Is Christianity cool? (Do kids even say cool?) Not according to teens surveyed by the Barna group:

The vast majority of non-Christians — 91 percent — said Christianity had an anti-gay image, followed by 87 percent who said it was judgmental and 85 percent
who said it was hypocritical.

Such views were held by smaller percentages of the active churchgoers, but the faith still did not fare well: 80 percent agreed with the anti-gay label, 52 percent said Christianity is judgmental, and 47 percent declared it hypocritical.

Heaven to teens: what -ism isn't judgmental? Slap a W04 bumpersticker on the parent's Escalade, drive it to Santa Monica, walk into the gelato bar, and light up a cigarette and we'll see about live and let live.

Jesus was forgiving, not accepting nor non-judgmental. He always wound up with "Go and sin no more," not "Go and find your bliss." Besides, hanging out with sinners and tax collectors was all about a message of inclusion of all, including society's outcasts, in the Kingdom of God. It is questionable whether gays qualify as outcasts in many areas. If Jesus were walking around the streets of LA, he would probably hang with illegal aliens, the homeless, and Republicans.

The gay thing is a fairer cop. By indulging in an obsession with gays, gay marriage etc. the religious are co-dependent enablers of a cultural fixation on sex. It would be more fruitful for the religious to focus on positive action.

The study, pace the comments on the news article, is not just Christianity-bashing. It was done by a Christian group hoping to give serious and useful insight to youth ministers. Read more here.