What do you think?
Rate this book
Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement
Illuminating, often troubling, and unapologetically frank, Righteous is dynamic young journalist Lauren Sandler's report from the nexus of religious fundamentalism and youth culture. As a secular guide through the passion and politics of the teenage evangelical "Disciple Generation," Sandler offers the first front line exploration of the Christian youth counterculture and what its influence could mean for the future of America. She intimately connects with skateboarding missionaries, tattooed members of a self-sufficient postpunk mega- church, rock- 'n'-rolling antiabortion protestors, and rap preachers who merge hip-hop's love of money with old- fashioned Bible-beating fundamentalism-true believers who reveal themselves with openness and truly astonishing candor, but what they reveal about our nation is most astonishing of all.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2006
4 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Sandler
9 books95 followersI'm a journalist and author who writes about culture and inequality. My new book is called THIS IS ALL I GOT: A New Mother's Search For home.
When I moved to New York City in 1992, homelessness was already considered a national crisis. The night I unpacked my bags uptown, 23,482 people slept in the city’s public shelters. By the 2015 evening I met Camila, a twenty-two-year old homeless soon-to-be single mother, that number had ballooned to more than 60,000 people.
THIS IS ALL I GOT begins as Camila goes into labor in a shelter in Brooklyn, and follows her to the overcrowded Bronx apartment where she lands after an untimely eviction. The book witnesses her navigate welfare benefits, housing vouchers, child support, and what she must endure to stay in college and stay sane. Throughout, Camila’s intimacies—with people with whom she shares DNA, living space, desire, grudges, heartbreak—help us know this complicated character whose ambitions and passions are nearly as great as the constant crises she has no choice but to confront.
Camila’s caseworkers would tell you that they’ve never seen anyone as knowledgeable about the system in which she was stranded. It quickly became clear to me: If she couldn’t use her wits and persistence to make the system work for her, no one could.
My first book, RIGHTEOUS: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement, about my journalistic immersion into the young Christian right, was published by Viking in 2006. My second book, ONE AND ONLY: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One, considered how we want women to be mothers more than anything else, despite the US outlier status in supporting parents, and how we demonize what to many is a sane -- and loving choice -- to have just one kid. Thanks to everyone here who has read and reviewed both books.
When I moved to New York City in 1992, homelessness was already considered a national crisis. The night I unpacked my bags uptown, 23,482 people slept in the city’s public shelters. By the 2015 evening I met Camila, a twenty-two-year old homeless soon-to-be single mother, that number had ballooned to more than 60,000 people.
THIS IS ALL I GOT begins as Camila goes into labor in a shelter in Brooklyn, and follows her to the overcrowded Bronx apartment where she lands after an untimely eviction. The book witnesses her navigate welfare benefits, housing vouchers, child support, and what she must endure to stay in college and stay sane. Throughout, Camila’s intimacies—with people with whom she shares DNA, living space, desire, grudges, heartbreak—help us know this complicated character whose ambitions and passions are nearly as great as the constant crises she has no choice but to confront.
Camila’s caseworkers would tell you that they’ve never seen anyone as knowledgeable about the system in which she was stranded. It quickly became clear to me: If she couldn’t use her wits and persistence to make the system work for her, no one could.
My first book, RIGHTEOUS: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement, about my journalistic immersion into the young Christian right, was published by Viking in 2006. My second book, ONE AND ONLY: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One, considered how we want women to be mothers more than anything else, despite the US outlier status in supporting parents, and how we demonize what to many is a sane -- and loving choice -- to have just one kid. Thanks to everyone here who has read and reviewed both books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
May 10, 2010
I probably shouldn't read this type of topical nonfiction. It relies fairly heavily on the idea that some ominous cultural or political activity is getting bigger and bigger and is about to threaten our Very Way of Life. But while I am a naturally anxious person, I'm totally on to these yahoos that need to make me believe that swine flu/homophobes/feminists/Republicans/immigrants/China/Muslims/etc. are about to bring about some sort of dystopian future. I get that there are threats in the world, and people with whom I completely disagree. And people with bombs and guns and stuff. But fear is counterproductive. It's not a good basis for a worldview. It does, however, sell lots of books and magazines.
