What prompted you to write about ex-Christians?
My friends started to leave the faith—the first was a friend from high school. We had both grown up in the church. Both of our fathers were pastors. Then a few years after high school, he came to visit and informed me that he was no longer a Christian. That got my attention. As I moved through my twenties, I witnessed other friends "deconvert." I started reading about the topic and realized that these experiences were not unique. Many in my generation were walking away from their Christian faith.
What was the most poignant finding you came across when writing Generation Ex-Christian?
I encountered some surprising signs of spiritual life. In the interviews, I asked the ex-Christians whether they ever still prayed. It was an absurd question, really, considering how bitterly most of them had rejected God. But most still did pray. They were angry, conflicted prayers, but beautiful in their honesty and desperation: "God, where are you? Can you hear me? Do you exist? Do you even care about me? I miss you."
As a Christian, these prayers were heartening. God is still very much at work in the hearts of those who have rejected him. I've learned to start hearing skepticism as the language of spiritual longing.
To read the rest of the interview with Generation Ex:Christian author Drew Dyck, click here.
I think that a distinction also needs to be made between those who have left "Christianity" and those who have simply left the Church.
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