Kevin Roose Infiltrated the Sanctum of the Late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and Gets Prayers for His Salvation

BuzzFlash: You told the Brown Daily Herald, "This is not an expose. It's not pro-Liberty, but it's not anti-Liberty." Would you feel comfortable encouraging other students to enroll there? Do you know yet if the Liberty University bookstore will stock The Unlikely Disciple?

Kevin Roose: Actually, as it turns out, the LU bookstore will be stocking the book.  It was unclear for a while (even though Liberty's chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr., has said that he thinks the book treats Liberty fairly), but this week, a bookstore advisory committee composed of Liberty faculty members voted 3-1 in favor of stocking the book.  I'm delighted that Liberty students will have access to it, since I really think the book has a unique perspective on life at Liberty and Christian college culture.  I didn't go in to write a hatchet-job exposé, but rather to understand and build bridges, and I'm glad the committee recognized that.

BuzzFlash: Why is “Disciple” the word you chose to use in the title?

Kevin Roose: A disciple is a student or apprentice, but the word has religious connotations, so I thought it fit well with the themes of the book.

BuzzFlash: Was your semester in Lynchburg, VA, like an anthropologist’s examination of a newly discovered culture?  Have you ever studied anthropology?

Kevin Roose: I've never studied anthropology, and I didn't intend for this to be a proper anthropological study.  To me, that seems a little academic and detached -- like Margaret Mead writing about Samoan tribal rituals.  I just wanted to dive in, live the life of a Liberty student, and tell the story of what happened to me.  It was more journalistic than academic, I'd say, and I didn't want to form my conclusions before going.

BuzzFlash: Tell our readers a little about your earlier forays into writing and reporting. How did you get started, and what has preceded this first book? Do you have formal journalism training? How and when did you land the book deal? Did Brown give you credit for doing that work, and did you have faculty supervisors?

Kevin Roose: It's funny, because this book was really my first journalistic foray of any real length.  I had written before, mostly columns for the Brown Daily Herald, but aside from a course on creative nonfiction, I had no real training.  Since I wrote the book, I've taken journalism courses and freelanced for national magazines, so I'm sort of going in reverse.

BuzzFlash: Another Ivy Leaguer famously did some immersion reporting in the Sixties – George Plimpton. Are you familiar with his work and have reviewers drawn comparisons between you and him? Do you know Barbara Ehrenreich's book, Nickel and Dimed?

Kevin Roose: I have read Plimpton and Ehrenreich, and Paper Lion and Nickel and Dimed are two of my favorite books.  I think the style Plimpton popularized -- the dive-in, try-it-yourself journalism -- is appealing and useful for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the value of an outsider's view into a little-known or misunderstood subculture.  I tried to do the same thing with my book -- tap into a pocket of American life that few people have any idea about, and tell the real, unvarnished truth about it in a way that was open-minded and authentic.

BuzzFlash: How does it feel to know you are being prayed for? Do you want the same things for yourself that those prayers are seeking on your behalf, or is there a conflict there?

Kevin Roose: I love being prayed for! I know that sounds strange, and I've had people ask me if I'm offended when Liberty students pray for me, since they're (usually) praying that I'll see the light and become a born-again Christian. But there's no malice behind it. They simply believe that unsaved people are in trouble, spiritually, and they want to make sure I'm safe from damnation. In a way, given their beliefs about the afterlife, it'd be mean for them NOT to pray for my salvation.

BuzzFlash: You mentioned in “Behind the Book” on your web site using Sunday School songs to help you memorize aspects of the Bible. Has your a cappella group, the Jabberwocks, been singing any of those?

Kevin Roose: Ha! Not yet. They're more into songs like "Sympathy for the Devil." But I'll bring it up at our next rehearsal, and let you know how it goes.

BuzzFlash: In your blog for the mentalfloss.com site, you describe the Spring Break evangelism of several different groups and contrast them to the Liberty students’ approach. How would you describe the Campus Crusade for Christ?

Kevin Roose: I have to say, the Campus Crusade tactic struck me as disingenuous.  (They rented a hotel ballroom next to a nightclub and set up a fake "party" inside, complete with security guards and flashing lights. When you walked in, instead of drink specials and trance music, they gave you gospel tracts.) But the other tactics seemed fairly straightforward, if not all that successful.

