The Exvangelicals, by Sarah McCammon, is a nonfiction book written about the struggles of rediscovering and sometimes leaving one’s faith. I was excited when I saw this audiobook as my faith is very important to me, but I also recognize problems
Individuals experience with different religions as well as religious trauma people experience. I feel that this was a very well researched book, and it taught me so much, but also made me concerned about how our faiths are sometimes used to make us believe certain ways politically. It definitely gave me a lot to think about! Thank you to NetGalley and to the author and publisher of this book for an ALC in exchange for an unbiased review.

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

Overall Grade: A-
Depth and Content: A-
Story and details: A-
Narration and Writing:A-
Best Aspect: An engaging audio that is very interesting.
Worst Aspect: Parts droned on mostly because the author/narrator has too much of a tv news voice and with all the problems in this world that gave me the ick.

This book is a good mix of memoir and general non-fiction. The author's connection to the topic is clear and serves the writing well. I think having those more personal portions also kept the book from feeling dry or boring in parts. I think that if you are someone looking to deconstruct your religious beliefs, or someone that already has, it would be really easy to connect with this book. However, I think if you are religious or never have been, it also can give some good insight into other's experiences and is just generally interesting. It's a great look into both why people are drawn to and seek the support of religious communities but also how these communities can be dangerous or harmful.

Exvangelicals provides a look into the deconstruction and evangelical movement. Of people leaving not just the church, but the white evangelical church specifically. When I received this book as an ARC, I was thrilled, and let me tell you, this book did not disappoint.

As someone who had been a conservative Christian, then on the Christian left, and then left the evangelical church around 2016, many of the stories within felt as though they were telling my own experiences. my own journey.
The reminder I’m not alone in the trauma, or the sadness over loss of family and community, as many of the church leaders and even fellow congregants, that I looked up to and formed friendships with, chose to support politics that espouse hate, lying, and cruelty to others.

This book was so incredibly interesting and pretty mind blowing. SO much scandal and pain. I definitely learned a lot of incredible information on the Evangelical church and appreciate the work that went into this book. I listened to the audio version and thought the narrator was great - 4 stars!

Thank you for the advanced reader Netgalley!

Born in late 1980 to a deeply evangelical family, my own life experiences very closely parallel those shared by Sarah McCammon in this book. I came into this world right in the buckle of the “Bible Belt”, just in time for a historic rise in evangelical power and influence over American culture and politics.

I deconstructed for the first time in the early 2000s, at a time when there wasn’t yet a name for it. It was traumatic, and by 2010 (when my oldest son was born), I was ready to scramble back to something both comfortable and familiar. Between 2010 and 2020, I returned to church and allowed myself to be entirely immersed in my restored life inside the fold, my service to the church (surely, payment for the spiritual debt I incurred while away), and the experience of mothering young children.

I slept through the seismic cultural and political shifts that occurred during those years. It took covid-19, the death of George Floyd, and the violent January 6, 2021 attack on the US capitol to wake me from my slumber.

In the three years I’ve spent actively deconstructing this second time, I’ve found so many resonant voices online that share similar experiences, and McCammon drew from many of those same sources to craft this book. The quotes from her interviews with these people feel entirely relevant and profound in the way they portray a movement that has defined the majority of my life. This time, I am not alone. This time, there are a record number of people sharing the journey with me.

Sarah McCammon has been a correspondent for NPR many years, and her authority on the topic comes from her own early life experiences and from her observations of the political and cultural landscape of the U.S. as a journalist. She has deftly organized the narrative of her own story alongside aspects of the deconstruction experience that will be reflective for many former evangelical readers: all the places where we felt cognitive dissonance that eventually led to the unraveling of our faith.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, narrated by the author and released by Macmillan Audio. Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my review. This book releases March 19, 2024, and I will be purchasing a physical copy to highlight and display alongside Jesus and John Wayne, written by Kristen Kobes du Mez.

Thank you, Sarah McCammon, for putting your voice into the text of this work. This book resonates, it validates, and it even begins to offer a hopeful path forward into the restorative work necessary to heal the cultural divides left in the wake of the evangelical implosion that brought our democracy to the brink in recent years.

It felt like this book couldn’t decide if it was journalism or memoir and so it missed the mark on either. I did find it interesting regardless and will recommend it.

It’s difficult to rate nonfiction with stars, but it’s a five for me.

Reading this as a person who is a white Christian, I’m unfortunately not shocked by some of the traumas Sarah describes, and have heard many of the classic evangelical tropes in my own churches over the years. Sarah did an excellent job of sharing her own story, and including those of many other folks who have left churches over the years - some of whom have left behind religion and Christianity altogether, and others who have only left the Church as an entity but not the faith. I was reminded again how hurt people hurt people, and how much damage men with microphones (or twitter accounts) can do.

Sarah’s musings on parenting (how it was, how it is, and how it can be) were of particular interest to me, as I’m doing my best to help my children construct a faith of their own. Her honesty in every area (not limited to parenting) was so appreciated, since so many of us are out here caring deeply, desiring change, and grieving the turn of so many tides.

