I am not sure there are enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe my reaction to The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose. This was one of those books I could not stop talking about while I was reading it and it led to any number of lengthy and interesting dinner table discussions of the influence of religious groups in politics, evangelical Christianity’s attitude towards women, and journalistic ethics. These are topics my family loves to talk about at the best of times (well, maybe just my father and me but my mother gets sucked in despite her best efforts at evasion) so to read a whole book filled with such themes (and which gave such detailed insight into what is for me an alien world) was an absolute delight.
Usually a student at über-liberal Brown University, Roose’s story covers the semester he spent at ultra-conservative Liberty University, founded by evangelical fundamentalist (and Moral Majority co-founder) Jerry Falwell. It is a brilliant combination of immersion journalism and spiritual quest, forming one absorbing memoir that seeks to educate, inform, and broaden the reader’s views rather than to condemn or criticize an already much-maligned group. Like Roose, I strongly disagree with much of what the evangelicals have come to represent, at least politically in modern America, but that doesn’t need to mean we attack the believers. From the very beginning of his time there, Roose is happy to point out how wrong he was in his assumptions about his new classmates:
In fact, that’s the thing that strikes me the hardest: this is not a group of angry zealots. I knew I’d see a different side of Liberty students once I resolved to blend in among them, but I thought it would be a harsher side. I had this secular/liberal paranoia that when evangelical students were among themselves, they spent their time huddled in dark rooms, organizing anti-abortion protests and plotting theocratic takeovers. But that’s not true at all. (p. 38)
All in all, the Liberty student’s I’ve met are a lot more socially adjusted than I expected. They’re not rabid, frothing fundamentalists who spend their days sewing Hillary Clinton voodoo dolls and penning angry missives to the ACLU. Maybe I’m getting a skewed sample, but the ones I’ve met have been funny, articulate, and decidedly non-crazy. They play pickup basketball, partake in Celebrity gossip, and gripe about homework just like my friends in the secular world. In fact, I suspect a lot of my hallmates at Liberty could fit in perfectly well at a secular college. (p. 63)
It may seem like an obvious point – look! People are alike, regardless of religion, colour or creed! Let us now gather in a circle as brothers and sing Kumbaya! – but this is continually forgotten in the so-called culture wars, which perpetuate the increasingly popular view that the opposing sides have nothing in common, no shared values, and so neither group is worthy of the respect of its opponent.
What was unexpectedly interesting were Roose’s struggles with his role as a journalist while ‘under cover’. The relatively predictable quibbles – dealing with his new friends, how to explain coming from Brown, how to cover his limited knowledge of evangelical beliefs and culture – yield quickly to more intriguing quandaries: can he continue to date a fellow student he really likes while letting her believe he’s something he is not? What about his spring break missionary work, when he and his fellow students go to Florida to ‘witness’ the salvation of the sinners enjoyed a rather more secular vacation? Can he be responsible for converting someone to a faith he does not practice or believe in?
The most serious issue comes at the end of the school year when Liberty’s founder and leader Jerry Falwell dies. Roose, having successfully pitched the idea to the school paper who then set up the meeting, wrote the last print interview ever done with Falwell and was the last one to ever interview him at any length. His school article was reprinted in the commemorative circular for the funeral and added to the documents at the Falwell museum (one wonders/assumes it has since been removed). Major news networks invited him onto their shows to talk about that interview. It’s the best kind of exposure for most young journalists – just not undercover ones.
Lest you think this is all too serious, do not worry! Roose is an intelligent and amusing writer (as befits a protégée of A.J. Jacobs) who keeps things light-hearted, frequently by making fun of himself and his preconceptions (always a way to this reader’s good graces):
At first, I couldn’t believe Liberty actually had a course that teaches students how to condemn homosexuals and combat feminism. GNEDII is the class a liberal secularist would invent if he were trying to satirize a Liberty education. It’s as if Brown offered a course called Godless Hedonism 101: How to Smoke Pot, Cross-dress, and Lose Your Morals. (p. 169)
…I’m not optimistic about my wooing skills. Most of the Liberty girls I’ve met seem to like macho, ultra-conservative guys who watch “The O’Reilly Factor” and bench-press hundreds of pounds in their spare time, not English major milquetoasts who drink mango smoothies and listen to the latest Michael Bublé album. For now, singledom seems to be my only option. (p.196-197)
At the end of his time at Liberty, Roose remains concerned for his new friends, whose adherence to their beliefs he’s come to respect but not share, as to how they will fare once they leave their supportive surroundings and enter the mainstream. Some of his fellow students already know what they’ll face – most memorably for me, the charismatic student leader who already knows that to succeed in state-wide or national politics he’ll have to tone down his beliefs in public – but others remain happily ignorant of just what awaits, of the many layers of complexities they might not be prepared to navigate:
Most college students, myself included, talk about entering the real world with a certain level of wariness. But I suspect Liberty students have more reasons to worry than I do. When I’m no longer in college, I might be surprised to discover how hard it is to make a living wage or raise a family, but Liberty students going anywhere outside Lynchburg’s city limits will soon find their whole cosmology shaken. They’ll meet people who mock them for having attended Jerry Falwell’s college. What’s more, they’ll see that those people bear no resemblance to the heathen masses they learned about in their GNED classes. For Liberty students who have spent four years hearing from their professors about how unfulfilled, relativistic, flimsy, and hedonistic the real world is, meeting hordes of happy, principled, morally sound non-Christians will come as a shot between the eyes. And to be honest, I’m not sure how they’ll take it. (p. 271)
I just checked this out from the library and now I’m really excited to read it! Thanks for the review!
