{"id":30257,"date":"2022-11-30T13:02:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T17:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/?p=30257"},"modified":"2025-03-07T18:54:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:54:53","slug":"exvangelical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/es\/exvangelical\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cExvangelical\u201d: Recovering from Evangelical Christianity"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Is an Exvangelical?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cExvangelical\u201d is a term adopted by many who no longer consider themselves to be evangelical Christians. Started and popularized in 2016 as the hashtag #exvangelical by Blake Chastain, host of the Exvangelical Podcast<\/a>, the label provides a helpful starting point for people whose lives were significantly marked by both their participation in and departure from evangelical Christianity.<\/p>\n

Exvangelicals may have left evangelical Christianity for a different denomination or faith tradition within Christianity, or they may no longer identify as Christians at all. In general, exvangelicals identify with more progressive values than the more conservative tenets that evangelical Christianity is typically associated with.<\/p>\n

Those who embrace the \u201cexvangelical\u201d label often do so to signal their identification against<\/em> certain common characteristics of evangelical churches and organizations. Whether these characteristics are fair descriptions or broad stereotypes is beside the point\u2014for the exvangelical, what is important is that these ideals and values were once tied up with their idea of being a faithful Christian, but are now seen as antithetical to the values they hold most dear, whether Christian or secular in nature.<\/p>\n

What Is an Evangelical?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On its face, \u201cexvangelical\u201d is fairly easy to define: an ex-evangelical Christian. However, issues arise due to the fact that the definition of \u201cevangelical\u201d itself continues to be up for debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs evangelicalism a theological category, a cultural movement, a white religious brand, a diverse global movement?\u201d asked Kristin Kobes Du Mez<\/a>, author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation<\/em>, during her presentation on evangelism at the American Historical Association conference in 2019. \u201cWhat if the answer is, \u2018All of the above\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA Theological Category\u201d<\/h4>\n

The trouble lies in the fact that many evangelicals claim to identify as such due to specific theological beliefs. However, those specific beliefs tend to vary from self-described evangelical person or institution to another. What one evangelical says is crucial to their faith and identification with evangelicalism may to another evangelical be ancillary or even irrelevant to their beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Cultural Movement\u201d<\/h4>\n

Even more confusingly, some of these most tightly-held \u201cevangelical\u201d beliefs are not theological in nature, but rather more focused on cultural attitudes or behaviors. They may even seem to contradict other core tenets of the Christian faith.<\/p>\n

For example, some evangelicals claim to be believers of biblical inerrancy and literalism\u2014the idea that the text of the Bible can and should be taken at \u201cface-value.\u201d However, many evangelicals also fervently support anti-immigration and anti-refugee policies<\/a> that are antithetical to the Bible\u2019s consistently clear message of welcoming the stranger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA White Religious Brand\u201d<\/h4>\n

For many these days, the term \u201cevangelical\u201d is associated with a specific brand of White Christian nationalism. After the 2016 election, an often-cited exit poll<\/a> noted that 81% of evangelicals voted for Donald Trump. However, when broken down by race<\/a>, 77% of White evangelicals voted for Trump, while only 9% of Black evangelicals did, as well as less than half of evangelicals of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Some people and churches have abandoned the word \u201cevangelical\u201d due to the increasingly extreme politicization of the term in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Diverse Global Movement\u201d<\/h4>\n

At its root, the word \u201cevangelical\u201d comes from the Greek for \u201cgood news.\u201d Many evangelical Christians identify as such specifically for their commitment to spreading the good news of Jesus throughout the world. As such, there is a diverse coalition of self-described, globally-minded evangelicals that can be difficult to recognize in the U.S., where the term has become entrenched with a single race or political party. (We actually talked with a Swedish evangelical on our podcast<\/a> about some of these issues a few years ago.)<\/p>\n

In fact, research has shown that Asia, Africa, and South America<\/a> all have greater populations of evangelical Christians than North America. However, when broken down by country, the U.S. alone has nearly 50% more evangelical Christians (93 million) than the next-highest country, China (66 million).<\/p>\n