All in all, an extremely interesting take on exvangelicals and all that the term could imply. What more can we ask besides “just do the best you can with what you have”?

This was a fascinating and poignant read that gives an in-depth look into American evangelism. Sarah blends stories and anecdotes of her religious upbringing very well with her analysis of the sociology, politics, and cultural consequences of the white evangelist Christian movement in the US.

🎧THE EXVANGELICALS Loving, Living & Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon is a mix of memoir and investigative journalism that looks into the growing subculture of people who have left the Evangelical movement in the U.S.

This was a hard book for me to read. While listening to Sarah recount her experiences, I found myself reliving several that were similar, bringing up a sadness I have come to recognize. While this was hard, it was also comforting to know I am not crazy for feeling the ways I have, nor am I alone. I also felt grateful for many aspects of my story that diverged from hers and so many. I will be eternally thankful for a dad who encouraged my questions, never shamed me for asking, and encouraged me to find the truth by examining it for myself and to examine the lives of my teachers.

I am not exactly sure who this book is meant for. In this culture of stiff-arming any thoughts that deviate from our own, I doubt that the people who could truly benefit from understanding the hurts that so many carry will choose to take this book up and learn. It is unfortunate, because I learned quite a bit. I didn't experience the same level of disillusionment and still hold on tightly to many parts of my faith, if not the leaders. I didn't follow the paths of many in this book, but it helps me understand why so many are struggling and leaving.

I guess I am one of the people this was meant for. I am one who has struggled. I am glad to have found a small circle to process this loss and find a way forward in my faith without aligning myself in ways that feel extremely contrary to that faith.

I would like to point out that Sarah continually makes the claim that many people were truly trying to do their best. I believe that as well. There are also many who used this, and continue to use this organizational movement for their own gains, and it is fairly obvious who gains from it.

If you are fascinated by or want to learn more about this exodus, this was an insightful and nuanced look into it. Thank you @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for this thoughtful audiobook publishing on March 5th.

The Exvangelicals is an informative piece on how this group of adults, from Gen X-ers to Millenials have moved away from. the Evangelical church and its values. shaping new identities for themselves when their former religious beliefs were inextricably tied to every aspect. of their lives. Sarah McCammon presents an overview of this cultural subsect through the lens of a journalist but also as someone who has lived this narrative.
Although I'd never heard the term Exvangelical before, I knew right away that this book would resonate with my own experience. As such, it Is difficult for me to fully separate my connection to the subject from my positive opinions of the author's presentation. However. Sarah provides insight into why many have leftt he Evangelical churches they were brought up in and how they have had to carve out new places for themselves culturally and politically after realizing that values they were brought up with didn't provide the answers to understanding their own experiences in a much broader and more diverse world than they were shown in the Evangelical community, one that, more often than not, self isolates from the secular world.
McCammon's exploration of "The Exvangelicals" is an easy listen with McCammon herself providing engaging narration that moves quickly through the book.
Thanks to McMillan Audio for providing this audiobook ALC to me via Netgalley..

When I requested to get the advanced copy of this book I was anticipating a memoir of someone who left the Evangelical church and what I got was a weird mashup of a memoir and a research paper.

I didn’t hate this book, but would have enjoyed it much more if it was written solely as a memoir without all of the journalistic info added in.

Nevertheless, thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to read (listen) to this advanced copy!

This book is well-written, well-researched, and a great read for anyone inside or outside the evangelical movement. It is a spiritual successor to Jesus and John Wayne to me, and I recommend it to anyone coming to grips with the disconnect they feel from the church they were raised in vs. what they see the church as now.
I didn't relate 100% to things in the book, but there was enough in there that I think no matter your experience in church, you would find parts that hit home. If you never went to church, it may explain some things that seem foreign and odd to an outsider looking in. Overall a great book about the journey so many find themselves on and a great read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early arc to listen to this audiobook. I found this account to be a fascinating look inside the world of evangelical life and the movements of those leaving their evangelical communities. And it is a leaving of the whole community. I really appreciated the author's account of her own upbringing and how every aspect of life was built in and around evangelicalism. It is not simply a religion but a profound incorporation of all aspects of life with the movement at the center. Yes, there are the typical Sunday morning Church and Sunday school and the Wednesday meetings/suppers, as well as all sorts of other activities centered around churchlife. In addition, the homeschooling boom and the resources to support this are incredibly influenced by the Evangelical movement.
The discussion of how much involvement or a drive to be at the center of various parts of secular life, with the idea that once there, a strong influence that would incorporate the beliefs within evangelicalism was fascinating. There are theological and reality based reasons for people leaving this community but the author found that the 2016 presidential election cycle, which she covered for NPR really opened her eyes and many others' eyes to what they were already thinking. That the degree of hypocrisy and shielding of this group to truths about life outside of the church was hard to reconcile and stay within this community.
She did a terrific job of discussing how they were taught as children and how difficult it was to break with the community because of how much of what you knew about life, your family and friends and support system, would turn away from you if you questioned them or turned away from their beliefs. I can see why this is such a traumatic and challenging process and appreciate the author's candid reflections.
I would highly recommend this book or audiobook to anyone seeking a better understanding of this movement away from Evangelicalism.
#TheExvangelicals #NetGalley #MacmillanAudio

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

I really liked this!

