July 1, 2009 Author of "The Unlikely Disciple" explains undercover journey Play video

(NECN: Beth Shelburne) - A semester abroad for most students means soaking up the culture of Barcelona, Tokyo or Prague. But one student at Brown wanted to experience another foreign culture, one he had big problems identifying with. Kevin Roose has written a book about his experience at Liberty University, the world's largest Evangelical College, founded by Jerry Falwell.

NECN's Beth Shelburne spoke to Kevin Roose about his experiences.

It's a slow day at Brown University- but don't let this Frisbee game fool you.

21-year-old Kevin Roose is on a fast track to literary success- he just wrapped up a national book tour after writing an account of the time he spent undercover as a fundamentalist Christian crusader at Liberty University.

"And so I had no experience with the religious right because I went to Brown which as you know is sort of a notch or two above Sodom and Gammora to put it in the Biblical terms and so I wanted to see the world of my Christian peers up close."

The result? The unlikely disciple: A sinner's semester at America’s holiest university. Liberty University in Virginia was founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell- not exactly a hero in the more liberal Ivy-League world.

But Kevin tells me he saw an opportunity after meeting some Liberty students and feeling a huge disconnect.

"I think we can get trapped in these sort of echo chambers where everyone thinks and believes the same things that we do and it really

Kevin spent a semester at Liberty in 2007- under the guise that he too was a born again Christian- and he learned a lot.

"I thought they would be angry ideologues who spent all their time sewing Hillary Clinton voodoo dolls and writing angry letters to the ACLU- and this is not at all what happens there."

What does happen is different than the typical college experience; at Liberty there's lots of bible study, prayer and church. Students also follow a 46-page code of conduct- there's no drinking, smoking, cursing, dancing- no r- rated movies- and no hugs that last longer than three seconds.

It makes dating less complicated.

'I went on a couple of dates and I found that there was something oddly appealing about a dating atmosphere where no matter how hard you try, this girl is not going to go home with you I mean even if I was Jake Gyllenhall this girl is very committed to abstinence and so this was not going to happen."

The rules felt puritanical- and Kevin struggled with the ideology at Liberty- his classes included "creationist biology" and "myths behind the homosexual agenda" but a funny thing happened to Kevin at Liberty; he began to fit in. He liked his peers, he made friends, joined the school choir, wrote for the college paper- he even did the last interview with Jerry Falwell before he died.

"It says to my friend Kevin, Jerry Falwell. This is actually two weeks before he died when I interviewed him. So this is a collectible. Hot ticket item on EBay if I'm ever in financial trouble."

"You can't be a dispassionate observer- its impossible to be objective because all around you people are praying, and studying the bible and worshiping and it's a very intense spiritual atmosphere and so I found stuff sinking in although I was never converted but I did have things that I learned there that I still keep like praying I still try to pray everyday because even if I don't believe that God is answering these prayers I think there's something beneficial in the process of praying for other people for your friends and family members."

"Despite its liberal, secular reputation, Brown actually has numerous religious student groups and 13 different denominations have services on campus. Kevin says he never knew that part of Brown until he went to Liberty." "The God divide- this cultural chasm we assume exists- is not as big as people say it is- and there are ways we can build bridges and cross it and a lot of it has to do with just spending time with people who disagree with us."

And that's one message in the book. Put politics aside and love thy neighbor it's getting rave reviews, but Kevin has endured a few confrontations. One woman at a book signing in Virginia told him he was going to hell.

"But then she bought a book and like had me sign it so it was the nicest condemnation."

Before the book's release, Kevin made a heart wrenching return to Liberty to confess that he only came there to write the book, that he really wasn't a born again Christian. And in the true spirit of fellowship, they all forgave him.

Kevin now looks ahead to graduating from Brown later this year and a career in writing, with plenty of blessings from his Christian brothers and sisters.