The author of this book is talented -- she writes engagingly about the young evangelicals. She looks at many different parts of the whole: "alternative" ministries reaching out to pierced and tattooed types (I like to think of them as Bedazzled) with slang-filled but still very conservative messages; the home-schooled ultra-conservative politicos at Patrick Henry College who are looking to take over Washington; the evangelicals in the military that believe God brought about the Iraq and Afghan wars so that they can bring Christianity to the Middle East; the goth church in Texas run by Jim and Tammy Faye Baker's son; the folks trying to get "intelligent design" into the public school curriculum; Stephen Baldwin and the Extreme Tour; and many more. And it's alarming stuff. She interviews many people along the way, and I found myself arguing in my head with many of them. How can you believe women are to be subservient? Why do you think other people must believe as you do? Why must this be a "Christian nation" -- there are people of all faiths here.
I think the author did a good job of showing how religion was of personal comfort to many of her subjects, while still decrying their political views. (She made no bones about being alarmed by the whole movement.) She notes that evangelism is clearly popular because so many young people are unclear about how to have meaning in their lives, feeling disconnected from their communities. But she wants her readers to be really freaked out and, basically, to create something similar on the left. She calls for the secular liberals to have their own versions of the Christian rock festivals, skate ministries, political colleges, and self-help books she describes here, only with life-affirming messages from the left wing. Oy.
I'd try something a bit more basic. How about public programs and educational institutions that support the health, safety, and growth of our citizens? How about some regulations that prevent Wall Street banks from putting our economy in the toilet? How about an economy that does not depend almost entirely on the consumption of consumer goods for its "health"? Fanaticism, fear, and intolerance are often born from insecurity, poverty, poor education, or economic instability. Maybe if our country did a better job of supporting its most vulnerable citizens and working toward fairness and justice, we'd all be a little less susceptible to the fear mongers.
The author of this book is talented -- she writes engagingly about the young evangelicals. She looks at many different parts of the whole: "alternative" ministries reaching out to pierced and tattooed types (I like to think of them as Bedazzled) with slang-filled but still very conservative messages; the home-schooled ultra-conservative politicos at Patrick Henry College who are looking to take over Washington; the evangelicals in the military that believe God brought about the Iraq and Afghan wars so that they can bring Christianity to the Middle East; the goth church in Texas run by Jim and Tammy Faye Baker's son; the folks trying to get "intelligent design" into the public school curriculum; Stephen Baldwin and the Extreme Tour; and many more. And it's alarming stuff. She interviews many people along the way, and I found myself arguing in my head with many of them. How can you believe women are to be subservient? Why do you think other people must believe as you do? Why must this be a "Christian nation" -- there are people of all faiths here.
I think the author did a good job of showing how religion was of personal comfort to many of her subjects, while still decrying their political views. (She made no bones about being alarmed by the whole movement.) She notes that evangelism is clearly popular because so many young people are unclear about how to have meaning in their lives, feeling disconnected from their communities. But she wants her readers to be really freaked out and, basically, to create something similar on the left. She calls for the secular liberals to have their own versions of the Christian rock festivals, skate ministries, political colleges, and self-help books she describes here, only with life-affirming messages from the left wing. Oy.
I'd try something a bit more basic. How about public programs and educational institutions that support the health, safety, and growth of our citizens? How about some regulations that prevent Wall Street banks from putting our economy in the toilet? How about an economy that does not depend almost entirely on the consumption of consumer goods for its "health"? Fanaticism, fear, and intolerance are often born from insecurity, poverty, poor education, or economic instability. Maybe if our country did a better job of supporting its most vulnerable citizens and working toward fairness and justice, we'd all be a little less susceptible to the fear mongers.
