In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the reasons that some people who are raised in the Christian faith choose to walk away from it, while others remain committed Christ followers. As you can imagine, the faith of the parents and how that's fleshed out in their lives is a huge factor.

At the top of the episode, Alexis noted that today's topic was prompted by Pew Research Center's “Religious Landscape Study” - a landmark study and truly the gold standard of its kind. Religion News Service picked up on part of the study in a recent article titled, “Why do some people stay in their faith and others leave? A Pew report offers clues.” You can read that article HERE.

Both Alexis and Dr. White mentioned that other findings from the “Religious Landscape Study” have been the topic of other podcast discussions and the Church & Culture blog. Here is where you can find those on the Church & Culture website:

CCP141: On the Largest, Most Recent Survey of American Religion

“The Stall of the Nones”

“Gen Z Church Attendance”

“A Revival... or a Moment?”

Dr. White noted that research from Dr. Christian Smith has been insightful in netting out the huge role that parents play in the faith of their children. You can explore his “National Study of Youth & Religion” HERE. As a father of four and grandfather of 16, Dr. White is passionate about the role of parents in the lives of their children. You can find sermon series that he's given at Mecklenburg Community Church on parenting HERE.

Dr. White referenced articles and interviews with Derek Thompson and Richard Dawkins regarding the idea that Christianity is not about a religion, but rather a relationship with Jesus. And that relational component is what's missing from some churches. Here are those stories for you:

Derek Thompson, “The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust,” The Atlantic, read online.

LBC video post of Richard Dawkins on X, watch here.

Walter Sánchez Silva, “Famous Atheist Richard Dawkins Says He Considers Himself a ‘Cultural Christian,'” Catholic News Agency, read online.

Finally, Dr. White discussed the importance of apologetics when it comes to the Christian faith - knowing why you believe what you believe. He has given a number of series at Meck that are incredibly helpful in this arena. You can find them all gathered under the category of “Exploring Christianity” HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a topic that is near and dear to Dr. White's heart - the relational dynamic between parents and grandparents. As a father of four children and a grandfather to 16 grandchildren, this is a topic where he is very well versed. Marriage and family are foundational institutions in God's created order of our world. And when those families break down, particularly when there are divides and discord between parents and grandparents, the younger generations are impacted in countless ways.

As Alexis mentioned at the top of the episode, many of the topics covered on the Church & Culture Podcast are inspired by blogs that Dr. White has written. For those new to the podcast, the Church & Culture Blog is where Dr. White releases two reflections each week about a wide assortment of topics related to the church's engagement with the modern world. If you aren't currently a subscriber, you can click HERE to subscribe now.

For this week's podcast, there are three recent blogs that Dr. White has written that we'd suggest you to go back and read. They are: “A Vision for Grandparenting,” “Grandparent-to-Parent Mistakes” and “Parent-to-Grandparent Mistakes.” And again, this topic is so important because it's absolutely a part of the vision for family that is outlined in the Bible.

Dr. White mentioned a book written by Paul and Diana Miller called A Guide to Great Grandparenting, which talked about this idea of a “family trinity.” When these relationships are healthy, you find that you have healthy and functional young people being raised. He also talked about a large national study on how parents can best pass on their faith to the next generation. You can read more about this in Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass their Religion on to the Next Generation written by Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk.

There are two articles that were applicable to today's conversation that we want to share with you:

Rheana Murray, “‘Grandparenting on Eggshells,'” The Atlantic, November 26, 2025.

Dr. Perri Klass, “5 Common Mistakes Grandparents Make, According to a Pediatrician,” The Washington Post, November 17, 2025.

Finally, as mentioned this is a topic on which Dr. White has a lot of experience to draw from. And over the years at Mecklenburg Community Church, he's given many series that fall under the category of “Marriage & Family.” You can find those series gathered at Church & Culture HERE.

In addition to the blog, we'd encourage you to check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.