I hope you love it as much as I did!
Sounds like an interesting sequel would be for Roose to follow up with some of those students to see how their entry into the real world is actually going. Great review – thanks for sharing it with us. I’ve been really curious about this one. I can see where this would prompt LOTS of dinnertime conversation. 🙂
It’s certainly a thought-provoking read – the best kind of book, as far as I’m concerned!
Very interesting, Claire. I find a lot of Christians of my acquaintance who were brought up in strict churches and within Christian homes are very poorly prepared for the real world and struggle as a result. Many just flee back to the church and get jobs within Christian organisations and don’t make friends outside of church circles. I think it’s a real shame.
It’s encouraging to read that this book isn’t damning or full of stereotypes though. It’s frustrating to read the same old same old about evangelicals, and this is mainly based on the very small amount of fundamentalists whose extreme views probably represent about 5% of Christians, if that, worldwide.
I shall seek this out!
I can completely understand the people who seek out the security of the church community after experiencing the culture shock of interacting in the secular world. I think it’s not just that they’re not prepared for us but that we’re not prepared for them.
Roose is interacting with the extremist fringe, the most fundamental fundamentalists, at Liberty which is what makes his experience so interesting and refreshing. I may completely disagree with everything these people believe but I still believe they are worthy of being treated with respect.
I’ll be really interested to hear your take on this when you read it!
I went to a Christian college. In the realm of Christian colleges, it is considered to be on the more “liberal” side. I had a cousin who went to Liberty though, and an aunt who went to Bob Jones, and friends from childhood that went to Pensacola Christian College. I’ve been interested in Roose’s book for a while and when I get back to checking out library books, I may have to shuffle that choice near the top.
With your background, I’m sure this would be an interesting read! I’d love to hear what you think of it if you have a chance to read it.
I loved this book. I often feel frustrated with journalists who go undercover (there’s a similar book called In the Land of the Believers, where the girl gets baptized even though she doesn’t believe in it; I think that’s ugly), but Kevin Roose seemed very respectful of the people he encountered. I found it touching at the end, when he admitted the truth to everyone, and they all apologized for not being good witnesses to their faith. People are unexpected.
Respectful is definitely the right word. I came away respecting both Roose and his classmates and, as you say, that’s not always a common outcome when undercover journalists, especially young ones, are involved.
[…] The Captive Reader – “It is a brilliant combination of immersion journalism and spiritual quest, forming one absorbing memoir that seeks to educate, inform, and broaden the reader’s views rather than to condemn or criticize an already much-maligned group.” […]
Loved this book and Kevin Roose’s quest for understanding the divine. My son is a sophomore at Brown 2013 and moved from small Midwestern town with strong Chrisian influence. We gained a lot from reading as his experience was reverse of yours!
[…] Money by Kevin Roose – I loved Roose’s first book, The Unlikely Disciple, so was thrilled when I heard he had a new one coming out, this one focusing on the experiences of […]
[…] reading it sooner. Really, I have no excuse. Back in 2011 Claire from The Captive Reader gave it a glowing review and that should have been enough for me to get off my duff and read it. But anyone who owns lots of […]
I actually graduated from Liberty University. I am not at all displeased with This article. It is a relief that someone exposed the ridiculousness of the stereotype. I will say that I have never once been mocked for attending Liberty University. Every employer I have ever interviewed with, or random conversations with random individuals seem to have a high level of respect for me.
I was no stranger to the real world though, but I was not your typical student at Liberty. I do not have a wealthy family, I paid for my own education and was the first to attend and graduate from a University 🙂 I will say that most students there did come from families of higher education and above average incomes. With that being said, I have never been to a place so friendly and welcoming to absolutely EVERYONE. Liberty University prides itself on diversity. So many countries represented, students from all walks of life, it was such an honor and such an amazing experience to meet some of those individuals. The professors were great!
I could go on and on, but long story short….
Liberty is an amazing school. The greatest thing I took away from that college was finding my individuality. My own faith. Not just believing what the preacher says, or following blindly. We were encouraged to discover things for ourselves, fact check, educate ourselves. I will never forget it.