September 4, 2017
An NPR reporter who writes for the LA Times probes within the 21st century Evangelical youth movement in the USA, with character sketches and interviews of those caught up in this growing lifestyle. The tone is sometimes uneven, with the author at times perhaps a bit disparaging as she tries to present the range of inroads the evangelicals have made in the last generation, as they reach out to the marginalized or those in adolescence, using the latest effective marketing strategies of mass media and the dominant culture. She does recognize it is a need for community and structure (in a world that seems to be losing both) that drives these new converts, and generally respects their faith as a sincere commitment. Like her, I am troubled by how easily so many will dismiss facts, evidence, and critical thinking, seeing them as unnecessary and unimportant, and what is worse, dangerous--that is, if any should bring into question the literal reading of the Bible as inerrant fact (or at least, in the manner that their church leaders suggest it is). Don't think for yourself, but follow blindly on faith in return for feeling more accepted or comfortable--such approaches always make me nervous, and the fact so many millions of Americans are buying into this is troubling. The sections on the anti-abortion rock concerts, the Intelligent Design sophistry showdown in Dover, PA, and the skater boys outreach were not news to me, but the sections on Patrick Henry College, the New Life church serving the Air Force Academy, and the Mars Hill group in Seattle were--and they are all dedicated to using political power and influence to make others conform to their views on family and gender relationships. I found the whole faith system set up by Creflo Dollar, so popular in rap circles, preaching that Christianity is all about getting the most bling--to be vile, and I am absolutely startled by how many both go for it, and see no problem with it. And until I read this book, I had no idea Stephen Baldwin had a recent life outside of The Celebrity Apprentice. It turns out he has been an evangelical youth right-wing politics celeb for years!
March 1, 2012
I read this like 5 years ago and I can't get over how alien a culture America's evangelical christianity is for me. There are regions of our country that are like completely different worlds speaking completely different languages that I was never exposed to growing up. The very idea of an evangelical, alternative youth culture is even more mind-bogglingly insane to me... and yet it was my girlfriend's entire world and culture growing up and she turned out a perfectly relatable and rational and lovely human being. When I was reading this I would call her afterwards with the most recent passage I couldn't get over or happened to blow my mind and she would respond with "yup." That was her life and she was completely immersed in it for years. I have spent a lot of time just trying to understand what that world was like in contrast to my own. Christian Punk Rock? Absurd! But it is a thing and it makes sense when you realize that what defines a musical sub-culture doesn't even always match between two people who grew up down the street from one another... let alone in entirely different regions of a given city or state or damn-big-country. Loud aggressive music will appeal to certain kids, regardless of their perceptions of culture and societal norms. Same goes for skateboarding, tattoos, rebellion, silly haircuts and "sticking it to the man." Different groups from the same culture are especially interesting in their controlled vocabularies and terminology usage. We use the same words as these other people, but to us and them they mean completely different things. And on this basis communication between groups cannot help but break down predictably and repeatedly. Apply this to more complicated concepts and you're asking for even more trouble with misunderstandings based on assumed cultural perceptions and ideas taken for granted and you begin to understand the mess our country is in today.
I don't think I will ever find this subject NOT fascinating/terrifying/bizarre.
I don't think I will ever find this subject NOT fascinating/terrifying/bizarre.
May 19, 2009
You might not believe it but I am totally pro criticizing Christian culture... frankly I think it is ridiculous, but Sandler leaves behind objective journalism and has some sort of axe to grind that she just can't let go of. I want to hear an honest appraisal of the foolish Christian world from a genuine outsider. Sandler, however, seems to think there is nothing redeeming about faith no matter how raw or how accepting. No one Christian can be good, real, genuine... no one non-Christian can be wrong or closed minded. It is really too bad she didn't take this project on with more of the openmindeness she pretends to espouse. Tolerance here is on the side of the Christians who let her into their homes and lives.
On a redeeming note, there is no time at which we should stop really looking hard at a culture that preaches love but practices hate so often. There were so many good stories to tell, why Sandler couldn't focus on the legitimate critique, and give a little more I don't know.
On a redeeming note, there is no time at which we should stop really looking hard at a culture that preaches love but practices hate so often. There were so many good stories to tell, why Sandler couldn't focus on the legitimate critique, and give a little more I don't know.
November 16, 2007
A kind of anthropological look at what the author calls the "disciple generation" - young Christians from their mid-teens to mid-thirties. She looks some at clean-cut kids at places like Patrick Henry College (where a large proportion of the students serve as GOP interns in DC), but has a special fascination with tattooed hipster Christians who run skateboard ministries and play in rock bands. Mars Hill Church in Seattle gets a focused look.
