience — often because of them — they come to many negative views about Christianity.

Can you give an example of one of the complaints by non-Christians and a possible response?

Christians are known as judgmental, arrogant and quick to find fault with other people. Well, biblically Christians understand that we all sin, so we shouldn't be finding fault with individuals. But you often get situations where, say, a single mother comes to a congregation looking for assistance and spiritual help, and all she hears is, 'You shouldn't be a single mother.' That gives the impression that while Jesus loved flawed people Christians do not. Young outsiders knew the phrase 'Love the sinner, hate the sin,' but said what Christians really mean is 'Hate the sinner along with the sin.'

But there are some areas where Christians and many non-Christians do have differences of principle and not just practice, right? What about homosexuality?

A majority of Americans continue to believe that homosexuality is inappropriate. And the Christian biblical perspective is that it is not consistent with Christian discipleship. But non-Christians regarded it as our biggest negative, and most of the Christians we sampled agreed. Many Christians say, "That's not something we're willing to negotiate on." And, certainly, this is based in historical Christian convictions and scripture. But they need to guard against not wanting to grapple with the complexity of homosexuality, against trying to give very simple answers to very complex stories, and against feeling they can solve some of these deep issues without personal friendships with gay men and women. Christians are reluctant to admit sexual issues such as divorce and pornography that are more widely accepted within the Christian community than homosexuality. That opens us to charges of hypocrisy, both by people who genuinely want to talk and those who just want to score points. The two sides ought to have some respect for each other — and the responsibility should be on Christians to lead by example instead of just shouting at others through the ballot box or talk shows.

Is there some danger that Christians who read your book would feel you are telling them to compromise their beliefs for the sake of popularity?

We are quite clear in the book the popularity is not the goal, and people should not determine faith convictions based on whether they make sense to everybody else. But for Christians to understand, accept and learn from critics is something else.

I was struck by the criticism that Christianity had become too political. Do you think that that concern is the driving force behind the major shift toward criticism on the part of non-Christians?

I truly think the different perceptions stem primarily from changes with the generation doing the perceiving, not the Christians. The age group we interviewed is very skeptical and savvy and exposed to a wider array of information and worldviews than at any time before in human history. The research was spread out over three years, so this is not a brand-new, anti-Iraq, anti-Bush impulse. But the political arena has certainly contributed to people's perceptions of Christianity and Christians are perceived to have used their influence to gain or control sources of power. Critics point out that this is a very different engagement than Jesus modeled. Right or wrong, it's a fascinating point of criticism.

"Too involved with politics" also garnered a 50% negative rating among churchgoers. Do you think this bodes a future political withdrawal?

A Christian withdrawal from politics is unlikely, especially since born-again voters typically have higher turnout levels than other groups. However, born-again Christians have become more sensitive to being used for political purposes.

If Christians take your book seriously, what might the Christian future look like?

Whether they read the book or not, they'll have to respond to the issue. Christians will be forced to deal with hostility and frustration on the part of outsiders. They will be pulled in many different directions. People will do their best to address the crisis, but disagree on its severity and solutions. For instance, there is a strong push by many Christian leaders take seriously the commands to love and serve others and contribute to the common good of society. Many different voices will compete to define that movement.

Do you hope non-Christians will read your book? What could they get out of it? In what ways might it help solve the problems it describes?

It is written primarily for a Christian audience, but we hope non-Christians see our efforts to face reality. We are saying that the Christian community in America, in all its varieties, has to own up to its problems. That starts by simply admitting we've been un-Christian.

Given the proportion of Christian young adults who have attitudes and criticisms similar to the non-Christians, what is it that keeps them in the church?

Kinnaman: I don't know. We haven't explored it in depth…yet. That's our next project, actually.

1. Obama's Private Prayer 'Leaked'
2. Randy Pausch — Life Teacher
3. Israel's Debate Over an Iran Strike
4. 10 Questions for Randy Pausch
5. Hasbro's Legal War On Scrabulous
6. Obama Gets Love from Sarkozy
7. McCain's Foreign Policy Frustration
8. LeBron's Gold Guarantee
9. "Last Lecture" Professor Dies at 47
10. How to Survive Plane Decompression