Sarah McCammon’s "The Exvangelicals" feels like a natural successor to "Jesus and John Wayne" and "The Making of Biblical Womanhood," combining the former’s scholarship with the latter’s integration of personal experience.

This is an intensely readable and thoughtful exploration of why people leave the church, particularly within the past ten-twenty years. McCammon draws from interviews with a range of exvangelicals, and she frames all of her analysis through a gracious lens—I’m really impressed with her ability to parse between beliefs held due to hatred and those held by fear. It highlights the complex power-motivated systems that motivate so much of the toxicity.

Although I really enjoyed the book, I am more than a little uncertain about its intended audience. I’m not sure it’s sociologically robust enough to be appreciated by readers without a religious background, but it feels almost too familiar for those who do have that context. Additionally, I don’t think it’s going to change anybody’s mind if they condemn the idea of deconstruction. With that in mind, where can books like this go?

This question is further complicated by the decision to largely avoid discussion on theological motivations for leaving religion. Politics and social issues are certainly a huge motivator, but they aren’t the only ones. Despite these quibbles, I think McCammon genuinely advances discussion on the topic, exploring what it looks like for exvangelicals to move beyond their history.

I’m really excited to see how this is received and the conversations it inspires!

This is an interesting insight into the growing movement away from fundamentalist Christianity. McCammon uses personal examples from her own upbringing and interviews others who have moved away from the church.

The Exvangelicals by Sarah McCammon was a wonderful read that really put a lot of the trauma and confusion I have had regarding my church upbringing into words. I completely related to the author and those who she interviewed with their history growing up in the evangelical church. The shared experiences and how each person is processing their departure from the evangelical church is so interesting and inspiring to me. I loved this book and I think it's an important read for those people who are searching for a new and better way to approach their relationship with God.

Thak you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook version of this book. I am not affiliated with anyone for my review. I am not compensated for my review.

I grew up in the same evangelical culture. I was able to see and feel everything written. the thing that caught me off guard with this book is how political it is. Id rather read a book not so heavily political. Other than that the content was great.

I am not an evangelical Christian but I wanted to understand how the evangelicals could throw away their morals and Jesus’ teachings to support a presidential candidate who embodied the antithesis of evangelical principals. The Exvangelicals explained why, and more. Exvangelicals is what evangelicals who have left the evangelical church call themselves. The book is well organized into chapters, including race, sexuality, LGBTQ issues, and trauma, to explain why people have made the difficult choice to leave the evangelical church. Sarah McCammon really opened my eyes, particularly when discussing the abuse that many have suffered in the name of religion, which has led many to seek therapy to work through the trauma.

The author, as a reporter for NPR, covered the Trump campaign. She was raised in a deeply evangelical family, but started to question as she spent more time in the outside world. The book delves into the relationship between the evangelical right and politics. It explains that some people left due to hypocrisy in the way that their transgressions were dealt with versus the acceptance of the president’s behavior and a betrayal of the church’s ideals. She quoted a pastor who said that misinformation is dividing evangelical churches and communities. This pastor struggled to fight back against conspiracy theories and other misinformation and eventually left his pulpit. He said there was an “erosion of a common understanding of reality” which was breeding division among church members and families.

Evangelicalism is more than just a religion. It dictates thinking and way of life. There is no allowance for wavering or any questioning of what is written in the Bible. Evangelical culture is about political power, which helps people rationalize and justify behavior that does not fit the teachings.

This book is a blend of memoir and journalism; however, it read more like a well researched report. I personally wish there had been more memoir and less quoting of other people who have also left the church, most of whom are white. I’m sure she interviewed people, but some of the quotes were from social media. I listened to the audiobook, but it was difficult to absorb all the material and I found my mind wandering in places. It’s a very well written and researched book, it’s just not what I expected. The author actually reads the book and does an excellent job as the narrator. I would round my rating up to 3 1/2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to the advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Without getting into too much personal detail, I just want to say that this book greatly validated what I've experienced and felt in my complicated faith journey over the past 25 years. McCammon shares her story of growing up in a family that was deeply rooted in an evangelical Christian church. She outlines the political and cultural shifts as well as the trauma that people raised in conservative Christianity have experienced, and how these factors have led many Gen Xers and millennials to "deconstruct" their faith. Deconstruction involves moving away from evangelical circles or leaving the Christian religion altogether, and it is a movement that is greatly justified.

I appreciate the research and soul-searching that McCammon did for this book. It's very well written, if a bit (understandably) emotionally draining to read/listen to. But it also offers solutions and hope for those who feel driven outside the margins, and that's a comfort.