To me, the author's most interesting point was that evangelical Christianity is the only thing out there right now for kids/young people who are looking for meaning and community. The acceptance and intense emotional experiences are very appealing to teenagers who are feeling lost or hurt or without direction and just want to belong somewhere. Secular/liberal groups don't really offer an equivalent alternative, which she argues has huge consequences for the future direction of the country.
To me, the author's most interesting point was that evangelical Christianity is the only thing out there right now for kids/young people who are looking for meaning and community. The acceptance and intense emotional experiences are very appealing to teenagers who are feeling lost or hurt or without direction and just want to belong somewhere. Secular/liberal groups don't really offer an equivalent alternative, which she argues has huge consequences for the future direction of the country.
November 17, 2021
This is what happens when the pendulum swings tok far in one direction: it over compensates and we're screwed. Just be nice to each other and love everybody. xoxoxo
July 14, 2009
Lauren Sandler writes about rocking pro-lifers, skater missionaries, tattooed theologians, sons of televangelists, college students who try to live up to all the meanings of the word "disciple," scientists who believe in intelligent design, military missionaries and Young Republicans with clarity and a touch of wit. The writing is excellent. And the story-telling is truly brilliant.
As someone who went to a Christian college, I know she's telling the truth about evangelical youths.
But as a secular someone who is intimately familiar with the evangelical movement and has several evangelical friends, I struggle with Sandler's main premises.
Sandler writes about the evangelical movement with an "us versus them" perspective. She couches everything in terms of secularism versus evangelicalsim, those with reason versus those lacking it, those with self-confidence and self-esteem versus those lacking it, the strong versus the weak. And she says evangelicals started it. She says young evangelicals spend most of their time railing against the media and the feminist movement and everything else that represents modernity. She says they're preparing for a philosophical war with the secular elements of society (atheists, agnostics, Mormons, Catholics, i.e. anyone who is not main-stream Protestant). She talks about how they look forward to the Second Coming of Christ, and how they're doing everything they can to bring about the end of the world.
I'm not really sure what war she's talking about. Grove City is an evangelical college (though I probably wouldn't have gone there had I known that when I applied). A good majority of my friends and roommates there were evangelicals. They had a rough idea of where I stood philosophically and they never tried to convert me. Yes, they have different (perhaps, closer) friendships with their other evangelical friends than they do with me. But that's completely understandable - different values and ideas always make for different relationships.
As for the end of the world, I wouldn't say that evangelicals are consciously trying to bring it about. But they're certainly not trying anything to postpone it. I know very few evangelicals who think that global warming and pollution are problems. I know very few evangelicals who clean up after themselves at restaurants or in public parks. Who knows if global warming is inherent in nature or caused by man? What does it matter? It's not going to hurt anybody to limit their consumption of goods and cut back on the amount of waste they create. So why not?
As someone who went to a Christian college, I know she's telling the truth about evangelical youths.
But as a secular someone who is intimately familiar with the evangelical movement and has several evangelical friends, I struggle with Sandler's main premises.
Sandler writes about the evangelical movement with an "us versus them" perspective. She couches everything in terms of secularism versus evangelicalsim, those with reason versus those lacking it, those with self-confidence and self-esteem versus those lacking it, the strong versus the weak. And she says evangelicals started it. She says young evangelicals spend most of their time railing against the media and the feminist movement and everything else that represents modernity. She says they're preparing for a philosophical war with the secular elements of society (atheists, agnostics, Mormons, Catholics, i.e. anyone who is not main-stream Protestant). She talks about how they look forward to the Second Coming of Christ, and how they're doing everything they can to bring about the end of the world.
I'm not really sure what war she's talking about. Grove City is an evangelical college (though I probably wouldn't have gone there had I known that when I applied). A good majority of my friends and roommates there were evangelicals. They had a rough idea of where I stood philosophically and they never tried to convert me. Yes, they have different (perhaps, closer) friendships with their other evangelical friends than they do with me. But that's completely understandable - different values and ideas always make for different relationships.
As for the end of the world, I wouldn't say that evangelicals are consciously trying to bring it about. But they're certainly not trying anything to postpone it. I know very few evangelicals who think that global warming and pollution are problems. I know very few evangelicals who clean up after themselves at restaurants or in public parks. Who knows if global warming is inherent in nature or caused by man? What does it matter? It's not going to hurt anybody to limit their consumption of goods and cut back on the amount of waste they create. So why not?
