Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church

by Kenda Creasy Dean

Based on the National Study of Youth and Religion the same invaluable data as its predecessor, Soul The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers Kenda Creasy Dean's compelling new book, Almost Christian , investigates why American teenagers are at once so positive about Christianity and at the same time so apathetic about genuine religious practice.

In Soul Searching , Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that American teenagers have embraced a "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" a hodgepodge of banal, self serving, feel good beliefs that bears little resemblance to traditional Christianity. But far from faulting teens, Dean places the blame for this theological watering down squarely on the churches themselves. Instead of proclaiming a God who calls believers to lives of love, service and sacrifice, churches offer instead a bargain religion, easy to use, easy to forget, offering little and demanding less. But what is to be done? In order to produce ardent young Christians, Dean argues, churches must rediscover their sense of mission and model an understanding of being Christian as not something you do for yourself, but something that calls you to share God's love, in word and deed, with others. Dean found that the most committed young Christians shared four important they could tell a personal and powerful story about God; they belonged to a significant faith community; they exhibited a sense of vocation; and they possessed a profound sense of hope. Based on these findings, Dean proposes an approach to Christian education that places the idea of mission at its core and offers a wealth of concrete suggestions for inspiring teens to live more authentically engaged Christian lives.

Persuasively and accessibly written, Almost Christian is a wake up call no one concerned about the future of Christianity in America can afford to ignore.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian, Theology, Faith, Parenting

266 pages, Hardcover

First published June 12, 2010

About the author

Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference (United Methodist) and professor of youth, church, and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry. A graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary, she served as pastor in suburban Washington DC and as a campus minister at the University of Maryland-College Park before coming to Princeton Seminary. She is currently appointed as the coordinating pastor of Kingston United Methodist Church in Kingston, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kenda Creasy Dean, an Associate Professor at Princeton, examines the results of a massive study done from 2003-2005 called the national Study of Youth and Religion, as well as the assertion by others of the rise in Moralistic Therapeutic Deism in place of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faiths, although very much primarily focused on traditional Christian groups along with Mormons--a feel good type experience. That it wasn't riveting is evidenced by the fact that I first started this book in 2014 and only went back and actually read the entire thing because it was part of a book reading game, and yet it's a topic I'm actually interested in.

This book has a fairly narrow target audience; those interested in the religious faith of American teens. It was interesting that Dean didn't even understand that at least one of the churches she discussed at length isn't even trinitarian, and she stated from the outset that that was her bias. While there were some interesting parts, and a few places that were very interesting, overall I can't say that it was stellar.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I read this because of the "Mormon Envy" chapter. I was very interested in what qualities of Mormonism translated to the NYSR (National Study of Youth and Religion) finding that Mormon teenagers are faring best in meaningful and practical application and understanding of their religion. To quote, "In nearly every area, using a variety of measures, Mormon teenagers were consistently the most positive, the most healthy, the most hopeful, and the most self-aware teenagers in the study."

Since the book was aimed at a mainline/conservative Protestant (and possibly Catholic) audience, some of the points weren't totally applicable to me, being LDS. I did appreciate the repeated warnings of watering down of the Christian message to teens in an effort to keep them interested in religious life.

An excellent read, particularly for those who volunteer or work in the youth ministry.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

from page 3- "Here is the gist of what you are about to read: American young people are, theoretically, fine with religious faith-but it does not concern them very much, and it is not durable enough to survive long after they graduate from high school.
One more thing: we're responsible."

No matter your faith, this book will have you asking, "am I highly devoted to the faith"
It seems most Americans (not just youth) have a faith in a God who just wants us to be nice. And we can call on him if we are in trouble.

This book helps answer the question; "What does mature faith look like?" I especially liked what it says on page 80 about that.

This book has me asking: "am I a highly devouted follower of Jesus" and "am I helping others to be highly devoted in their faith"

