The New Faithful

In the nascent years of the twenty-first century, journalist Colleen Carroll was granted a Phillips Journalism Fellowship to write a book about the changing face of American Christianity, and The New Faithful is what emerged. It chronicles the lives of scores of young American Christians, from Evangelicals to Catholics to Orthodox, tracking the progress of a resurgence in Christian orthodoxy, from worship to fellowship to education to sexuality to politics to work. Now a required reading text in all types of post-secondary institutions, including Wheaton College, The New Faithful is required reading for anyone wanting to understand some of the seismic shifts going on in western Christianity, not to mention global Christianity.

A young Catholic herself, Carroll set out to discover whether this orthodox renaissance is relegated to Catholicism, or whether a similar movement is pervading wider Christendom. Among the questions Carroll asks: “Is this phenomenon purely a return to tradition, or is it something new? What are its historical roots and parallels? How widespread is it? What is its potential for growth? Will it last? What are its implications for politics, education, the arts, and the broader secular culture? What are its inherent dangers, tensions, and obstacles? What could derail it? What could fortify it?” She then goes on to identify exactly who the New Faithful are not, and who they are: “These young adults are not perpetual seekers. They are committed to a religious worldview that grounds their lives and shapes their morality. They are not lukewarm believers or passionate dissenters. When they are embracing a faith tradition or deepening their commitment to it, they want to do so wholeheartedly or not at all. When they are attracted to tradition in worship or in spirituality, they want to understand the underlying reality of that tradition and use it to transform their lives…Nor do most of them want to be religious isolationists confined to spiritual, religious, and cultural ghettos of their own construction. They intuitively accept the religious tolerance that marks a postmodern culture, yet they refuse to compartmentalize their faith or keep their views to themselves. Though they express their values in different ways, most of these young adults are intent on bringing them to bear on the culture they live in and on using their talents and considerable influence to transform that culture.”

But is this resurgence necessary or merely reactionary, as is the wont of youth? One interviewee tells of having grown up in churches and church leaders that “seemed preoccupied with boosting self-esteem and adapting Christianity to fit their lifestyles – rather than the other way around” and schools that “openly espoused existential philosophy, self-help psychology, and the benefits of a selfishness that defends against the demands of others.” She laments the emptiness of these humanistic philosophies and identifies Christian orthodoxy – and more importantly, the God of Christian orthodoxy – as the age-old, new-to-her truths that she had been craving all along. Put simply, young orthodox Christians, both evangelicals and Catholics (Carroll sees all as members of the body of Christ), are looking for a God and a church that will not be shifting under their feet.

To what ultimate cause does Carroll and those interviewed attribute their conversions and decisions? “None of the young Christians whose stories run through these pages credit only themselves or their Christian communities for their conversions. Nor would they agree that their commitment to orthodoxy is simply a reaction against secularism or an autonomous decision based on their own designs and motives.

The glory belongs to God, they say, and God alone.”

Most interviewees echo this statement in various ways, many of whom overtly claim that the supremacy of Christ drives their life agendas. These young people are believers in, and practitioners of, what Carroll calls ‘the hard gospel’, encompassing the reality of sin and Christ as the only hope of salvation.

This book is not without its minor flaws. Carroll expects her audience to know more about Catholic forms of worship than it probably does, assumes that the young adults seeing Christian orthodoxy always aim to surrender themselves to something bigger than self, and hails mega-churches as bastions of orthodoxy. These items are sampled out of context, of course, but even in context these statements seem to require more elaboration or nuance than they were originally afforded. For example, it took more than half the book for Carroll to define ‘eucharistic adoration’, which apparently constitutes a core element in the resurgence of orthodoxy among young Catholics.

This book is not without its own critical assessment of the phenomenon. In an excellent chapter appropriately entitled “The Future,” Carroll sounds valuable warnings about potential blind spots in the movement, many of which echo denominational attitudes of the past: ghettoizing, insularity, lack of dialogue, condescension and contempt. But her notes of hope are far more resonant than her warnings: “Like leaven in the church, young orthodox Christians are the best hope American Christianity has for renewal…For those who balance truth and love, courage and charity, their impact on the church will be powerful and lasting. The trends set so far by these believers suggest that many of them will fall into this latter category of effective reformers.” May she be proven true in years, decades, and centuries to come, in America, Canada, and the world.