Bart Campolo and Tony Campolo: Why I Left, Why I Stayed

Many families struggle to stay connected across the faith divide, especially when somebody unexpectedly crosses over. In this presentation, famous evangelical leader Tony Campolo and his humanist son Bart will share how they’ve managed to stay close in the wake of Bart’s very public deconversion.

Bart Campolo is a secular minister, speaker, and writer who currently volunteers as the Humanist Chaplain at the University of Southern California.

Tony Campolo is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University, a former faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, and the founder and president of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education. He has written more than 35 books, and was the former spiritual advisor to President Bill Clinton.

Bart and Tony co-authored the book, Why I Left, Why I Stayed: in it, 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.