I recommend this book to any who are devoted to Christ's command to go and make disciples.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian formation invites participants, including teens, to grow and go. Christian education directors hope to instill a faith of consequence in participants of Christian formation. Churches across the United States have a phrase like Know, Grow, and GO as their mission statement alluding to this very hope. Yet, according to Kenda Creasy Dean, this “is not the faith that most American teenagers seem to have (pg7).” Almost Christian, by Kenda Creasy Dean, is an in depth look at the faith of teens in the twenty-first century, and how this faith might continue to affect the Church as we know it. Dean raises questions about how the Church might help teens go beyond mere Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, to faith of consequence in order to claim again a “missional imagination (pg. 195)”
Summary: We need highly devoted teenagers to counter Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, or MTD, is a system of personal happiness and interpersonal niceness. Dean calls this system, “well-intentioned but ultimately banal (pg15)” using parasitology endeavoring to expose the false religion of MTD. Dean posits that MTD has entered our spheres of influence because “we have not given teenagers the soul-strength necessary to recognize, wrestle and resist the symbiotes in our midst—probably because we lack this soul-strength ourselves (ibid).” The cure, according to Dean, is developing a faith of consequence, important and significant. This sought after faith is “highly devoted (pg. 70)” and incorporated into all areas of life as a way of being.
Strength: Using the data of the National Study of Youth and Religion, Dean draws conclusions which are painful for those within the church. When she says “we are doing an exceedingly good job of teaching youth what we really believe: namely, that Christianity is not a big deal, that God requires little…. of course, begs the question of whether we are really the church at all (pg. 12)” she effectively turns up the heat on those of us in Christian education leadership. The first section of the book bars no holds, calling for a change in the way we help teens develop a faith relationship with God. The rest of the book is equally convicting as Dean recalls foundational practices of the church like creed, mission, and catechism used to develop highly devoted disciples.
Weakness: The data of the NSYR does show that “most U.S. teenagers embrace some religious identity and are affiliated with a religious organization (pg. 201).” So, what seems to be the problem? Dean is asking for deep, adaptive work to deepen the faith of teens. This is a problem. She correctly states, “awakening faith does not depend on how hard we press young people to love God, but on how much we show them that we do (pg. 120).” The question remains, will technical tools like catechism, mentor relationships, and mission trips which emphasize de-centering, be a strong enough nudge toward adaptive work? To change youth ministry in the way that Dean envisions is asking for adaptive change while striving to employ technical tools.
Summary: We need highly devoted communities of faith to counter Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
Opening the third section of Almost Christian, Dean candidly claims “Teenagers’ ability to imitate Christ depends, to a daunting degree, on whether we do (pg. 112).” It takes practice to talk about faith. Dean flushes out a communication idea she calls ‘on the wall’ and ‘behind the wall’ conversations (pg. 113). ‘On the wall’ conversations are open, in view of culture and society, using on trend language. ‘Behind the wall’ conversations are intimate and exclusionary, using verbiage of family and tradition to invoke tender remembrance, and bold vision casting. Dean theorizes fluency in both styles is necessary for God’s people to translate the gospel to the world, and to themselves as well. To counter MTD, a community of faith needs the ability to “name and claim God’s activity in the world right now (pg. 148).”
Strength: Dean posits the gospel message has always been a translated message. Her theory is “anywhere the instruction of new Christians was an issue, the gospel was translated into local forms that people could understand (pg. 116).” Dean harkens back to the Medieval Ages for apprenticeships and catechesis as a way to help form highly devoted congregations. Daily living, at home within a family, affords teens opportunity to “do some sacred eavesdropping on us as we seek, delight and trust in God’s presence with us (pg. 119).” A simple display of love and invitation to gospel enactment together with teens is faith incarnate.
Weakness: However, she also claims opportunities for teens to participate in mentoring relationships are severely limited because the necessary adults “lack spiritual vocabularies, and therefore confidence, to convey their religious convictions to another person (pg. 152).” Dean tells of her own difficulty securing adult mentors. To instill a confident skill in the language of faith, daily practice is required. This is another limitation of mentoring relationships; not many are interested in this kind of daily sacrifice. If we want teens, and ourselves, to be skilled in the language of faith, we must provide “direct teaching and opportunities to use [the language] to be serviceable (pg. 155).” Obstacles outweigh advantages in this section.
Implications: Both Dean’s ideas, to use highly devoted teenagers and highly devoted adults to combat MTD, are adaptive challenges. How will we know when they have moved from less devoted to highly devoted? The implications of this fact are extraordinary. A technical change may be addressed with time, talent and funding; and, once fixed causes a return to the status quo. Adaptive challenge asks for the adoption of a new belief or value. This type of challenge cannot be met with technical means. A further difficulty is the immeasurable aspect of a changed belief. When a church leader is asked to measure Spiritual growth—from less to highly devoted—the path to burnout, or worse, losing the job because of ‘poor performance’, is close at hand.
Conclusion: Almost Christian is a clarion call to anyone interested in the faith development of American teenagers. Dean paints a picture of teens poised on the jagged teeth of the jaws of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism about to be gobbled whole. Her claim is simple: if we want to rescue them, we—the church—must “reclaim our call to follow Christ into the world as envoys of God’s self-giving love (pg. 195).”

