Wow this book covered so much and all of it important topics within religion and the misinformation and control around the teachings. I loved the balance of having multiple interviews alongside the author’s personal experience. The research was well done and you could tell the author put time into getting this correct.

I didn’t grow up in a religious household but I was raised by religious parents and can see a lot of this in my household and more within the last few years. This book is going to do well to connect those who have left religion or aren’t religious enough for their family.

Very informative read for anyone!

Such a strong young woman. Breaking away from a church that you have been raised in, that your family and friends , many who are still part of, takes alot of strength. I was raised Catholic, and in many ways I can relate to some of what she is detailing in this book. But this is a whole other kettle of fish. Your whole life is based on church teachings, I say brainwashing, where you are given little choice but to fall in line.

Its very frightening to me, the power of these churches. This book is so informative and goes a long way in explaining the evangelicals worship of Trump and his agenda and theirs. If you are curious this is a good book to read because the author was part of this movement and had the courage to leave.

The narration was clear and concise. Well done.

While I thought this was interesting, well researched, and well written, I have no personal experiences in or leaving evangelicalism. Readers who are looking for information and empathy on that topic will likely find a lot in this book to take in. Readers, like me, who are curious about the topic from a more "cultural viewpoint" area will also find lots here.

Anyone who is exvangelical themselves or is close to someone who is probably won't be learning much from this book, to be honest. Still, there are some wonderfully poignant personal stories that make it well worth reading. I appreciate how detailed the research is in this book, and I like the included reading/listening list for further information. This book is best for people who know very little about American evangelicalism, and want a broad overview of the cultural and political aspects and don't want to get into the weeds with theology.

I found this to be a thought provoking book. As a member of a traditional evangelical church, ( not of the born again or Pentecostal variety) I was certainly interested in this topic.
There were many things of which I relate described by the author and some of the exvangelicals she interviewed. The major thing that struck me was the movement of the evangelical church towards a marked political focus. This was not a thing that I experienced in my younger years in the church. Our church held fast to a separation of church and state, which I feel is a very good thing both for government and the church. I have experienced a significant change within the church in the more recent era beginning with The Tea Party movement years and further exacerbated by the Trump era. This has been hard for me, and I appreciated much of what Sarah and some of the others who were quoted shared about their struggles. I have as well much concern about this move to insert religion into politics.
As a Christian, I did have some issues with some of the more extreme reactions to evangelicalism. I can certainly see how people have been terribly hurt by the church and family, but I think sometimes people chose a radical reversal as a response. This saddens me see as it may be embracing a response as a reaction rather than a belief. The world is sometimes a hurtful place and that includes religion and churches. I can't lump God into this category even as I question religion's theology. Some of that may come from age or acceptance of the flaws of all religions, and some from the benefits and blessings I have received through faith and a community that supports me in general. I found that there were others who as well chose to retain faith even in the removal of their presence from evangelicalism. I think this is very individual and a part of finding our way within our accepted boundaries. For me, I need God even if I sometimes question the church. I felt Sarah did a good job of sharing from all walks without forcing the reader to accept any one truth for themself.
This was clearly a personal story but as well a piece of journalism relating to the topic through the inclusion of many voices. As such, it was a good book to read about the topic and will certainly provide a look into the increasing challenges facing the evangelical church. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

What I liked:

- this was super interesting. I haven’t read anything by an ex-evangelical before, and I really enjoyed getting a peek into this author’s life.
- I liked how the author tied in the implications of evangelicalism and Uber conservative politics. Her stories from her time writing on the campaign trail were impactful.
- as someone who grew up in what I’d call “purity culture lite”, I liked to hear how purity culture has had lasting implications on people’s lives, well into adulthood.

What didn’t work for me:
- my mind wandered a bit during parts of this that I found a little dry, but overall I really enjoyed this memoir.

Sarah McCammon examines the evangelical church and those that have left in The Exvangelicals. This book is both a history of evangelicalism, the move of some in the community to leave, as well as a memoir about the author's experiences in that community.

Coming in to this book, I was not aware of the term exvangelical, and I mostly picked this up as I knew McCammon's work in political in NPR, primarily during the 2016 campaign. I vaguely knew about her history as an evangelical, and she was primarily tasked with covering the GOP presidential campaign.

I appreciated that she was upfront that this was focusing on the white evangelical church. The term exvangelical is really about white folks leaving. When the author spoke with Black congregants they did not identify with the term, especially as many would not even lump them in with evangelicals.

She charts how politics and the 2016 election was a turning point for the church, where people either leaned in or left. People started saying the quiet parts out loud and the church became more explicitly political.

An important note that she touched on was the trauma that many who grew up in the church dealt with and how it was often minimalized. And like much complex trauma (physical and emotional), many need therapy to process. She also highlights how different evangelicals deal (or don't deal) with family they leave behind. I also appreciated how McCammon lays out the reasons why she left the church. Her relationship with her grandfather who was ostracized from her family was particularly moving. While I did not learn a lot new about evangelicals, this book did highlight an interesting and diverse subset that I do not hear a lot about.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Phenomenal! Sarah McCammon’s The Exvangelicals is so well written that one races through the pages, all the while amazed by her accomplishment of the seemingly impossible: she has authored an enjoyable read that effectively informs and establishes the urgency and relevance of the post-evangelical movement, a contemporarily complex, emotionally charged subject, and she delivers with care and without diatribe.

In The Exvangelicals, McCammon converts controversy, division and disillusionment into an insightful and literate call for self-examination and compassion. This is a title that should be shelved widely across our arbitrary divisions, as it is a contemporary history book, a memoir, a spiritual quest, a letter of encouragement to both believers and seekers, and a graceful yet steely reminder of the horrors inherent when harmful acts are performed in the name of holy intentions.

The tone is serious, the message that we must all do better, be better, whatever our path chosen, underlies all, yet somehow McCammon's mix of referenced sources and thoughtful commentary, with her personal and professional experiences interwoven throughout, have the reader feeling an often elusive inspiration: that with willingness to change (and the actual effort to do so), there just might be hope for us all.

The Exvangelicals also has an extensive further reading list, by topic, and enthusiastic use of endnotes that readers who wish to expand their understanding further will appreciate.

An essential read (and wonderful hand-selling opportunity), regardless of reader age, faith, race, gender, or any other subgroup or division we humans may use, now or in future, to separate ourselves from one another.

Thank you to Shelf Awareness for the ARC I received and read to write this review, and to NetGalley for the ERC and audiobook I received thereafter. I eagerly await this title’s release date this month, as I have personally preordered yet another iteration for the finalized further reading list plus endnotes and to support Sarah McCammon’s valuable contribution towards informed compassionate change.

The Exvangelicals was a balance between being McCammon's memoir and a study in how those raised in the evangelical church are impacted. While McCammon shares a bit about her upbringing in the church, she also bridges the gap by quoting others who are dealing with their break from evangelical churches. She speaks with those who are still Christians and those who have left Christianity altogether. I found her perspective to be interesting. She acknowledges the positives of the evangelical movement, but also loops that in to explain why it contributes to the trauma of leaving the church or "deconstructing" as many call it.

This was a very tough book for me to read. Not because of the writing; the writing was interesting but efficient, and well-organized. Not because of the writer's tone; the author is a reporter from NPR and did a great job of being neutral and even-handed when discussing experiences other than her own. In the same vein, the author was warm and personable when discussing her history in the Evangelical subculture. It was tough because I know people who have suffered greatly because of living in that subculture. I knew a lot from what they had shared, but really, I had no idea.

Ms. McCammon has a well-organized arc to the story she tells; it parallels her experiences growing up as an Evangelical in Kansas. She details what she was taught, how she was treated, what was expected of her, and what she honestly believed at the time. Adding to that, she brings in complementary experiences of others and other factual material, such as direct quotes from home schooling material published by Bob Jones University. Factual assertions are end-noted and are of solid material. This is not a book in which the author cites their own material as a source; I just suffered through one of those. No, this is a journalistic work worth reading.

The one thing that struck me like a lightning bolt when partially through the book is that some Evangelicals lie a lot. Certainly not every person, BUT the leaders will tell the people they lead whatever they need to to control their behavior. It's all about POWER. McCammon reaches this conclusion and I think it is dead-on. My experience with terribly damaged 20-somethings who left, and with their domineering, abusive evangelical parents (now 70ish) COMPLETELY fits with what Ms. McCammon has written. I was frequently nauseous as I worked out mysterious past events that I personally witnessed using information in the text. And, one of those parents I know is a pathological liar in addition to being abusive... and so, the puzzle pieces drop into place. I wish I had a time-turner or a time machine; I would absolutely have put a stop to the purported abuse to which this new information gives supporting evidence.

Thank you to Sarah McCammon for her bravery in writing this; and also to her, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an uncorrected e-galley of the text of this book. Thank you. As usual, St. Martin's Press has provided a spotless galley; such a joy to read compared to others. I have received nothing for my review and have given my honest opinion of this work.

I am withholding a formal review until St. Martin's Press & its subsidiaries take accountability. #speakupsmp

Thought provoking book.

Sarah McCammon writes a book that is partially a memoir of her own experiences surrounding evangelicalism, and partially an examination of the people who are leaving the evangelical church, their reasons for doing so, and where they are now with their faith. She speaks very critically (and rightly so in my opinion) about James Dobson and Focus on the Family, which was the preeminent authority figure during the 80s-early 2000s, right at the time I was personally growing up and then raising my children. McCammon also touches on topics such as science, the end times, politics (primarily white nationalism and the evangelical adoration of Donald Trump), and what it truly means to walk away from evangelicalism. It is a community, it is a family, and many who have walked away have lost the support of their family and community.

There is so much food for thought and discussion in this book. While I agreed with a good amount of it, I disagreed with some of it--and that's okay. When you are raised in and participating in evangelical Christianity, it is almost unheard of to ask questions, to disagree, to examine things from a different point of view. McCammon encourages people to look at what is being preached about, taught, and espoused and critically think about things with perspective. I think this book would be an excellent jump off point for those who want to wrestle with issues surrounding the Christian church. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author and as she is a reporter with NPR, her narration is skillful.

I related to this book more than I thought I would. Although I currently attend an evangelical church in a predominantly white area, I feel as if things have changed in my church over the past ten years. The current pastor of my church is pragmatic and scientific, he examines the Bible in light of science, not the other way around. He never speaks of anything political from the pulpit other than the broad mention of praying for our leaders. This isn't to say I think it's a perfect church, there are definitely issues and things I struggle with personally, but due to what I mentioned above I have not felt like I needed to become an "exvangelical" as this author writes about.

I know this book already has its critics, and I'm sure that's to be expected when you are saying things that challenge the status quo of a powerful organization. I have long said that the basis of my faith is to love others, period. I have struggled and lost friends over that point of view, simple as it is. If you have any experience with the evangelical church, I encourage you to pick this book up and use it as a springboard for self examination and discussion. Because if your God can't take the questions, is it really God?

I read a review that this book didn’t “go far enough,” but I actually appreciated that Sarah McCammon kept it to a journalistic lens while sprinkling in her own childhood and experiences. If I wanted to share this book with family &/or friends while trying to explain my aversion to the “evangelical” self-title and my disgust toward Trump and what he’s done to our country, I wouldn’t want a book that’s too extreme. McCammon dove into the rise in hatred since trump’s presidency and the hypocrisy within religion which leads to my talking points on backing away from evangelicals on the whole. I appreciated all the different interviews and the wide range of viewpoints and that it wasn’t all Christian-bashing. Overall, I believe that my parents and my childhood community were doing what they felt best, and I can grapple with my upbringing on other terms outside the acknowledgement that a lot of that community I mostly look back on with fondness has genuinely gone off the rails. It’s hard to articulate why I feel so frustrated and saddened by people I once admired and I felt like The Exvangelicals really put my thoughts into words incredibly. I will definitely be recommending it.

Woah. I was not ready for this book, but am I ever glad I read it. In her compelling and rigorously researched book, "The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church," journalist Sarah McCammon delves into the heart of a seismic social movement: the exodus of people from the white evangelical church. Part memoir, part investigative journalism, this work provides a poignant and insightful exploration of faith, doubt, and the unraveling of deeply ingrained beliefs.

Growing up in the Midwest during the '80s and '90s, McCammon was steeped in the evangelical tradition. She was taught to fear God, obey unquestioningly, and view the world through a narrow theological lens. Her upbringing was marked by persistent worries: Would her gay grandfather be condemned to hell? Could she save her Muslim friend from damnation? And what about her own salvation?

As McCammon matured, her worldview expanded. She grappled with questions that clashed with her evangelical upbringing. These internal conflicts intensified when she covered the Trump campaign for NPR, witnessing firsthand the political influence wielded by evangelical Christian beliefs. It was during this time that she discovered she was part of a rising generation (the children of evangelicalism) who were questioning, deconstructing, and ultimately leaving the fold.

"The Exvangelicals" introduces us to this generational tipping point. McCammon shares her own journey alongside those of others who have walked away from the white evangelical church. She meticulously traces the movement's origins, revealing the emotional toll on those who've left and the role of social media in facilitating their deconstruction.

The book sheds light on the complexities of leaving a faith community. McCammon dissects the lasting emotional impacts, the struggle for authenticity, and the complicated choices faced by exvangelicals. Through interviews, personal anecdotes, and deep research, she paints a vivid picture of life inside the evangelical bubble and the courage it takes to step outside.

One of the book's strengths lies in its portrayal of the post-evangelical movement's vast cultural, social, and political impact. McCammon examines how exvangelicals navigate relationships with family, friends, and former church communities. She explores the tension between newfound freedom and the loss of a familiar identity. The stories she shares are both heartbreaking and empowering.

McCammon's writing is compassionate and incisive. She captures the nuances of faith transitions: the grief, the relief, the loneliness, and the exhilaration. Her exploration of the role of social media in fostering community among exvangelicals is particularly enlightening. Online spaces provide solace, validation, and a sense of belonging for those who no longer fit within the evangelical framework.

As a memoirist, McCammon bares her own doubts, fears, and moments of clarity. Her vulnerability invites readers to reflect on their own spiritual journeys. She doesn't shy away from the messiness of deconstruction—the messy beauty of rebuilding one's beliefs from scratch.

This is a timely and necessary addition to the conversation about faith, doubt, and religious identity. It challenges us to examine the power structures within organized religion and to honour the courage of those who choose authenticity over conformity. Whether you've left the church, are questioning your faith, or simply seek to understand this growing movement, McCammon's book offers valuable insights and empathy.

"The Exvangelicals" is a compassionate and illuminating exploration of a movement that is reshaping the religious landscape. McCammon's voice is a beacon for those who've found their way out of the fold, and her work invites us all to consider what it means to live authentically, even when it requires leaving behind the familiar.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this e-ARC. I am anticipating reading this soon and reviewing on my socials.

one of my few non-fiction reads and, even more rare, a faith-related read for me. only recently have I felt ready to read on this subject matter and I’m so glad it was this one. Sarah McCammon, a journalist and NPR correspondent, shares others & her own experience in leaving the white evangelical church. it felt so validating to hear SUCH similar experiences & thoughts from someone who grew up and out of these spaces. whether you feel like an exvangelical and/or someone who is deconstructing or decolonizing their faith, it can easily feel isolating when you divest from a familiar place of identity. I’m not too familiar with resources like this but this helped me feel less alone in these thoughts & experiences.

McCammon talks about the familiar names I used to revere and the resources and voices I’ve come to gravitate towards now, like Stephanie Stalvey’s illustrated comics on purity culture & Tyler Burns & Jemar Tisby’s podcast Pass the Mic.

this won’t be a neat pile of reasons why people left church. this well researched journey reads less like a textbook and more like the collective experience that left so many feeling alone in white evangelical spaces.

if you’ve felt any ounce of cringe or discomfort from evangelical christian spaces growing up or looking back, this might be worth a read to see if something resonates. I hope more stories, studies, and resources like this one continue to get published and end up in the hands of those who need it.

Part Memoir part journalistic piece, Sarah McCammon sheds light on a movement that has been going on behind the scenes of Evangelical churches. Many who grew up in these circles are coming to terms with what they have been taught about the world and the reality of their adult lives.

This book was a very interesting read. In this book we hear from someone who grew up evangelical, but is now self described as an exvangelical. So many controversial topics are covered, like sexuality, purity culture, politics, the LGBTQIA+ community, and abuse and religious trauma, with details and also sensitivity.
I appreciated how the author, a journalist, approached the evangelical culture from a journalists perspective, but did take a star off because I wish she had chosen to write it purely as her memoir, or as a piece of journalism, the going back and forth between the two styles felt a bit disjointed to me. That being said it was an interesting read and one I’d recommend to someone wondering how the far right has been formed and how they are rising in political power. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

Insightful. I have extended family who would consider themselves Evangelical and I have always wondered they do certain things. This book was eye opening and gave me that understanding.

Between growing up in the evangelical world and covering the Trump campaign, Sarah McCammon certainly had the background to write this book. I believe her journalistic credentials allowed her to present a balanced viewpoint. Though I was not raised in an evangelical religion, I was drawn to them as an adult until becoming disillusioned with the scandals and hypocrisy. It was interesting to learn so much more about figures such as James Dobson and Joshua Harris. In fact, I could see many parallels between the evangelicals and Jehovah's Witnesses. We all need to be more respectful and accepting of people's differences. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an advance copy to read and review.