October 26, 2007
I am going to be thinking and talking about this book for a while, and not just because it has bizarre family relevance for me right now. From the first chapter I wasn't sure how I was going to like it because it sings with a little too much bombast, but it grew on me. Sandler explores Evangelical Christian youth culture across a number of apparent sub-communities: Rock for Life pro-lifers who are co-opting 60s counterculture with very different goals; Mars Hill Seattleites with 21st century tattoos and piercings and 19th century gender roles; skateboarders who skate for Christ; hip-hop stars and the pastors who lead them; youthful progeny of Evangelical celebs like Billy Graham and James Dobson; three-piece suit types and students attending fringe Christian universities with automatic internships on Capitol Hill; Air Force cadets who believe that God has given them the mission opportunity of all eternity in Iraq; and others. What unites them? They all believe that the Last Days are upon us, and they all voted for George Bush in the last election.
This book was eye-opening in a number of ways, good and bad. Highly recommended to most of my Bookreads pals.
This book was eye-opening in a number of ways, good and bad. Highly recommended to most of my Bookreads pals.
May 26, 2007
This is a scary and engrossing look at the current evangelical youth movement. Did you know punk rock skateboarders had their own church? I remembered this book while Monica Goodling, a graduate of Regents University, was testifying on the Alberto Gonzales debacle. Sandler doesn't mention Regents, a Christian university established by Pat Robertson where Goodling received her JD, but she does mention Patrick Henry College with the mission preparing "Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding" (direct from the Patrick Henry College website). Basically, getting a bunch of evangelicals into government positions. Sandler looks at disparate evangelical movements across the country. I was especially fascinated to see how teenage rebellion/alternative culture has been co-opted by the Evangelicals and heavily tattooed and pierced youth attend rock festivals with shirts that proclaim, "She's a child, not a choice." Highly recommended.
Read
August 11, 2011A journalist travels through America to examine the phenomenon of fundamentalist Christian Youth evangelism.Disturbing in many ways.Especially the chapters on their battle to have Creationism and Intelligent Design taught in schools ,and the description of how some elements in the US military literally believe that they're fighting a holy war in the Middle East,to bring about the end times .I also found the section about attempts to combine Church and State in America through grooming of potential law makers in Christian colleges quite fascinating. Some interesting points are raised about Secular and Christian viewpoints of similar events.For those with an interest in mass communication it makes you think about the adoption of popular culture to spread a religious message.Well worth reading . If you enjoyed this,you might enjoy the movie,Jesus Camp.For investigative reporting of another variety,check out Bill Buford's Among the Thugs.You might also enjoy The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom by Wes Nisker.
December 27, 2008
This was a fascinating book to read, from multiple perspectives. First, because I am very interested in the phenomenon of the Religious Right/Evangelical Christianity as a political force and as a group that is redefining the way our country acts, legislates, and is internationally perceived. Secondly, because I have some background with these perspectives myself, and have old friends and acquaintances who are closely involved in aspects of these movements.
Sandler does a good job of exploring and outlining the people and groups that are active in the movement without clearly identifiying strong political biases. She does state her religious and political background, and at times points out her personal conflicts with a number of the commonly held beliefs of this demographic, but for the most part I found the book to be more educational than polemic.
If nothing else, I recommend this as a great insight into a growing movement that begs for an organized alternative.
Sandler does a good job of exploring and outlining the people and groups that are active in the movement without clearly identifiying strong political biases. She does state her religious and political background, and at times points out her personal conflicts with a number of the commonly held beliefs of this demographic, but for the most part I found the book to be more educational than polemic.
If nothing else, I recommend this as a great insight into a growing movement that begs for an organized alternative.
August 13, 2009
While Sandler can be a bit snarky, this book is eye-opening - it has more scope than Jesus Camp or Hell House, two staple documentaries designed to expose the lunacy of fundamentalists. It's a look into what young evangelicals are doing to convert others, and even more importantly, how they want to change this nation. A particularly shocking chapter on Patrick Henry College tops the rest of the book; I didn't quite understand why Sandler spent time deriding the "prosperity gospel" of Creflo Dollar, as young people don't seem central to the movement. Though she gets off-task a couple of times, Sandler does manage to pack in some interesting profiles of little-known pastors and second-generation denizens of the religious right. Overall, it reads like an entertaining (yet informative and somewhat scary) set of articles from Slate or Salon, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in social issues and religion in the US.