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Almost Christian" is a provocatively titled book that analyzes the results of the National Study of Youth and Religion. It is very intelligently written, so I'd suggest getting the Kindle version to help define some of the words Dean uses while reading. But in a season where a lot of people are throwing youth ministry under the bus, Dean proposes the simple notion that adolescent faith is more a product of the apathy in adults' lives than in the programs of youth ministry. "Almost Christian" takes an honest look at spiritual formation in teenagers, while pointing out the wins and woes of parents, youth pastors, and congregations and I often found some of my practices being challenged in her writing. This is not a whiny reply to a survey that produced a lot of unmerited whining. This is a thorough, scholastic, reasonable unpacking of data collected that freaked a lot of people out. And while I don't agree with every conclusion Dean drew, I finished this book with a verbal promise to my students that I will continue to teach them the full counsel of God, no matter how hard to comprehend or implement. This is one of those books that an entire church leadership team should read, so when you're done reading it, give it your pastor.

[Andy Goodrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first few chapters of this book and then found it wanting. The first few chapters were full of insight into our youth culture and the church as a whole but then in the final 2/3 of the book the researched backed, black and white clarity of the first portion of this book became clouded by a fog of intellectual church talk as the author tried to offer a solution. All in all the book as many good things to offer but by and large I felt that the author is just where everyone else is she sees the changing culture clearly maybe better than most but does not have any great ideas as to how to address it. This being said the first few chapters are exceptional and well worth the read. I would encourage everyone interested in youth ministry or the future of the church to read these chapters the data and insights offered are solid.

[Nathan Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost Christian should be read by every pastor, youth worker, and parent. The church has been asking about the condition of our ministries to youth for some time and Kenda Creasy Dean exposes what may be the root issue, Moral Therapeutic Deism. Students hear and see a feel good faith in those around them and that's exactly what they're embracing. The is hope and it's in Jesus.

[Danielle Leger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book! Have to be in a reading mindset as it's fairly long!

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the content and concepts, but the author is really long-winded. I managed to get to the core information by skimming, though I knew much of the statistics and background already.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This response to the National Study of Youth and Religion survey (2002-2005) repeatedly warns against the watering down of the Christian message to teens in an effort to keep them interested in religious life. What they experience at home and at church is not substantial enough to survive.

Here are headings of some sections in the first chapter: "Most American teenagers have a positive view of religion but otherwise don't give it much thought." "Most U.S. teenagers mirror their parents' religious faith." "Many teenagers enact and espouse a religious outlook that is distinct from traditional teachings . . . an outlook called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism."

"Moralistic Therapeutic Deism has little to do with God or a sense of a divine mission in the world. It offers comfort, bolsters self-esteem, helps solve problems... encouraging people to do good, feel good, and keep God at arm's length... its thrust is personal happiness and helping people treat each other nicely" (page 29).

So how should serious Christianity be lived out in the home and in the church? How should it look first in us and, as a result, be obvious in our youth? Does our/my faith look like this? The study concludes, with some helpful fleshing out on page 80, that yes, it does IF we/I : 1) Seek spiritual growth, both alone and with others; 2) Are keenly aware of God; 3) Act out of a commitment of faith in Jesus Christ; 4) Make Christian faith a way of life; 5) Live lives of service; 6) Reach out to others; 7) Exercise moral responsibility; 8) Speak publicly about faith; 9) Possess a positive, hopeful spirit.

I got the serious gist of the book early on, but case stories and interviews throughout were interesting.
I recommend it pastors, youth pastors, to parents, to individuals who take seriously the command of Jesus to go and make disciples.

The most inspiring story of faith lived out in youth is that told on page 85-87, with a later reference on page 105. Here it is as reported by ESPN:
https://www.espn.com/espn/rickreilly/...

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not a huge fan of this book because I feel like the purpose of the book--analyzing the results of a national study on teenagers' approach to religion--could have been done in an essay rather than extending the thoughts to make it a book. However, there was good content that made me think. My two takeaways:

1. The prevalence of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is a problem that should be faced directly. "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism has little to do with God or a sense of a divine mission in the world. It offers comfort, bolsters self-esteem, helps solve problems... encouraging people to do good, feel good, and keep God at arm's length... its thrust is personal happiness and helping people treat each other nicely" (29). Of course this is a big improvement from no faith at all, but this "Almost Christian" faith is almost there, so instead of stopping at a faith that is all about making oneself and others feel good, the goal should be a faith that is self-sacrificial and the foundation of one's life that permeates into all decisions.

2. The faith of teenagers is influenced most heavily by the adults in their lives. If teenagers see adults in their lives encouraging the faith but not living it or believing it themselves, they can recognize that the adults are either hypocrites or the faith is not that important (or both). In order to inspire others to live the faith, one must first live the faith himself or herself and encourage others to do the same in an authentic manner.

