I found this book fascinating, mostly because I did not grow up in a church. I came into my own on faith as a young adult who could choose a church that I felt comfortable attending. The concept of leaving a faith practice is unfamiliar to me and the author did a great job of describing the complicated feelings attached. There were lots of personal stories as well as interviews with other exvangelicals. The book was a well researched and thought out examination of Evangelical culture.

The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon

I would describe this book as a collection of interviews mixed with the Sarah's own memoir that presents stories of so many who find themselves identifying as "exvangelical."

For those not familiar with the term, exvangelicals are individuals who were once deeply entrenched in evangelical Christianity but have since left or distanced themselves from evangelicalism to various reasons.

Key factors of the exvangelical movement--broadly speaking-- include dissatisfaction with conservative theological and social stances within evangelicalism, especially on issues like LGBTQ+ rights, women's rights, and the church's alignment with right-wing politics

If you, or a family member, or someone you know is exvangelical, this is the book you need to read! This book will help you better understand what people mean when they say they are exvangelical or are deconstructing from evangelicalism.

The author is a journalist and was an NPR reporter, and her career has focused on social issues and politics. She brings that expertise to the discussion and presents many sociopolitical concerns of exvangelicals. I found her reporting fair and honest.

I suspect this book, when it releases March 19, 2024, will be controversial to many. I hope those who have questions about the exvangelical movement or those with criticism of those deconstructing will read this book. This books does a great job of describing a "state of the movemrnt" of exvangelicalism.

I have never been a religious person, but grew up around an extended family who were evangelical. And I've got to say, McCammon's experiences closely resemble that of my family members. It was eerie to find out just how widespread a lot of the ideology and extremism is. I thought it was just a small pocket of my own family taking things too far, but I see now that the evangelical movement as a whole seems to be getting worse in certain aspects. This book isn't for everyone, but I did find it quite interesting and we will likely be purchasing for our library's collection.

‘The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church’ was an incredible read and I cannot wait for its release next spring. The amount of times I found myself thinking “oh yes, that is relatable” was too many to count. Having grown up in an evangelical church and going to a Christian school, I was surrounded by this rhetoric on the daily that I never fully trusted or believed. Meanwhile, I had friends and family who were/are fully in it and I always thought it odd, almost cult-like. When I asked questions to authority figures I was met with push back and aptly told I wasn’t praying enough, or that my faith wasn’t strong enough to understand. Now that I’m 15 years removed from the church, I’ve had plenty of time to deconstruct and work through a number of troubling beliefs/quirks that had been ingrained into my life since birth. McCammon does an incredible job telling her own journey to leaving the church while intertwining it with factual data and fellow Exvangelicals personal accounts. These accounts are based in sexism, racism, science, and the overwhelming evolution of evangelicalism into white nationalism that has occurred in the past 10 years.

So, for those who are interested to learn more about the deconstruction movement, or those who have left the church already, this book is a fantastic insight into what led so many to reevaluate what the religion means to them.

Sarah McCammon grew up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest. Church, rules and God formed her identity, influenced her belief system and shaped her activities. It wasn't until she began covering the Trump campaign for NPR that she learned about exvangelicals, folks who are in the midst of a faith deconstruction and moving away from the church of their youth. This book discusses various aspects of the evangelical movement and shares stories of exvangelical individuals.
I too am an exvangelical, which is why this book resonated so deeply. In almost every chapter, I thought, "Oh crap, this is me!" And most of the book brought back memories I thought I had forgotten. I found myself doing a lot of praying, crying and thinking as I read this book.
And I felt grateful that I'm not alone in my deconstruction journey. I really appreciated the personal stories.
While the content of this book is important, I didn't care for the emphasis on Trump. Almost every chapter tied back to him, and the exvangelical movement is way bigger than this one person. That aspect of the book prompted me to give the book three instead of four stars.

I do not consider myself an exvangelical (or an evangelical any more), but I was surprised how relatable this book was. Author Sarah McCammon combines her incisive journalistic skills with her personal stories of growing up in a Fundamentalist home that was even more extreme than mine. I loved the structure of the book, with chapters organized around evangelical beliefs, such as evangelism, end times, gender roles, purity culture, parenting, LGBTQ issues, and hell. Because she writes about politics as a journalist, her coverage of political issues and the overwhelming Evangelical support for Donald Trump and conservative causes like anti-abortion, were particularly intriguing. The diversity of her interviews and depth of her research, yet accessible and personal nature of her writing, are impressive. This book reminded me of Testimony, also by a journalist describing his fundamentalist upbringing, yet was more engaging, perhaps because I related more to a female author.

