A Review by The Rev. Jacqui Foxall

Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, by Kenda Creasy Dean (Oxford University Press, 2010)

Renowned preacher and theologian John Wesley once described those who go through the motions of religion without fully committing to a loving relationship with God as almost Christians. By choosing Wesley’s words to title her latest publication, Kenda Creasy Dean gives us a glimpse into the substance of her provocative new book.

Weaving together the results of the recent “National Study of Youth and Religion” with adolescent sociology and practical theology, Dean guides her readers through the process of discerning what contributes to consequential faith in teenagers (according to the NSYR, only 8% of teens who attend church consider themselves “highly devoted”). Key characteristics of consequential faith are identified and discussed; however, the challenging part, says Dean, is identifying how to nurture those qualities.

As a Christian theologian who is guided strongly by her convictions, Dean is quick to reinforce that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. However, she is also equally quick to point the finger back at parents and faith communities, suggesting that the “benign whateverism” that the majority of teens express about their faith has been inherited and learned. This conclusion has caused an explosion of response on the Internet, following an interview Dean gave with CNN. Teens, she posits, acquire a watered-down version of Christianity, which has been dubbed “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” (MTD). In short, this version of Christianity suggests that there is a God who created and ordered the world and who wants people to be good, nice and fair. This God will only be involved in one’s life when there is a problem to solve. And, in the end, good people go to heaven when they die. Compared to the transformative power of Christ’s gospel, MTD Christianity is thin and lifeless.

Almost Christian is not a book about how to “get kids back to church.” Instead, it is a realistic look at teen spirituality coupled with a hopeful proclamation that consequential faith, faith that makes a difference in a young person’s life, is possible. True transformative faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which is meant to be nurtured, encouraged, challenged and grown by families and congregations.

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