[David Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty interesting. However I feel that she could have cut the last 5 chapters and the book would’ve been almost the exact same. She has a habit of repeating the same things over and over. Dean made several interesting and excellent points throughout the book that I think are extremely applicable to my own Christian church experience. She calls for youth to become more involved from a younger age and highlights the need for Christianity to be important in the home. I appreciated much of what she had to say and I believe many of the changes she calls for are changes that need to be made by churches I have attended as well if they want to encourage teenagers to flourish in their faith.

[Josh Trice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an insightful introspective look at the American church and where we (our youth) are. As well, the book presents helpful outlook on where we can go and who we can be--a faithfully Christ-centered community!

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and even inspiring in parts. I loved the first two chapters about how too many American Christian teenagers are actually adopting a worldly philosophy the author labels "Moralistic Theurapeutic Deism," or "Benign Whateverism." It demands nothing and is not transformative, but it vaguely asks people to follow the Golden Rule and not judge others and leaves teens with a vague positive impression of religion. God is called on when needed and thought of as a "Spiritual Counselor" or a "Spiritual Butler."

The author opines that teens are not uniquely being influenced negatively by society, but that they are actually adhering relatively closely to their parents' examples. The problem is that too many Christians are living this weak version of faith and actually passing it on to their teens very effectively.

The author is basing her opinions on the results of a huge national survey of religious teens. She did interviews as part of the survey and met hundreds of teens herself. I thought much of her message in the first two chapters was beautiful--true Christianity must lead to following the Holy Spirit and acting with true Christlike love, even in difficult and stretching ways. Just "being nice" is not enough to save a soul.

Her third chapter was titled "Mormon Envy." It detailed how Mormon youth are much more likely than most other religious youth to feel a personal relationship with God, go to church, be able to articulate their beliefs, and avoid negative behaviors. It was neat to see that data, but scary nonetheless. Higher rates of these positive indicators do not necessarily equal high rates. Barely over half the Mormon youth were actively practicing, the average age of first sexual experience was 18 as opposed to 16 for other Christian teens, etc. There are plenty of direct parallels and application to our own religious practice and what we seek to pass on to our kids. Non-committal floating will not teach our youth.

Dean definitely has some doctrinal differences with Mormons and classifies them as outside the traditional Christian tradition, but she is very respectful. Something I think is interesting and that I've seen elsewhere is the contradiction she sees in regarding God as literally our father while also being the omnipotent lord of all. God cannot be both universal and so personally connected to us, while this just seems natural and right from my LDS perspective.

The language was a little dry and academic for me throughout, and I couldn't sustain attention after the third chapter as the author details more of what will retain faith and what Christian churches should do in order to achieve more dynamic faith for their members of all ages. I'm very glad I read what I did though.

[Free · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say enough great things about this book. This is a book written as a result of real interview questions on faith with youth from all over the world ages 13-18. The results from the answers is overwhelming to say the least, but not too surprising.

If you are a Pastor, Youth Pastor, Youth Leader or a parent with kids this is a book for you. Specifically Youth Pastors and Youth Leaders, I would go as far to say next to the Bible it is imperative that you read this book.

I am currently a youth leader who volunteers at a local church, so I am working with youth regularly. I love working with the youth! All of the youth are all wonderful and uniquely special kids but what I find is that there is only a very small percentage that could actually verbalize what Jesus has done for them or when they truly accepted Him into their hearts and give some kind of tangible story. The general answer is typically, well He is awesome! or He is there for me when things are bad.. those are the general generic answers I would receive.

I have felt a calling for some time now to challenge other leaders and church members to participate in small group bible studies but never really know the best approach to accomplish this task. I have a assertive personality so sometimes this can be overlooked and people don't take me seriously. I have felt this calling because strong leaders = strong followers, at least that was my simple way of thinking. One of the huge takeaways from this book was a quote I read "If adults cannot speak Christian any better than young people can, spiritual apprenticeship fails". This quote made me think about The Church, Youth Group, and even doing life in our homes. When I step back and consider it this way, we as parents, or youth leaders (this is also for anyone in a leading role at the church) are the models for these kids, and the kids are in the apprenticeship program. If we have people in leadership roles who are not serving as a good model how can we expect the kids to turn out any better? Or I suppose I would consider wording it this way, if we as leaders are trying to help our kids grow in faith and we our self are not growing in faith how can we expect the outcome in our kids to be any different than what we are modelling for them?