The audience that will relate the most to this book is exvangelicals, progressive Christians, and post-deconstructionists who lean left on social issues and theology. Yet I hope that those in Evangelicalism or who are curious about deconstruction will read it too. This book explains why "about one-third of Americans raised in evangelical households leave the tradition as adults". We should all pay attention.

This book is exactly what the description says it is. If you are not famliar with the Evangelical world, you will get a pretty good primer. If you are already familiar with it, you will get a good glimpse a what is driving many people to be dissatisfied with many aspects of what is called "Evangelicalism", as well as the many current names that are famous in these circles of discussion.

It is good to be reminded of how labels are perceived. I know many who would call themselves evangelicals who would be horrified to be associated with some of the descriptions here, and many more who are not religious at all but who would be lumped into what the media calls "Evangelicals" in present day. I find myself changing descriptors based on with whom I am speaking.

All in all very well researched and something that everyone both in and out of the church would learn from.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book #sponsored

Super interesting. Even though I grew up in this community, there's so much I learned from reading this. Really appreciated the author's approach and look forward to sharing this with friends and people I know.

I came to this book with an opened mind thinking I would probably disagree with the author on a lot of things, but preparing myself to be challenged in a way many good books do. I found that I disagreed with the author on only a few things, but I resonated with many other aspects of the book. The evangelical embracing of Donald Trump plays a central role in the book, but she also explores religious trauma and evangelical movements such as purity culture and pressure to proselytize to every one you meet. The book provides a good overview of the evangelical church of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. She left me with several things to contemplate, and she gave me insights I hadn’t considered before. I think this is an important work for anyone who is interested in religion and culture.

This was a personal yet journalistic view of what it was like to grow up in and later leave an evangelical church. Although that was not at all my background, like other cult-related books, I'm strangely fascinated by it.

McCammon, a reporter for NPR, thoughtfully describes her own experiences, what she learned - and importantly didn't learn - growing up in this culture. She has interviewed lots of people from all different walks of life about the ways these churches demanded absolute alignment with their views and questions were not permitted. She also draws lines to where we are as a country and how evangelicals have become so interlinked with conservative politics to the point that it's hard to separate the two.

This book would pair well with Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes DuMez.

The Exvangelical’s by Sarah Mccammon what is an intriguing read focusing on the phenomena of mass numbers of people, stepping out of the evangelical church in the recent generation, as well as the interesting link between evangelical teaching and right wing politics. I did enjoy the way Sarah‘s personal story was woven throughout her research as well as how she did not allow it to detract from presenting facts and figures throughout. That said, I do think this book will be best read by those with a similar interest experience to her or a pre existing academic interest in the topic.

My own journey through organized religion has been a bit of a kaleidoscopic tapestry. From being raised within the cultlike Jehovah's Witnesses to spending several years within the charismatic Vineyard Christian Fellowship to becoming ordained in an independent New Thought church and then licensed in ministry within the Anabaptist tradition, I've spent much of my life searching for a place that feels like home.

These days, I unexpectedly have aligned myself with a large Presbyterian church of the PC-USA variety, the latest stop (and I hope my last stop) in my lifetime of seeking a place where I can live, love, and hopefully never leave.

"The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church" by Sarah McCammon is her own intimate glimpse into the world of American evangelicalism. The Exvangelicals chronicles definitively the growing movement of those leaving this major religious subculture by capturing what often drew many into the movement and also what has been over the years the fracture points - from purity culture to isolationism to politics to, yes, Trump.

McCammon brings her journalistic skills into The Exvangelicals, simultaneously creating an work that is largely biography/memoir yet also immersive history and investigative in nature.

For those who identify with words like "deconstruction" and "post-evangelical," The Exvangelicals will feel like a breath of fresh air and McCammon will feel like a sister. For those who identify more completely with MAGA, Trump, and the hard political right, The Exvangelicals will likely have nothing to offer other than, perhaps, questions, challenges, and seeds for reflection.

