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Authors Note: For several issues of Church Health Today, I will provide a journey into the world of the unchurched. Our two-year research project involved asking unchurched men and women numerous questions. One primary issue we sought to discern was the level of receptivity to the gospel of these we interviewed.

We classified their receptivity on a scale from one to five. U1, or unchurched 1, represented the most receptive group to the gospel. U5, or unchurched 5, were the least receptive. In this article we highlight our research with the U4s.

Joseph G. has lived in Indiana most of his life. The thirty-something man has vague memories of attending a Catholic church as a child. He does not attend church at all today though he did say "I go occasionally for special services."

He describes his own attitude toward the church as "neutral."

Our researcher, Deborah White, did not feel that Joseph accurately described himself. "While he said he was neutral, I believe he was more resistant, a U4," Deborah said. "Though he was very pleasant to speak with and made it clear that he would do the interview and answer the questions, he wasn't at all interested in hearing any views of Christianity."

Joseph provided some interesting insights about his views on religion in America. "Religion plays a lesser role in society today," he told us. "My parents were brought up with no choice but to go to church."

But he seems thankful that his parents did not treat him the same way.

"For me there was no pressure to go to church as a child," he said. "They never made it a demand on my life. I'm more open minded today because of their attitude."

Like many U4s, Joseph could not be described as either an atheist or agnostic. Indeed, he told us that he prayed to God "a few times a week." But when we asked him to describe the God to whom he prayed, Joseph gave us the typical, nebulous U4 response.

"To me, God is not man or woman," he said. "I try to keep his description vague, no specific details. He is just a supreme being."

If Joseph was uncertain about whom God is, he really squirmed when we asked what he believed about Jesus Christ.

"Whew, that's a tough one," he said. "He was helpful,

"Look, I've been around a lot of religions. No person should tell another one what religion they should belong to. I don't like being told my way or someone else's way is wrong. But other people have done that to me and it bugs me." -- Joseph G., Indiana

the Son of God, I could go on for hours, but that's a tough one. He was wise and helped a lot of people, and he was a prophet who could see clearly."

A common issue among many of the U4s was some negative event related to Christians and/or the church.

"My father remarried at a Baptist church and there were a lot of rules there that mentioned how you should act when you come in contact with other Christians," Joseph said. "Look, I've been around a lot of religions. No person should tell another one what religion they should belong to. I don't like being told my way or someone else's way is wrong. But other people have done that to me and it bugs me."

Also common to many U4s was a deep misunderstanding on the way of salvation. Listen to Joseph's words when we asked him what it takes to become a Christian.

"Have faith," he started well. "Have a willingness to read the Bible I guess, study the Scriptures, and live life accordingly."

A common response to this question among the U4s was to resort to a works salvation. Joseph indicated that he probably would not go to church if invited.

"I guess the only way I would go would be if Mom asked me to go with her somewhere." Unlike the antagonistic U5s, the U4s seem to be careful not to offend the Christian interviewer. Even though he was largely resistant to any attempts to share Christ with him, Joseph assured us that he might change his mind at some point.

"My views have changed over the years and continue to change when necessary," he told us. Of course, his malleability did not offer us much encouragement.

Who Is God?

Our interviewers were in the early stages of this research when they

"Some of my worst experiences have been with ex-girlfriends who were religious. One once gave me an ultimatum: Go to church or get lost. I couldn't believe that." -- Erik G., Washington

realized that any discussion of God by a U4 needed clear definitions.

While very few of the U4s were atheists who did not believe in God or agnostics who doubted the existence of God, the views of those who held to some type of theistic view were strange to say the least.

Researcher Bland Mason interviewed Barrie B. of Kentucky. For Barrie God is "something greater than yourself. All religions worship and believe in the same God. Whether you are Mormon, Muslim, or Christian, you believe in the same God."

Indeed Barrie's perspective was common among U4s. Most of them have a view that is commonly known as pluralism, which advocates the equality of beliefs of many religions.

Erik G. of Washington state is but another example of this pluralistic perspective. White interviewed this 21-year-old man who is already rising rapidly in the communications industry. Erik's mother is Catholic and his father is Protestant, although he has no idea of his father's specific church identity. He is also dating a Catholic young lady who "insists that I come to church, but she doesn't pressure me."

Unfortunately Erik has some negative experiences with church and former girlfriends.

"Some of my worst experiences have been with ex-girlfriends who were religious," he told us. "One once gave me an ultimatum: Go to church or get lost. I couldn't believe that. She condemned me for not attending church services."

Erik may have written off churches for now, but he still has a belief in the existence of God. He has attended a church service only twice in his life. One of those services was on September 12, 2001 at St. Patrick's in New York City, where he "really sensed the presence of God."

But just who is God to Erik? The St. Patrick's service put it in perspective for him.

"The service really moved me because it wasn't a denominational thing," he said. "They all pulled together and just believed in good things, not a particular God."

But again God had no clear identity. He certainly was not the God who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. For the U4s who believe in the existence of God, ambiguity is the best description for God among this group.

The large minority of U4s who do not believe in the existence of God are hardly the hard-core resisters found among the U5s. Indeed the atheistic and agnostic U4s almost sound like the theistic U4s. They leave room for the possibility that they are wrong; they just do not want to limit God to some clear definition, particularly the Christian understanding of God.

Editor's note: Next week, Dr. Rainer will discuss what his researchers learned about how U4s view Jesus Christ.