As you read this book you will read encouraging stories from kids with strong faith and learn about those who are "faking faith". I never felt that the book was trying to lash out at the church's but certainly felt based on the outcome of the interviews there is a lot of room for improvement. Again, if you are a Pastor who has a youth program, or your a Youth Pastor I would highly recommend this book to you and your leaders who are helping you serve.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book interesting and engaging, though it took me awhile to get through it (social science often takes me awhile. It just doesn't capture my attention the same way that, say, fiction does.)
In the book, Creasy Dean (a PTS prof) explores the results of the National Study of Youth and Religion. One of the major findings of this study - a point she returns to throughout the book - is that many American teenagers espouse an outlook called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Her discussion of this outlook both helped articulate things I have seen, and was also convicting - her general conclusion, which I'm inclined to accept, is that teenagers hold this outlook because it's what they have been exposed to in church. So it suggests a certain amount of self-examination on the part of the American church.

A few things that I appreciated in particular, and some random take-aways from the book:
-[Following Deut. 6:4-7] "...Parents are not called to make their children godly; teenagers are created in God's image no matter what we do to them, and no matter what they do to disguise it. The law called upon Jewish parents to show their children godliness - to teach them, talk to them, embody for them their own delight in the Lord, 24/7." (119-120)
- Creasy Dean's discussion of the reality that the word of God is powerful, that we need to expect that when youth encounter the word of God, it will be radically transformative, perhaps even challenging our own views that are more tied to culture than faith
-Several times the author pointed out (from her own experience and the results of the study) the unwillingness and nervousness of adults in the church to engage with youth. This made me thankful that there were adults in the church in which I was raised that did engage with youth (on many levels, from formal - youth group leadership - to informal - just being willing to engage in conversation, etc.)
-I was intrigued to read more (though I haven't yet) after her brief discussion of Tim Clydesdale's research about college freshman and identity formation.
-Am curious to learn more about Mormon religious education

[Hansen Wendlandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost Christian is carefully written, often with striking precision for theologians, sociologists and other heady church professionals, sometimes with evocative prose for the hearts engaged in youth ministry. Creasy Dean offers a good analysis of the NSYR, although one could ask for comparison with a few other studies about current or past teenage religiosity, and perhaps more proof of how churches and parents are at fault for kids’ bad ideas about God, rather than society in general. Her description of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is gripping—“spiritual constipation”, “mutant Christianity”, “limp”, “spineless”, “vapid”, “superficial”, “social lubricant”, all within pages 35-37-—although she spends far more time critiquing cultural Christianity than offering real hands-on advice for people who actually work with young people. Thus, she follows the vast majority of people who fall on one side or the other of grim analysis of the Christian situation, or empty cheerfulness of the Christian spirit. Despite her claim that “my job was to… pin down some hope for ministry with young people,” (ix) this book isn’t terribly optimistic, either for the prospect of bringing deeper faith to kids, or for the goal that seems to float away, that “tending the faith of young people may just be the ticket to reclaiming our own.” (3) So, she claims on one hand that faithful adults are the key for training young people into faith, but on the other hand that the main problem with teenage faith development is that there are fewer and fewer faithful adults… Where Almost Christian retains some ‘hope’, however, is in borrowing well from stories about the meaning of life (Fulghum-Papaderos, pp 83-84) or unconditional grace (Faith-Gainesville, pp 85-87), describing well the characteristics shared by the few deeply faithful teenagers, and encouraging those of us who work with teenagers to remember the stories of God’s grace working in their lives.

[Jonathan Beigle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my first 1-star book on Goodreads. I didn't like it. Almost Christian was not understandable and I'm not sure I ever got the point of the book. I think the point was that the church is rampant with Moralistic Therapeutic Deism and it shows through our teenagers. By the time I got to the 3rd chapter (out of 9), I was already thinking about quitting and starting another book, but I really don't like quitting...so I stuck it out. By the time I got to chapter 4 or 5, I couldn't wait to be done, and by the time I got to chapter 7, I never highlighted another line. The book was written by a female youth pastor that is also apparently a professor at Princeton. The professor at Princeton used words that I couldn't understand and I'm not really sure who the right audience for this book is supposed to be. I like reading books for/about teenagers because I want to become a better volunteer youth leader. I would have thought that this book was written for someone like me...but I don't think it was.

The following are my favorite quotes (there weren't many):
-p. 5 - "After two and a half centuries of shacking up with 'the American dream,' churches have perfected a dicey codependence between consumer-driven therapeutic individualism and religious pragmatism."
- p. 17 - "The bad news it the reason teenagers are not hostile toward religion: they just do not care about it very much. Religion is not a big deal to them."
- p. 29 - "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism has little to do with God or a sense of divine mission in the world. It offers comfort, bolsters self-esteem, helps solves problems, and lubricates interpersonal relationships by encouraging people to do good, feel good, and keep God at arm's length."
- p. 37 - "Young people invest in religion precisely what they think it is worth - and if they think the church is worthy of benign whatever-ism and no more, then they indictment falls not on them, but on us."

