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I have been a U2 fan since 2001 and just got around to reading this book. Growing up in an American evangelical Christian environment, I have gone back and forth over the years from being sure that U2 really are Christians and thinking that they are just a bunch of liberals who like the idea of Christianity but don’t want to actually be Christians. This book reminded me that Christianity existed long before American conservatism and that just because someone doesn’t fit my idea of a Christian doesn’t mean that they aren’t one. It’s hard to shake the stereotypes that one is raised with.

The author pointed out the differences between Christian culture in Ireland and the “Christian ghettos� of the US and UK, which I found interesting and explains why U2 don’t fit the mold of CCM artists. He also mentioned how a lot of the artists that U2 have associated with over the years and the people that helped Bono start his Africa campaigns were Christians, which I didn’t know, because it was never mentioned in the press or anywhere else.

There were a few things that I didn’t like about this book, such as when the author made some assumptions about things with no proof to back them up, like the meanings of lyrics or something that was printed on Edge’s shirt. The potshots at George W. Bush make the book seem outdated, and the book could have been so much more interesting if the author had actually interviewed the band members, or at least Bono. I also wonder what an updated version of this book would have to say about U2 coming out in support of legalizing abortion in Ireland, which has caused American Christian figures like Franklin Graham to turn on Bono, after supporting his Africa work in the past.

So basically it seems that U2 are Christians, but they don’t go around saying “We’re Christians!� and instead show it in their songs and in their actions. It’s there for people to find if they actually look and listen. People always want to put other people into neat categories and pigeonholes, but it’s hard to do that with U2 and that makes people uncomfortable. They’re just out there living their lives and being themselves and being really private about it, by celebrity standards. Still, a lot of Americans can’t accept that U2 are Christians because they’re so liberal, but that’s basing Christianity on American definitions, and we have to be careful about that.