What Happens When an Atheist and a Devout Christian Intentionally Swap Religious Views for 30 Days?

Move over "Wife Swap." There's a new social initiative afoot and it involves an atheist and a Christian intentionally exchanging theological views and practices for a 30-day period.

Image source: "Faith Swap" Facebook page

Organized by Premier Christian Radio, a faith-based outlet in the U.K., "Faith Swap" is an experiment involving Bentley Browning, a committed Christian, and Simon Capes, an atheist.

The two U.K.-based comedians agreed to swap religious practices for one month, The Huffington Post reported.

For Browning, this meant dropping his daily prayer, church attendance and other faith rituals. For Capes, the effort required him to actually pick up prayer and church attendance -- religious elements he had generally been avoiding as a non-believer.

The two concluded their month-long faith swap in recent days, which they had been covering extensively over the 30-day period on a Facebook page setup to shed light on their unique experience.

Browning completed his portion of "Faith Swap" Sunday, writing that he is thankful for the opportunity and that it posed a true challenge to both men.

"Thankfully no major meltdown happened and I [learned] a lot about myself. Today's end to the experiment culminated with me praying for Simon," he wrote. "Congratulations to him for throwing himself into it ... it was challenging for both of us."

Browning said that he sees similarities in the wake of the experiment between the atheist and Christian churches. People in both groups are "seeking connection, love and something to believe in," he noted.

And as for Capes, while he said he still can't buy into "the supernatural miraculous nature of Christianity," he sees the faith through a new lens.

"I am beginning to understand what being a Christian can mean," Capes said.

While Browning attended to The Sunday Assembly, an atheist church TheBlaze has extensively covered, Capes visited a Christian church during the month-long experiment.

In the end, Browning said he's relieved that the "Faith Swap" is over.

"Big thanks to those who prayed for me as I felt very protected throughout," he added.

Christian Today reported that Premiere Christian Radio host Justin Brierley came up with the idea for the social experiment.

"We are not expecting either of their lives to change dramatically as a result," he told the outlet. "It will clearly be something of a challenge for both of them."

Image source: "Faith Swap's" Facebook page

And a challenge it was, as Browning said that had it gone longer than a month, the experiment could have done major damage to his faith.

But both Browning and Capes said that the "Faith Swap" experience allowed them to see the other person's theological views more clearly.

Read about the entire experiment here.

(H/T: Huffington Post)

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Featured image via "Faith Swap's" Facebook page