[Jonathan Brooker · Rating 2 out of 5]

As many others have said, this book starts so well. Dean does a great job of setting the stage for the problem in the American church and culture today. Without any big fanfare Moral Therapeutic Deism has crept in and stollen the hearts and minds of many of our teens and adults in our churches. Don't know what MTD is? Read this book.
But I can only really recommend reading the first few chapters. After she makes the turn to talking about Mormon envy it goes downhill quickly and severely. The readability declines as it goes from intriguing to downright boring. I think she meant well as she used her obvious knowledge to describe her view of mature spirituality. However, it didn't seem to communicate well. It seemed in one moment way too scholarly/rigid and at the next moment way too mystic and indefinable.
One further note that may be random, but the cover belies the actual tone of this book. It looks like a youth ministry book written in a more common speak kind of way. It should look more like a textbook.
Lastly - I promise! - I will categorize this book among MANY books that are out there these days that go very heavy on the dire situation of the church and do not offer an equal or greater amount of hope. The church is the problem - that's a line straight from her book. The church isn't perfect and it certainly needs to reflect Jesus better, but I'm just done reading books about the problems in the church that are far better at articulating the problems than they are at speaking to solutions.

[Cameron Reid Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book about Faith in the Teens in America. Main parts about this book are that Technology and money can erode faith but the main factor is Parents examples in their faith. If parents immerse themselves in the faith and teach it to their kids and immerse the kids in the faith then the kids will keep that faith.

Parents can not shove faith down a kids throat though. It is important for the youth to have experiences that help them understand the faith, understand the "Why" behind the activities and then the youth find their own happiness in the experiences.

Chapter 3 was interesting and unexpected. Chapter 3 is called "Mormon Envy" because of how Well the Mormon Faith can immerse their youth into the faith in ways they can experience it for themselves and continue later in life. The book did not talk of brainwashing and actually spoke about how freedom to choose, self reliance and learning from experiences are key parts to helping the faith pass on to other generations in the LDS Church.

As I looked at my own parenting I could see at least I do a few things right. When it comes time for service, moving people, giving blessings to others I take my son with me and have since he was really young. I have taught him that this is what we do a priesthood holders, we serve, we help and we enjoy it and he dose all of those without much complaint. He does feel the joy afterwards and we talk about it.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why I find books about people's relationships with religion so appealing, but I do. Maybe it's because my relationship with religion, before withering away and dying completely, was so strange for me, and I get a lot of enjoyment finding out other people's roads to where they're at.

This is not a book directed to people who have left/abandoned/lost God, but a book directed to people who are trying to keep God. It's focused on teenagers and their relationships with the religion they're part of, and how they treat religion differently than perhaps they're being taught or in a way that creates a lasting religious relationship. The context, as an atheist, is interesting for me - it's not surprising that atheism/agnosticism/humanism/nontheism is growing the way it is given the way teens today appears to be handling religion, and it's something that clearly bothers the people who wrote this book.

I can ultimately see a lot of values for all audiences - it gives a lot of great ideas for sustaining religious communities, as well as essentially (while inadvertently) provides a blueprint as to where religion is lacking for these teenagers and why things like nontheism seems to act as a viable option when it may not have been a generation ago. Very dry in a lot of spots (perhaps, again, due to my inclinations), but still extremely fascinating.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interpretation of the National Study of Youth and Religion by one of the interviewing researchers, Almost Christian explores how the Church has replaced Christianity with "niceness." Richard Neibuhr's characterization of liberal Christianity offering, "A God without wrath" bringing "men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross," helps define this "niceness," which ends up being too weak to keep people in the Church. Creasy Dean's work here not only speaks to the causes of the Mainline decline but to the deep hunger for God unsatisfied by substitutes.

I found her work grounding, reminiscent of reading Ecclesiastes, thought-provoking and inspiring. For seekers and seminarians, youth ministers and youth, this text can feed the fire, and provide some empirical grounding for those struggling with lagging attendance at their parish or understanding the struggles of the Church and faith in contemporary life. The Godbearing Life, another of Creasy Dean's many tomes on youth ministry, provides a less empirical, more ... hm... organic vision of life and ministry, and ministry for all, [especially] not just the "professionals," for those interested in a different approach.