There will be, of course, those within the evangelical movement who won't necessarily resonate with The Exvangelicals. Their experiences will have been different and McCammon's obvious and continued deconstruction will feel harsh and maybe even judgmental. I will confess that even I felt like, at times, "The Exvangelicals" paints with a broader stroke than necessary and there were glimpses into McCammon's work to move away from her childhood teachings.

However, for a growing number of adults who no longer identify with the white evangelical church this remarkably researched effort may very well become the first vital journey through the evangelical movement and what it means to deconstruct whether one continues to identify as "Christian" or chooses some other term. Destined to be controversial yet absolutely essential, "The Exvangelicals" is beautifully researched, achingly transparent, heartfelt, vulnerable, and so much more.

What a well-written, thoroughly researched, provocative book!

NPR reporter Sarah McCammon takes a close look at her upbringing in the Midwest as part of the white evangelical church - as well as her leaving it in a wave of former (“exvangelicals”). McCammon writes a part memoir and part investigative journalism piece about this phenomenon, pulling together interviews, stats, and personal stories to write a compelling narrative. Raised in the 80s/90s, she grew up in the faith, learning to strictly follow religious doctrine unwaveringly and unquestioningly. She uses this lenses to take a hard look at the power and influence that evangelicals have had, especially on the political right and the ascendancy of Trump in 2016.

As previously mentioned, this book was *very* well researched and thoroughly fact-checked. Despite all the numbers and statistics given, it didn’t feel difficult to parse through or overly academic. I really appreciated how McCammon thoughtfully interspersed her own story and vignettes from her upbringing alongside the broader quantitative and qualitative data used. I learned so much about the evangelical church and its intersections with political and social power. Overall, I found this book very engaging and highly insightful!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This was an okay read for me. As a growing girl raised in Christianity I ponder thoughts. This book just seemed too far for me. I completely validate the author’s feelings.

This book was so well researched as it explained the process of being an “Exvangelical” (someone who grew up Evangelical and has since left the religion or practice) both from her own experience and the experience of others. It was a heartbreaking and incredibly affirming read. I also left the Evangelical Church and struggled with almost all of the topics each chapter addressed. It was also a very readable book and I flew through it.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I followed Sarah McCammon's reporting all through the Trump campaign without, of course, knowing her history with the community she was covering. This is an intimate, personal story and made for riveting reading.

Unfortunately I won't be providing a review for this book as it was sent in a format that I'm unable to access on my e-reader. It does sound like a fascinating story though, and if it's able to be sent in a different format I'd gladly read an early copy.

Thanks for your understanding.

The Exvangelicals
Author: Sarah McCammon
Source: NetGalley
Pub Date: March 19, 2024

The Exvangelicals is Ms. McCammon’s memoir of growing up in a strict Evangelical household with stringent restrictions on heaven, hell, non-believers, and even believers who aren’t Christian enough. The author makes some strong comments: “Just a few decades ago, a person leaving a conservative religious community often found herself isolated and shunned by her former friends and family.” There are other somewhat bold statements, and there is a particular emphasis on asserting an ideological marriage between Donald Trump and evangelicals. What?

To be clear, I was never an evangelical, but I am a life-long Christian with evangelical friends who loved me and never pressured me. I am also a registered Democrat with a moderate belief in government; I am NOT a Trump devotee. Not at all. I believe Ms. McCammon paints a very BROAD attack, and most of her quotes are based on other books that intend to judge all as guilty if they were ever evangelical. I am sorry her personal family life was so steeped in intolerance.

I am very interested in this subject, and I have attended seminars on the great dechurching across the United States. It is not one sect or group…it applies to many. But I would add that my family taught us about love and kindness. I believe the following: “Jesus said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 (NIV) Also known as the First Commandment. There is also one verse that I hold close to my heart, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye.’ When you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?” In other words, DO NOT JUDGE. I am not a person who believes I can judge believers and non-believers. I have a hard enough time just trying to do the right thing with my life choices. This book is an indictment of the author’s childhood, and for that, I am sorry. I do not feel this book accurately represents the life of a loving person of faith. That is my humble opinion.