April 6, 2008
i really wanted to like this book, but once again, the cross-over into pop culture lit has driven me crazy. sentences that begin with phrases like "I'd sacrifice a lamb to..." cloud the descriptions and interviews and make me not take the author seriously. i was mostly interested in the chapters about mars hill church, and true to my assumptions, it is a scary place. but i already knew that. every chapter seemed more or less a regurgitation and condemnation of the "sneaky deep" missional living and the anti-feminist stance of young evangelicals around the country. but i already knew that. i returned the book to the library without finishing it. too bad, because this topic is one that really interests (and concerns!) me.
August 21, 2013
I picked up this book in a thrift shop knowing the perspective of the author. However, I thought that Sandler might offer some keen insights, or that I would pick up some things myself, on this thing we call youth ministry. That said, I was greatly disappointed. Sandler was up front and just wanted to show Evangelical Christianity in all its forms to be ridiculous and anti-rational - though specifically in the youth. She is correct about certain section of evangelicalism but wrongly sums them up into one and assumes that Christianity cannot be rational. Well, that's just too bad. If you are looking for an objective and intellectual assessment of Evangelical Christianity - and it's specific impact on American youth - this is not it.
February 1, 2008
oh man. this book was so fascinating. discussion group needed on this one. it's about the evangelical christian youth movement in this country and man those folks have their shit together. we need to figure out how we can effectively face off against this growing movement of well-organized, super-motivated activists for all that is wrong in the world. the writing is pretty engaging, but veers a little too much into the judgemental at times, in my opinion. she does a really good job, though, of providing in-depth insight into these folks and their motivations as opposed to painting one dimensional pictures of horned beasts.
July 10, 2008
I lived the Christian youth sub-culture first hand for a short stint of my life, so the book was probably more interesting to me than it might be to others.
The author really dives into to the Christian sub-culture groups, and gets scarily true insights on their beliefs, morals, and world views. If one truly wishes to understand the Christian right, which is taking over half of our countries political parties, this would be the book to read. I bet more democrats would get out there and vote if they realized what they were up against.
A must read for anyone that enjoys social/cultural documentaries or has an interest in learning about the sub-cultures they live around.
The author really dives into to the Christian sub-culture groups, and gets scarily true insights on their beliefs, morals, and world views. If one truly wishes to understand the Christian right, which is taking over half of our countries political parties, this would be the book to read. I bet more democrats would get out there and vote if they realized what they were up against.
A must read for anyone that enjoys social/cultural documentaries or has an interest in learning about the sub-cultures they live around.
September 3, 2013
I really enjoyed this book - it's very similar to _Rapture Ready_, even profiling some of the same individuals. Unlike _RR_, though, _Righteous_ explores some of the more insidious gender dynamics and strict gender roles that the evangelical movement forces on its adherents. Perhaps because _Rapture Ready_ was written by a man and _Righteous_ by a woman, the former didn't touch on this issue very much at all. It's a fascinating look at the evangelical youth subculture, which somehow views strict compliance with ancient rules as a radical break with tradition? There's some fascinating cognitive dissonance or something going on here.
March 29, 2016
If you're not scared you haven't been paying attention.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to all my politically interested friends. I feel like nobody is realizing that the people who the author is taking about are a clear and present danger to American democracy. These are not your friendly neighborhood Christians; these are dominionists trying to set up a Christian theocracy. I don't see any difference between them and the jihadist movement. My only criticism of this book is the last chapter is not long enough, I wish that the author had given ideas on how to appeal to the desperate in a secular way.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to all my politically interested friends. I feel like nobody is realizing that the people who the author is taking about are a clear and present danger to American democracy. These are not your friendly neighborhood Christians; these are dominionists trying to set up a Christian theocracy. I don't see any difference between them and the jihadist movement. My only criticism of this book is the last chapter is not long enough, I wish that the author had given ideas on how to appeal to the desperate in a secular way.