BuzzFlash: How would you distinguish between immersion and teaching, versus brain-washing and propaganda? Did it seem like the other students at Liberty exercised free choice, as you did, in deciding to attend Liberty?

Kevin Roose: If I had to guess, I'd estimate that 9 out of 10 Liberty students come to Christian college on their own, with no pressure from their parents or religious leaders.  A lot of the students came from secular high schools, and for them, Liberty is a place where they can practice their faith freely without feeling ostracized or mocked.

BuzzFlash: How does the liberal arts side of education at Liberty measure up?

Kevin Roose: That was one of the more disappointing things about my semester, because the Liberty students I know, on the whole, are very intelligent. But in some of the classes, especially the introductory religion courses I took, the professors can veer into a particular strain of religious anti-intellectualism.  Professors typically aren't given tenure at Liberty, so there's pressure to hew to the party line on religious and social issues. I didn't see a whole lot of my professors encouraging critical thinking among their students. Which isn't to say that students don't engage critical thinking skills at Liberty -- just that it wasn't part of my classroom experience there.

BuzzFlash: You wrote in the Brown Alumni Magazine that you were politically liberal. Like Obama, you have tried to have a dialog with those who are the opposite. How did that work out for you? Did you change any minds, or did your own political views prove to be more fluid?

Kevin Roose: I don't necessarily think that my views have changed, but I certainly have a different way of thinking and talking about them.  What President Obama has done so masterfully of late is to say, in so many words, "I'm signing this executive order permitting federal funding for stem cell research, but I realize that many good, moral people are opposed to this, and I don't take that lightly."  I think we can be more civil and empathetic in our discussions of public policy, and I hope my book can be a contribution to that tone.

BuzzFlash: You wrote a very sympathetic piece on the Rev. Jerry Falwell for the student newspaper shortly before his death. Any regrets or qualms on that?

Kevin Roose: I certainly had qualms about writing the piece in the first place, since I knew I couldn't express my disdain for many of Rev. Falwell's teachings.  (Liberty's campus newspaper is monitored by a University administrator, who removes objectionable content.)  But I don't regret having written about the sides of Rev. Falwell that had nothing to do with politics or religion -- his grandkids, his ministry for ex-alcoholics, his penchant for practical jokes.  I think it's important to recognize the humanity in everyone, even those we strongly disagree with.

BuzzFlash: Liberty University is not just a Christian place, but an intentional politically conservative enclave. What did you learn about the interface of those two modes of thought or ways of seeing the world? Are they inextricably linked?

Kevin Roose: Five years ago, I would have said yes. But I think we're seeing in the wake of the last election that evangelicals -- especially young evangelicals -- are no longer inextricably linked to the Republican party.  Even at Liberty, there's now some ideological diversity with respect to politics.  Last fall, I saw a Facebook group called "Liberty Students for Obama."  It had 4 or 5 members, but still ...

BuzzFlash: You believe in tolerance and reported "finding shades of gray in a world of black and white." But were you alone in that? Are your own evangelical friends willing to listen to seculars? Do they respect your views as you now respect theirs? Or was it mainly a one-way learning experience?

Kevin Roose: That has been one of the pleasant surprises of my semester -- finding that some of my Liberty friends are still my friends, even though they now know where I stand on social and political issues. These aren't cloistered idealogues, for the most part. They have liberal and non-religious friends. I think they're much more compromising than the evangelicals of a generation ago.

BuzzFlash: Will you continue to write books as a newly minted graduate of Brown University with a major in English? If so, will you please keep BuzzFlash in the loop?

We're very happy that we've been able to introduce our readers to you, and we believe you'll be hearing from some of them especially after they get their hands on the wonderful, The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University.

Kevin Roose: I hope there will be a publishing industry to work in by the time I graduate! And if I do find another project to work on, you'll be the first to know.  Thanks so much for having me.

BuzzFlash interview conducted by Christine Bowman. 

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Resources:

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University, by Kevin Roose, available from the BuzzFlash Progressive Marketplace. Buy liberally, support BuzzFlash.