Note to NetGalley: I will not share this review with my Instagram friends. I do not wish to debate with people over faith and religion. I did not select this book but was asked to review it by NetGalley in an email. Thank you.

"It's difficult to save a world you're taught to fear and are carefully sheltered from." (loc. 314*)

Growing up, McCammon was one of a large number of American evangelical Christians—deeply religious, deeply conservative, inflexible in views and closely focused on things like purity and politics. Only as she grew older did McCammon begin to understand just how deep and complex the roots ran, and just how twisted. And later, she became one of a growing number of American exvangelicals, a term coined by Blake Christian to describe the droves of disillusioned former churchgoers moving on to other things.

My (liberal, nonreligious) background is quite different from McCammon's, but I did grow up (partially) in the American Midwest, and so hers is one that I recognize instantly. Here, she tells not just her own story of disillusionment and deconstruction and, yes, exvangelicalism, but some of the many, many stories of people who grew up with backgrounds similar to hers. I've done a fair amount of reading in this general vein, so some of the names she discusses are familiar to me, but McCammon writes with not only the thoughtfulness of experience but the precision of her journalistic background.

I particularly appreciate that McCammon works to separate out things that are wrong with...let's call it the application of conservative religion in general...and things that feel specific to white American churches; McCammon covered the 2016 election, and when large swaths of white Christians were backing openly racist and xenophobic (among other things) candidates—and using the power of their religious platforms to do so—it becomes impossible to look at any one of those things in a void.

This is not a book about religion: it's a book about the ways in which people use and abuse religion to in turn use and abuse people, politics, and power. This is something of a theme in books about religion I've read lately, and if this is material that's of interest to you, you're in luck because there's a lot out there—an entire generation growing up to realize that, whatever they do or don't believe now, many of the teachings they grew up with were damaging at best. (Sarah Stankorb's "Disobedient Women" and Jon Ward's "Testimony" are not bad places to start for further reading.)

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*I read an ARC, and quotes may not be final.

Wow. Sarah McCammon... get out of my head!!

If you, like me and (apparently) like plenty of other Xennials and Millennials feel like the conservative, evangelical culture you were raised in no longer fits with your values, this book is FOR US. I felt so very seen in these pages, and I highlighted so many relatable passages. I don't want to get into all the reasons I no longer identify as evangelical (although I am happy to discuss privately if you want to DM me), but the way this book absolutely nails growing up in the church in the 80s and 90s and becoming disillusioned with evangelical Christianity in the era of Trumpism is just so validating. I've spent sleepless nights and restless days agonizing over, for lack of a better phrase, "losing my religion" and it can feel so isolating, especially when your family and friends are all involved with the church. I had no idea there was a whole subculture out there, with forums and podcasts and, I don't know, probably even T-shirts and a secret handshake. McCammon informs us that about 1/3 of Americans raised in evangelical homes leave the culture by adulthood.

<blockquote>For others - especially many of their children - The Gen-Xers, millennials, and Zoomers who grew up in the shadow of the Moral Majority only to come of age in a far more pluralistic and interconnected world - these years have been a time of confusion and disillusionment. People born into evangelical families during that era have reached adulthood at a time when information is more readily available than ever - making alternative points of view impossible to ignore - and younger generations of Americans are leaving religion, and particularly Christianity, at a rapid pace. </blockquote>

McCammon shares a bit of her own "deconstruction" from her fundamentalist Christian upbringing and has exhaustively researched this growing movement, interviewing countless others. We ex-vangelicals are not a monolith, of course, and there are differing levels of departure from the culture. One of her interviewees points out that "exvangelical" primarily relates to the White evangelical church, as the Black church does not espouse many of the beliefs that the White Evangelical church does (Black churches historically have leaned far more left than the white, religious right, and gee, I wonder why). Some people she interviewed have abandoned religion entirely, while others have found denominations where they feel comfortable. Still others, like me, are really unsure where they stand. And that's OK. It's a process, unpacking and unloading an identity you carried with you for nearly 40 years, and I'm so thankful to McCammon for writing this book so I know I'm not alone!

This is an absolute MUST read for anyone struggling with overcoming religious trauma, for anyone having left or contemplating leaving an Evangelical church, or for anyone who scratches their head at how such an evil and morally repugnant man became the beacon of the religious right.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.