September 14, 2007
this was a really great book, although disturbing at the same time. It was an in-depth look into the fundamentalist/evangelical subculture in america. None of it really surprised me as it's what I great up with. but it was still interesting to see it all laid out in one place like this. what frustrates me the most, though, is that people make fun of the culture instead of taking it seriously and seeing what can be done to provide other avenues for youth who are feeling disenfranchised with america.
January 12, 2009
I have a fairly open mind about religion and people's many beliefs; I find the different religions of this world very interesting and colorful (like all the different ethnicities). However, this book was shocking for me and I had a hard time reading the extremes of this movement.
The book is very well written and I think the author did a fairly good job of keeping her own opinions out of the writing. You can definitely hear her undertones throughout the book, but it is not overwhelming.
Well written, but disturbing topic.
The book is very well written and I think the author did a fairly good job of keeping her own opinions out of the writing. You can definitely hear her undertones throughout the book, but it is not overwhelming.
Well written, but disturbing topic.
December 21, 2007
Parts of this book were disturbing. Parts were warm and fuzzy. And then, when I got to the chapter on Patrick Henry College, I was downright terrified. Even now, days later, I can't shake that creepy foreboding feeling. I suspect that the kind of person who would assume that this book wouldn't appeal to them, is exactly the kind of person who should read it.
Read
August 2, 2011Initially Sandler's insight into a world largely unfamiliar to me was interesting. Eventually I was frustrated by the "hinting" and power of suggestion she used in her sentences, showing that she is just as closed-minded as the Evangelicals she criticized. I was offended by her generalizations regarding homeschoolers.
April 15, 2012
I just find this movement fascinating. This goes well with Quiverfull, Rapture Ready, God's Harvard and Unlikely Disciple. It's the most overtly negative of those, but then again there is a lot to dislike about prosperity gospel, complemtarianism and homeschooled radical conservative activists. To change minds, this would be way too elitist and condescending. As a heads up, frightening.
November 4, 2013
I grew up in the evangelical youth group culture & I am now an adult who follows the way of Jesus. Lauren provides keen insight into some serious flaws within the youth group world that church leadership would be wise to heed. She also nails some of the most beautiful aspects of young people united by a God who demands action on behalf of the "least of these." ---A fascinating read.
October 20, 2007
This is about the huge evangelical youth movement that is growing exponentially right now under our noses. Freaking scary if you're not a conservative, bible thumping evangelist. Definitely worth reading so you know what's going on in this realm. Easy, quick page-turner.
April 24, 2008
A decent, if long, journalistic piece on evangelism in America. Guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of any atheist! Muslim too, for that matter...
Anyway, to Sandler's credit she is very up front and clear about her personal biases. Reading this book is a bit like watching Jesus Camp.
Anyway, to Sandler's credit she is very up front and clear about her personal biases. Reading this book is a bit like watching Jesus Camp.
October 13, 2008
That there is a movement in this country that encourages the devaluation of education, science and reason.
Religion will be the downfall of our global society if we continue to act in intolerant ways towards one another.
Couldn't put this down. Read it in a day.
Religion will be the downfall of our global society if we continue to act in intolerant ways towards one another.
Couldn't put this down. Read it in a day.
July 3, 2011
I read this for my grade eleven World Religions class, when I was writing my ISU on the Evangelical Youth Movement.
This book was really interesting, a really good look inside the movement, without being as critical and biased as, say, "Jesus Camp".
Definitely an interesting read.
This book was really interesting, a really good look inside the movement, without being as critical and biased as, say, "Jesus Camp".
Definitely an interesting read.
September 4, 2015
I enjoyed it and it did offer some great insight, but keep in mind that:
1. It was published in 2006 so as a book about pop culture it's a bit outdated in some chapters
2. It was written by an anti-evangelical atheist liberal Jew, so comb through the bias for some interesting info.
1. It was published in 2006 so as a book about pop culture it's a bit outdated in some chapters
2. It was written by an anti-evangelical atheist liberal Jew, so comb through the bias for some interesting info.
February 20, 2007
A truly sobering and fascinating look at how the Evangelical movement has co-oped secular community-building techniques to create an huge conservative youth movement. SO GOOD.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews