Heard a podcast discussing this one and interviewing the author. It’s an important topic. I recommend it!

This was very different than my normal read, but I did enjoy it because I could relate to what the author was dealing with. It was well written. I would only recommend this to specific people with certain experiences though.

Sarah McCammon is an award-winning journalist and National Political Correspondent with NPR. One focus of her reporting, per her NPR bio, is on the divides in America including the intersection of politics and religion. It is not surprising that she has written this book about her own religious upbringing and how, among other issues such as marginalizing, the evangelical alliance with white Christian nationalism was a tipping point for the younger generation such as herself.

This group of Gen-Xer, millennial, and Zoomer evangelicals grew up in what McCammon calls the Moral Majority shadow. When they came of age, the world that was broadly interconnected and technology placed science, fresh viewpoints, different ideologies and lifestyle choices at their fingertips. As they integrated into the wider world, they become disillusioned when they realize, as McCammon did, that their upbringing and education “clashed with her expanded understanding of the outside world.”

McCammon says that she has seen a groundswell of other younger adults like the ones she interviewed “reevaluating the picture of the world that was painted for them by their evangelical subculture and trying to make sense of how, in the words of the prophet Micah, “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly” with God. By the mid 2010s, a staggering “twenty-five million American adults who had been raised evangelical had left the faith,” an act of “conscientious objection.” McCammon is among them.

McCammon points out that evangelicalism is not a hierarchical religion with a governing body but, according to her and others, a social and religious movement. While practices vary throughout the many churches that fall under this broad umbrella, evangelicals generally believe in the supremacy of the Bible and salvation by grace alone. For many, this faith tradition provides a community and lifestyle that is meaningful and rewarding. They hold dearly the the teachings of their church community and pass their faith along to their children through modeling, church attendance and often, as was the case of McCammon and others she interviewed, by placing them in schools and colleges that are faith based.

For those who choose to leave this faith tradition, they must face what McCammon terms deconstruction,” the often painful process of rethinking an entire worldview and identity that was carefully constructed for them.” For their parents who dedicated years to molding their children for a life they believed was the correct path, this is a bitter pill. Often, those who leave the faith will find they lose the embrace of their community and support network, family included. For McCammon and those she interviewed, the decision was not lightly made.

This book might be difficult reading for those who are happily settled in evangelical communities. But one wonders—to what end will misdoubting the experiences detailed in this book lead? A robust next generation is vital for any community to survive.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

As a member of what I consider the Christian Left, I often wonder if I’m reading the same Bible as the Evangelicals that follow Trump. Where is the compassion for our fellow man? Where is the concern, not just for an embryo, but also the child? So, I was interested to see what Sarah McCammon had to say about the supposed growing number of younger people leaving the movement.
I think one of the important things she says is that it’s not just a religious sect, it’s a community and a culture and leaving it often leads to the loss of family and friends.
McCammon walks the reader through the mindset of the Evangelical culture, especially the belief that the Bible is infallible, scientists are not to be trusted and only they know the “truth”. She spends a lot of time on their refusal to believe in evolution. It actually gave me a better understanding of how so many can fall for Trump’s claptrap. When your belief system doesn’t allow for any wavering or skepticism, for any allowance for change, it makes it more plausible that you’ll only accept the “facts” that suit your narrative, regardless of their accuracy.
“Information is evaluated based not on conformity to common standards of evidence or correspondence to a common understanding of the world, but on whether it supports the tribe’s values and goals and is vouchsafed by tribal leaders. ‘Good for our side’ and ‘true’ begin to blur into one.”
The one problem I had with the book is that she never really makes her case for “the massive social movement” of people leaving the evangelical church. She cites individuals and their reasons - LGBTQ+ issues, women’s roles, sexual freedom and corporal punishment. But I never got a sense of how many people she was talking about. Likewise, while I found the section on religious trauma enlightening, I was curious to know how widespread it was. Maybe there’s no way to know. But I would have been interested to know if there were any studies.
This is probably a book that will “preach to the choir”. I can’t envision many still firmly invested in the evangelical movement reading it. But maybe it will provide a sense of community to those who have left but feel they’re alone in their situation. I was impressed by the number of folks she mentions that have social media presences.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an adv2nce copy of this book.

This was a fantastic non-fiction book that spoke to the issue of the white evangelical church on so many levels. Author McCammon shares her own story of growing up in the evangelical church in the US Midwest in the 80s and 90s. She lets us in on her struggle–and a struggle it was!–to wrestle with the doubts and misgivings she had about her particular brand of faith for many years, and to finally leave the evangelical church in her 30s. The final straw was covering the 2016 US presidential election for NPR, and observing the toxicity of the movement.

“Exvangelicalism” is a social movement of folks who have left evangelicalism and found a different path: a different Christian denomination, agnosticism or atheism. This book is indeed critical of evangelicalism, but she still holds most individuals in that world with kindness and empathy. It is not a rant against Christianity; she counts herself as someone who has shifted her Christianity to a different form, not abandoned it. She gives voice to those on the spectrum from atheism to full believers.

In this part-memoir, part social dissection of the white evangelical American church, McCammon talks about the fears of the rapture (being “left behind”), purity culture, the struggle to reconcile Biblical literalism with evolution. She discusses current issues like increasing isolationism of evangelicals and how this enables a movement that marries evangelicalism and Trumpism. She talks a lot about the levels of trauma of leaving evangelicalism while acknowledging the pro-social benefits of belief as well.

Overall, this is an excellent and timely book that should appeal to many. I certainly found it a valuable and interesting read.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a gifted copy for review.

Evangelical Christianity has taken center stage in the US in recent years. This is the story of the men and women, most of them young (Gen X, Millennials, etc) who have left the churches and why. The focus is on the teachings around sex and sexuality and the growing political impact that evangelicals have.

I'm not a big non-fiction reader. Too many are filled with fact after fact and, frankly, just boring. This book is not. Written in almost memoir fashion by a noted journalist with experience across the country (including NPR), I was fascinated. I finished this book in only a couple of days. Sarah was raised in a family with strong beliefs that they instilled in their children. She attended Christian schools and colleges. She may have quietly questioned the teachings, but she fervently followed the tenets of her faith. As she was exposed to more and more of the secular world, however, her views changed. For this book, she interviewed many other "exvangelicals" about their experiences. There is a particular emphasis on the experiences of LGBTQ+ Christians.

Well researched and footnoted with lists of books for further reading, this is a great read and very thought-provoking. A great look inside the life of a group of Americans who have a strong influence on their own families and on American politics.

I wanted to read this book because I'm very interested in why so many people are leaving the church. I thought reading the book would show some things the church could improve on and even ways we could move forward in stronger relationships with those who call themselves exvangelicals.

Unfortunately, I didn't find that. This was more like a memoir, and many of the issues in the book regarding the church are against things that the church teaches and truths that Christians stand on (for example, the Bible is truth, and having a desire to teach your kids a biblical worldview).

For someone who has left the church, this might be a good read to help them know there are others out there who understand. For those who are trying to understand why this movement exists, you'll find some of the reasons. For someone who wants to make a difference, there's not a lot that you will take away from this other than the world is filled with people who believe differently.

I received an ARC copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book provides a great overview of the Evangelical world, both for those who are already familiar with it and those who are not. It clarifies what is driving many people to be discontented with Evangelicalism and the various well-known figures in these circles. It is a helpful reminder of how labels are viewed and how various individuals may identify themselves depending on who they are talking to. It is an insightful and enlightening read that all could benefit from.

Thank you for an ARC of The Exvangelicals! My husband grew up in the evangelical church during the same time as the author, and that is what initially piqued my interest in this book.

It certainly did not disappointment. I was blown away but how the author was able to combine facts about typically boring topics — politics and organized religion — and use such cunning, figurative language simultaneously.

I’ve recently shied away from non-fiction because the recent titles I’ve encountered read more like a textbook, but Sarah McCammon has pulled me out of that slump.

I highly recommend this title for anyone who is looking to gain a better understanding of what it was like growing up during the 80s and 90s evangelical era. Unexpectedly, considering the genre, this is a page-turner! Easy five stars.

An in-depth book about leaving the church and what that means as a whole. You can tell the research and detail that went into each chapter. For those searching for a new normal with Christianity this is a great read.

i work in the evangelical ministry world, so this was a fascinating read for me! it’s easy for people to get lost in the different transitions of our lives & the stories they hold are important. i’m glad this was a book that was written!

Both Sarah and I have dealt with religious trauma from growing up in fundamentalist Christian households and deconstructed our former religious beliefs to find ourselves once we become non-religious. I appreciate how much I resonated with this book and the quality of the journalistic aspect of this book. However, I would've loved to see Sarah's personal journey from being religious to not being religious anymore, and how she healed from her religious trauma.

Even though I wasn't the target audience and didn't agree with everything Sarah said, I really enjoyed this book. Sarah writes as her experience growing up in an evangelical home and church culture and how as an adult she is one of the many millineals who identify as "evangelical" and have walked away from what they grew up being taught and believing. She does back and forth between interviewing other people, sharing her own personal experience, and sharing research (the last 30% of this book is references!)

Sarah says that her deconstruction process started when she was in high school and left her super christian culture home to intern in Washington DC for a writing organization. This deconstruction continued as she worked as a reporter for NPR and covered the Trump election- she was turned off by how many church leaders were worshipping Trump even though trumps character was not in line with scripture. Now Im definitely not one who likes to talk about church and politics but I think Sarah points us so many ways that the "evangelical little c church" has strayed from the way of Jesus and is leaning towards cultural evangelicalism as its guide. She interviews many different ex-vangelicals and what caused them to leave the faith.

As someone who grew up in the evangelical church culture (sarah's experience was way more extreme than mine) I found myself relating to so much of what she experienced growing up and a lot of her questions/concerns/negative things about the church I found were things that I also have been frustrated with over the past few years. These things have led Sarah to deconstruct her faith and walk away whereas it has caused me to ask questions and see where church leadership has strayed/I am reminded just of the sinful nature of humanity and how people of the church impact so many peoples thoughts about faith/jesus/their own beliefs. Reading this gave me so much compassion for those questioning what they believe and the isolation they must feel if they do decide to leave. Again, I didn't agree with a lot of things that Sarah lands on- but I really enjoyed reading her (and others) perspectives and experiences.

Many of the topics she covers include toxic purity culture, flawed church leadership, racism, church's response to covid, lack of support of the LGBTQ community, politics (mainly Trump election), and some other highly controversial topics.

This book is set to released 3/19/2024.. Thank you to St. Martins Press for the ARC!

Sarah McCammon is a well known political reporter for NPR and her book is exceptionally well researched and put together.
As somebody not in the faith community it’s a fascinating read of her background and history of evangelism in general with a deeper look into its intersectionality with today’s politics.
I would recommend this book to anybody, regardless of their political or religious side.

If you are going to go do something, you should go all the way with it. Unfortunately, Sarah McCammon plays it safe in her book, The Exvangelicals.

A bit of a clarification for this review. I will not comment on what I think of Evangelical Christianity, Donald Trump, or any sort of political agenda. What I am going to comment on is McCammon's point and whether or not she makes it.

Long story short, she doesn't. McCammon is a former evangelical and is clearly trying to work through her feelings of leaving her childhood religion behind. She is a brave person and is on a path which seems to be better for her. Quite frankly, if this were just a memoir of and by McCammon, then I would feel differently about it.

The problem is that McCammon tries to keep her journalist hat on while presenting this story. Which would be fine if not for the fact this is still half memoir. McCammon relives hurtful personal memories without fully placing blame and calling out the perpetrators. For example, (avoiding spoilers) McCammon has multiple stories about her relationship with her grandfather. I was invested in this thread and I wanted McCammon to truly vent her spleen about the wrongs done to their relationship. We don't get that. Instead, we move on to other topics or the views of other exvangelicals instead of spending more time with the author and her family.

Another example of problems with scope in this book are multiple references to Donald Trump which don't always fit. It certainly makes sense to point out the current political climate and Trump specifically but not repeatedly based on the way the author handles the rest of the book. McCammon herself points out that the problems with evangelicalism came way before Trump. He becomes a needless distraction instead of getting a catharsis from McCammon.

I was truly frustrated because I think McCammon pulled her punches. I think she intended for this to be an indictment of the state of evangelicalism, but instead it feels like a kind admonishment. She lit a match but refused to burn it all down.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I will happily leave a review for this when the racist remarks by one of their employees is addressed. I want to support the author, but also want to know they don’t support this behavior.

The Exvangelicals is an extremely personal and touching book. As someone who fell headfirst into evangelicalism in college without really knowing it only to begin questioning things following the 2016 elections, seeing Sarah echo my own feelings and experiences (though more intense and entrenched than mine) felt like a balm. This book resonated with me and I'm excited to pass it on to a few friends who have experienced the same awakening.

" I've asked God again and again to "open the eyes of my heart," as we used to sing in one of the praise choruses projected on the big screen at church. But those eyes can only see so far. And I can't pretend to know with certainty what's beyond my field of vision."
As a reporter covering a presidential candidate's rallies who grew up in an evangelical tradition, Sarah takes a personal and journalistic look at why so many are struggling with the term, the church and their faith.
I found it to be an interesting, thought-provoking, sometimes relatable and other times infuriating and emotional read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read it in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Wow. This was challenging in the best way as someone who struggled with staying in the church or to leave and start a new away from it.

oh boy! What a wild ride this was. I connected on a pretty deep level as I too have recently left a very high-demand religion. I luckily was able to make a pretty clean break unlike McCammon who had this life deeply engrained in every facet of her personal and work life. Reading how she managed to find her way to the other side was exhilarating and I just loved this!