[Jay Miklovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. The beginning was pretty repetitive, and as I said in one of my status updates, benign. It did get better though.

There were a lot of things to take away from the book. Personally I found the idea of cultivating language 'behind the walls' in order that Christians would be able to communicate on and outside of the walls to be helpful. In other words the book actually seemed to speak in support of Christianese, something that most books addressing the future of the Church tend to deplore. This was just a small portion of the book, and not its primary point, but I certainly appreciated the time the author gave to the importance of Christian language in the formation of youth.

As I said, there were a lot of good takeaways from the book. To those who have spent any sizable amount of time in youth ministry (long enough to watch a class of kids for 5 or 6 years) nothing in this book is going to come as a great surprise. However the solutions offered might not be what you expect.

Overall a good book, that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who works with the church and sees the value of the generations within her.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book on modern American adolescent Christianity; should be required reading for every church youth group leader. Dean discusses moralistic therapeutic deism and how it has lead to a bunch of really nice teens who, as nice as they are, don't really have Christ in their hearts. He proposes some solutions to helping this reverse itself, but also some interesting research on why moralistic therapeutic deism is a problem in the first place.

My one complaint is the praise he gives Mormons. I think his research is probably accurate - Mormon youth likely do suffer less from moralistic therapeutic deism. Yet his praise might hide the fact from Mormon readers that their youth suffer from the same problems (just consider Elder Ballard's address to the young single adults - who are not far from youth - and why the church has decided to consolidate YSA wards and college wards). We (as Mormons) should read this book and, instead of patting ourselves on the back, take the criticisms of the youth seriously even within our own faith.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picking up this book from a used book table, I was intrigued despite the data being two decades old. My feeling was that whatever shocking data points I would find in Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church would likely be exacerbated in the current decade. Indeed, the data are alarming, even when I throw in my usual statistical skepticism about the way polls and surveys are worded and conducted [A concern that even the pollsters shared lest we end up with the “glass slipper” of evangelical terms—p. 134].

Kenda Creasy Dean’s take on the data comes largely from a mainstream Protestant perspective, but she sprinkles in a significant amount of theological insight from other traditions and interviews from evangelicals and Mormons (one chapter is even called “Mormon Envy” and deals with what the LDS institution does right and suggests ways it may not measure up to authentic Christianity). Most of the negative critiques are directed at MTD (Moral Therapeutic Deism) and, particularly, the ideas that “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.” And “God is not involved in my life except when I need God to resolve a problem.” (p. 14) There isn’t a lot of criticism on the near-universalist tendency of MTD (“Good people go to heaven when they die.”) or the idea that being nice and fair is the essence of “Christian” ethics (p. 14). Worse, even when teenagers may not overtly demonstrate their affinity for MTD, they tend to treat their involvement with their faith community as an extra-curricular activity to enhance their resumes as well-rounded personalities (p. 6).

Fortunately, Dean doesn’t merely take a gloom and doom approach to the data she shares. Rather, she approaches the disconcerting data as a wake-up call for the church and attempts to determine what we can do about it. Part of the diagnostic aspect is a bullet list of four reasons ministry to youth may be ineffective: 1) inadequate supply of adequate resources to minister, 2) failure to appropriate or staying to detached from anything beyond the church to make a difference, 3) disruptive events when youth find their relationship with the church broken by divorce, abuse, negative relationships with others in the church, and 4) competing influences where youth are caught by a tsunami of “counterinfluences” from other activities (sports, media, school, extra-curricular events, and more) that seem more significant in shaping their lives (p. 36).

Most helpful for me was Dean’s presentation of the idea of a pastor as bard, “a storyteller-in-residence who is more interested in creating a culture than a congregation as he immerses young people in the origin stories of the Christian community.” (p. 95) Such a pastoral mission leads to a community where youth participate in “being” the church rather than merely “serving” the church. Dean points to three principles: 1) the indigenizing principle as following the example of Christ’s Incarnation in terms of going into the midst of culture/society and meeting sinners where they are, and 2) the pilgrim principle as recognizing that just as Christ doesn’t leave us as he finds us, we are to follow Jesus out of our comfort zones and self-satisfaction in allowing Him to transform us (p. 99). She also adds the liminal principle in terms of experiencing God’s transcendent reality in a transforming way (p. 102). It seems that a healthy believer must be experiencing all three aspects of Christian experience.

Most surprising to me was Dean’s awareness of philosophical and theological considerations. Her illustration of “translation” as communicating truth sounded amazingly like the philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer with its emphasis on metaphors as a key to lateral thinking (p. 127). Barth, Bonhoeffer, Brueggemann, Brunner, Douglas John Hall, Luther, Moltmann, Niebuhr, and Tertullian are sprinkled into the discussion along with expected devotional insights from famous Christian thinkers such as G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and George Macdonald.

