This is a very well-researched and clearly told story. I think perhaps it might be more impactful for other exvangelicals, or evangelicals who are struggling with their faith. I grew up in the Lutheran Church, and my experience with church is so vastly different from what the author and the other subjects mention that I found it really hard to empathize fully. I think it's important to hear from the people who were held under the abusive thumbs of these corrupt religious leaders and communities, but I also think for a lot of us on the outside, many of their revelations are a bit obvious.

If you're looking for a deep dive into why so many younger evangelicals are leaving the church, or a personal recollection of a woman's church experience, this is a great book to pick up. 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC.

This is an interesting read if you want to know a little more about some of the issues facing the evangelical church in America, and why there is what seems like a mass exodus of younger people.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a DRC of this title.

The Exvangelicals from Sarah McCammon is an important look at a growing movement of people who are pushing back on the evangelicalism in which they were raised, exploring issues like gender, sexuality, and politics. While there were moments where I wished for a bit more research + outside context to bolster her arguments, I think The Exvangelicals really shines when McCammon shares exvangelicals' personal experiences, including her own, through interviews and narrative exposition. As it did with me, I suspect The Exvangelicals will resonate with many American millenials raised evangelical and joins a growing canon of books like Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez and A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans that challenge the modern evangelical church to re-examine its current sociopolitical and cultural positioning. 4.25 stars/5.

Step into the empowering pages of "The Exvangelicals" by Sarah McCammon, a groundbreaking work that shines a light on the brave journey of those finding their voice beyond the confines of their former faith. Growing up in the heartland, McCammon navigated the teachings of her evangelical upbringing, struggling with doubts that arose as her worldview expanded. With compassion and authenticity, she shares her personal odyssey of questioning, uncovering, and embracing a new path. From covering the political landscape to introspective reflections, McCammon uncovers the impact of evangelicalism on society and presents a community of brave like-minded individuals who are forging their own narratives. "The Exvangelicals" is a poignant blend of memoir and investigative insight that validates experiences, making it a must-read for those on a journey of self-discovery and understanding after Evangelicalism. I highly recommend!

This book was definitely well researched as evidences by the extensive list of sources making up the last 40 or so pages, and the Author's story was well laid out. I have been reading a lot about the issues facing the evangelical church at the moment, and this book showcased a variety of them.

Having grown up evangelical, in some ways I can connect with this authors story, but my evangelical church was not nearly as conservative or political as the author's (I'm also from Canada not the US and I think the Canadian church hasn't become nearly as political as the American Church) so on the whole my experience was vastly different. I found that the author painted the entire evangelical church with the same brush and didn't account for the churches that did stand up against Trump, and that don't operate the same way as she experienced. I don't want to discount her experience, or that of the others she quoted, but I think the research was one sided in some aspects and could have done with a little more rounding out.

This is an interesting read if you want to know a little more about some of the issues facing the evangelical church in America, and why there is what seems like a mass exodus of younger people.

I give this book 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.

I was provided an advanced copy of this book by Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

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

Sarah McCammon was living life as an Evangelical Christian. Until she wasn’t. She covered the Trump presidential campaign for NPR and discovered the connection between Evangelical christianity and the political right. Her belief system had been affected by her adult experiences so she left behind-so to speak-some of the convictions she used to cherish. This is the story of the evolution of her worldview.

It's difficult to respond to a book like this, primarily because if you don't wholeheartedly affirm what the author has said, it's because you're part of the problem and exactly what she's talking about. But...I don't affirm it.

I read a lot of "deconstruction" stories, but they're all the same. It's basically, "I love some things about Jesus, but I don't love other things about Him, so I'm picking and choosing what works for me." It's also very often, "I grew up in the church, but then the world told me how it thinks, and I like the world's thinking better." Then, these stories often become one-sided, heaping an entire host of sins upon the church in an effort to declare that the church MUST be wrong. And, of course, if the world is right, then the church IS wrong...but who is to say that the world is right?

The author shows her bias in many places. If it's not a bias, it's a lack of a reasonable amount of critical thinking. For example, she accuses Christians of being ripe for conspiracy theories because they are always looking for information that supports what they already believe about certain things. But...the world also does this. Everyone does this. Everyone looks for information that supports what they already believe; it's called "confirmation bias." Saying that this leads the church to conspiracy theories is based solely on a perspective that believes that what the church already believes is wrong. She accuses pastors of sometimes spearheading the efforts to effectively brainwash the faithful, but scientists (who engage in a lot of scientism) and media and politics do this in the world, and she doesn't call them out. She talks, as so many do, about Christians trying to legislate their morality and make a country according to their belief system, but the world is doing this, too. No one can do anything BUT act upon their morality and desire a country that supports it - so again, here is a bias against the church, claiming that its fundamental belief system is not worthy of the same respect as the world's fundamental belief system. She continually expresses disappointment in evangelicals for having elected Trump, but also does the math - evangelicals make up roughly 30% of voters, and only 81% of them voted for Trump, which means only half (or slightly less) of his overall votes were evangelicals, so...time look somewhere besides the church for that one. As many persons in the church voted for him, just as many OUTSIDE of it voted for him, and that means you can't put your political dissatisfaction entirely on the church you're trying to tear down.

Perhaps it is because I came to the church late, after having grown up in the world, that I am able to see this so clearly, but it's right there - everything that these "exvangelicals" accuse the church of is true just the same of the world. It's just that the world has the louder voice right now and it uses language in a customarily postmodern way - as a weapon. Books like this do the same, using words as a weapon to try to make a point.

I am not saying that the church has everything right. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But the ideas laid out in this book don't have it right, either. And beyond that, this book gets so much wrong about the church itself. It neglects the bulk of the church, her teachings, her history, her failures, her successes, her hope, her grief, her love in order to make its point, but not once did I read about the very heart of the church, but only the issues on the side - the issues that the world has made of it so that they can talk about everything BUT Jesus and somehow claim the upper hand (or think they have).

And that's the real heartbreak of it all: this book is talking about everything BUT Jesus and claiming that somehow, because of all of these things, Christ is deficient.

My question for those leaving the church in this way, because of this language, because of this draw of the world presenting its alternative narrative, is this: where are you going to go when you find out the world is just the same?

Ok this brought back some very traumatic memories but it is a very relevant and needed book. Thank goodness light js being shed on a serious manipulation.