Evangelicalism vs. Fundamentalism: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fundamentalism is generally viewed as a stricter subset of evangelicalism. With a narrower view on certain beliefs, fundamentalists adhere to more rigid behaviors, with specific rules on acceptance versus expulsion from their communities.<\/p>\n

For example, churches that forbid women from wearing pants are typically more closely aligned with fundamentalism than evangelicalism. However, it\u2019s important to note that people who define themselves as \u201cexvangelical\u201d may be defining themselves against evangelicalism, fundamentalism, or both. \u201cEx-fundie\u201d also gets tossed into the mix for those who have left fundamental evangelical churches.<\/p>\n

Why Do People Leave Evangelicalism? 5 Common Reasons<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2006, White evangelical Christians<\/a> accounted for 23% of Americans\u2019 religious identity. But in 2020, that number dropped to just 14.5%.<\/p>\n

Because the definition of evangelicalism is so broad and contradictory, it\u2019s easy to think that most people would choose to just carve out a subset of evangelicalism that works for them, rather than leaving altogether. However, many people find it impossible to stay in evangelical Christian spheres because of what they have either witnessed or directly experienced.<\/p>\n

1. Evangelical Trauma and Spiritual Abuse<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Religious trauma and spiritual abuse<\/a> are real forms of spiritual, mental, and sometimes even physical or sexual harm committed in the context of one\u2019s faith. How the faith community responds\u2014or a lack of response at all\u2014can compound the survivor\u2019s pain and suffering. Denominations affiliated with evangelicalism, such as the Southern Baptist Convention<\/a>, have been notorious for their failure to remove abusive pastors and church leaders, causing survivors and allies to leave the church.<\/p>\n

2. Christian Nationalism<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Many evangelical leaders in the U.S. have crossed the line in aligning their churches with specific political movements, with the goal of making the United States of America an explicitly Christian nation with no separation of church and state. Christian nationalism<\/a> is associated with autocracy and fascism. Many Christian nationalists have proven willing to discard American values of democracy<\/a> to achieve their desired theocracy. In recent years, many American Christians who value free and fair elections have felt the need to abandon their evangelical churches preaching the opposite message.<\/p>\n

3. Evangelical Hypocrisy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Whether in the political arena, private congregations, or personal relationships, many churchgoers are abandoning evangelicalism due to the movement\u2019s blatant hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

In recent years, evangelical leaders have embraced morally bankrupt candidates<\/a> (who show no signs of repentance or remorse) simply to gain political power. Pastors have not minced their words in proclaiming judgments over those who disagree with secondary or tertiary Christian beliefs, elevating controversial topics about gender and sexuality to the level of affecting one\u2019s salvation, but have kept conspicuously silent in order to protect known child abusers<\/a> among their ranks.<\/p>\n

For many, the hypocrisy of strict legalism for some and unchecked power for others has caused them to leave evangelicalism.<\/p>\n

4. Racism and White Supremacy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As mentioned earlier, a portion of evangelical Christianity has aligned itself with racism and White supremacy. Although not always blatant, some evangelical churches communicate their disdain for racial justice and reconciliation by dismissing such efforts as \u201csocial justice nonsense\u201d or \u201cpolitical correctness run amok.\u201d However, there are many biblical examples of community lament and repentance for social injustices. Some Christians feel they have no choice but to leave their evangelical churches in order to find faith communities that practice the mercy and justice that are crucial attributes of Christ.<\/p>\n

5. Patriarchy and Misogyny<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With their tendency toward a conservative bent, many evangelical churches align themselves with complementarianism or other beliefs that prescribe a strict gender binary. These patriarchal beliefs lay the groundwork<\/a> for excuses and justifications for men\u2019s bad behavior, fueling male church leaders\u2019 inclinations to hide abuse charges, blame victims, and wield unchecked power. For too many Christians, especially women, evangelical teachings on gender are not just offensive\u2014they lead to real harm.<\/p>\n

What Leaving Evangelicalism Means<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When a person identifies as an exvangelical, the only thing you can be sure of is that they have had an experience with evangelical Christianity that they no longer wish to continue. Leaving evangelicalism can mean different things for different people, such as:<\/p>\n