One of my favorite quotations in the book was from the physicist who wrote The Systems View of Life (although Dean quoted from his earlier The Web of Life). Fritjof Capra wrote: “The great shock of twentieth-century science has been that systems cannot be understood by analysis. The properties of the parts are not intrinsic properties but can be understood only within the context of the larger whole.” (p. 162) Capra goes on to use quantum physics as evidence for the need to find patterns within the “inseparable web of relationships.” (p. 162)

Dean’s eventual conclusions? First, youth benefit from congregations where both youth and adults teach, tell, and take part in the Christian God-story to cultivate missional imaginations for the church and wider society (p. 193). Second, key social relationships and organizations (preferably involving different demographics) have significant influence on the direction, content, and depth of each teen’s faith (p. 194). Third, churches who are not afraid to use a “cultural toolkit” to translate the gospel into relevant participation are more likely to engage youth in missional activities and attitudes (p. 194). Fourth, consequential faith takes a risk by focusing on Christ’s calling for teens to become instead of the persons the church wants them to become (p. 195). Fifth, we need to remember that: “A God-shaped imagination is bent on the redemption of the world and not just the church.” (p. 195)

Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church could even be out of print today. Though it is dated (which seems strange to say about a 2010 publication), it offers many useful insights. I suppose many who needed something like this book to energize their youth ministry have already discovered this volume. If not, it is still highly recommended despite the “dust” on the data.

[Churchlady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading this book for years now. Literally. There's lot of information - it's a report of a study of American youth and their faith lives. I appreciated the author's thoughtful examination of the data and her ability to bring practical experience of working with youth into the book so it becomes a much more practical discussion of raw data. She even offers thoughts for solutions instead of just sitting at the sidelines and wringing her hands. We discussed this at a recent youth workers gathering - I would have loved more time. I LOVE feisty discussion where people can honestly disagree and challenge opinions. If we only had more time for that! In the end, it's about giving kids the language they need to express their faith and the opportunities to discuss faith with parents, with other adults of faith, and with peers. It's also vital to include students in the life of the church as real participants - not just sideline observers.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Springing from the National Study of Youth and Religion, Dean explores in further detail why religion, Christianity in particular, is so "whatever" among teens. This book is where I came across the term "Moralistic Therapuetic Deism" -- a watered down version of Christianity that instead of having a loving and involved god who promises everything and demands our all, we have what she refers to as a Christian-ish Cult of Nice where god neither demands nor promises much. Therefore, religion becomes inconsequential and doesn't matter too much. Perhaps most telling is that the NSYR found that parents have the most influence on a teen's religosity, and that their ambivalence toward Christianity is largely a reflection of their parents' lackluster faith. LDS, Conservative Evangelicals, and black churches tended to be the exceptions to this overall trend.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! So that's what moral therapeutic deism is. Well written. Writer can mention theological concepts ideas in an easy conversational tone. Written with passion and conviction and a bit of humor.

Lots of Catholic concepts...though I think writer is Methodist. ( a teens journal entry is shown as an example of reflection, in the spirit if the Ignation general examen).

I recommend it to anyone working with youth ministry, catechists, examples of testimony, examples of good writing regarding faith concepts, and if you are like me and just like knowing how people come to learn and mature.

It definitely made me compare myself to these teenagers and reflect on how I got here to what I believe.

[Coryke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dean both explores the implications of the NYSR findings - specifically, that American teenage faith is prone to something called Moral Therapeutic Deism - and discusses ways to challenge that way of thinking. Perhaps most importantly, she notes that this (psuedo-)theology so favored by teenagers is not just an indictment of them, but of all of us. That is, teenagers are not Moral Therapeutic Deists because they didn't listen to their parents and faith communities, but precisely because they did.

Dean's treatment is extraordinarily deep and yet still very accesible. I would not do the book any justice to attempt a summary here.

If you have any interest in what type of faith is typically being handed to the next generation, look no further. Read Dean's book.

[Allen O'Brien]

"Almost Christian" is a fantastic reverse-engineered look at the faith of Christian churches in the United States. Kenda Dean analyzes the work done in several surveys of adolescent faith, then makes the calculated conclusion that the findings (which portrayed a stark deism) merely reflect a truth about the faith of many churches today.

If we dedicate ourselves to overcoming the obstacles between the youth and adults in our churches, but the adults themselves cannot formulate or articulate their own understanding of Christian faith, what's the point? The truth is, teenagers ARE modeling the faith of our churches, it's just not quite Christian.