Why I Left, Why I Stayed: Conversations on Christianity Between an Evangelical Father and His Humanist Son

Bestselling Christian author, activist, and scholar Tony Campolo and his son Bart, an avowed Humanist, debate their spiritual differences and explore similarities involving faith, belief, and hope that they share.

Over a Thanksgiving dinner, fifty-year-old Bart Campolo announced to his Evangelical pastor father, Tony Campolo, that after a lifetime immersed in the Christian faith, he no longer believed in God. The revelation shook the Campolo family dynamic and forced father and son to each reconsider his own personal journey of faith―dual spiritual investigations into theology, faith, and Humanism that eventually led Bart and Tony back to one another.

In Why I Left, Why I Stayed, the Campolos reflect on their individual spiritual odysseys and how they evolved when their paths diverged. Tony, a renowned Christian teacher and pastor, recounts his experience, from the initial heartbreak of discovering Bart’s change in faith, to the subsequent healing he found in his own self-examination, to his embracing of his son’s point of view. Bart, an author and Humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California, considers his faith journey from Progressive Christianity to Humanism, revealing how it affected his outlook and transformed his relationship with his father.

As Why I Left, Why I Stayed makes clear, a painful schism between father and son that could have divided them irreparably became instead an opening that offered each an invaluable look not only at what separated them, but more importantly, what they shared.

Can a father’s faith and a son’s humanism find common ground?

• A Father-Son Dialogue: Follow Tony and Bart Campolo through years of honest, painful, and loving conversations as they navigate the fault lines of belief.
• A Journey of Deconstruction: Bart shares his story of losing faith—from his first doubts as an urban missionary to the bicycle crash that solidified his new perspective on life.
• An Evangelical’s Response: Tony recounts his journey from the heartbreak of his son leaving the faith to a deeper self-examination and a new appreciation for his son’s worldview.
• Unconditional Love in Practice: Discover a model for how families can stay united with grace and respect, even when separated by the deepest spiritual differences.

Tony Campolo (left) is a bestselling author, speaker, and professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University. He has written more than thirty books, including The Kingdom of God Is a Party, It’s Friday But Sunday’s Comin’, and Red Letter Christians. He is also the cofounder of RedLetterChristians.org. He and his wife Peggy live in Philadelphia.

Bart Campolo (right) is a community builder, counselor, and humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California. He is also the founder of Mission Year and host of the popular Humanize Me podcast. He and his wife Marty live in Los Angeles.