Tim Casteel

Thoughts on Leadership and College Ministry

Anne Rice quits Christianity

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This is heartbreaking. I’m truly sad for her, but also because her story is playing out in thousands of untold “I quit Christianity” stories on a daily basis across America.


Anne Rice, an author best known for her vampire books, became a Christian 10 years ago. Today via Facebook she announced that she is quitting Christianity.

For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.



You don’t have to read the book unChristian to understand how outsiders perceive Christians, just read Anne Rice’s Facebook wall:

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

Look familiar unChristian readers? The common theme? Christian = anti.


And obviously her thoughts resonate with many. She has close to 2,000 comments on those two posts alone.

To me, the most hearbreaking part:

“It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider.”



Here’s what she posted a few days ago when she still was an “us”:

This shocking link [about a Christian punk rock group saying its OK to execute gays] was provided by a poster below. No wonder people despise us, Christians, and think we are an ignorant and violent lot. I don’t blame them. This kind of thing makes me weep. Maybe commitment to Christ means not being a Christian.




What are your thoughts on all this?



Photo courtesy of Llima via Flickr