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Exvangelical or Ex-Evangelical are terms used to describe persons who have left evangelical Christianity, especially those who belonged to evangelical churches in the United States.[1]

A significant number of former evangelicals (Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and Nondenominationals) have joined liturgical Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Evangelical-Lutheranism, and Orthodox Christianity.[2][1][3][4][5] Others have pursued liberal Christian denominations, such as the United Church of Christ, or have become nonreligious.[6]

Reasons for leaving evangelicalism vary greatly; for many, it may include a growing penchant for Church history and tradition.[7] For others, the reason may be related to social issues, with some evangelicals citing becoming disillusioned by the movement's embrace of Donald Trump, though others have aligned themselves with the evangelical left or wider Christian left, or have joined historic peace churches such as those of Anabaptist Christianity.[8][9]

History

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The hashtag #exvangelical was coined by Blake Chastain in 2016 to make "a safe space for people to find solidarity with others who have gone through similar experiences".[10] While Twitter was originally the site with the most activity involving the hashtag #exvangelical, the term also soon gained widespread exposure on Instagram and, and in the 2020s, The TikTok. People in the movement may also be called "exvies". The term prodigals is sometimes used for exvangelicals by people who remain evangelical.[11]

While a number of exvangelicals have found a home in liturgical Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Evangelical-Lutheranism or Orthodox Christianity,[2][3][4][5] other exvangelicals would be considered part of the larger movement away from churches and the decline of religious participation in the United States that has been documented by The Pew Research Center and PRRI.[6][12][13]

Others have pursued liberal Christian denominations, such as the United Church of Christ.[6] Some former evangelicals have aligned themselves with the wider Christian left, or have joined historic peace churches such as those of Anabaptist Christianity.[8][9]

Certain ex-evangelicals see themselves as post-evangelical and question evangelicalism's official social and moral agenda, such as its rejection of LGBTQ and abortion rights, from within evangelical communities themselves. The movement was catalyzed by evangelicals' enthusiastic embrace of Donald Trump, and his perceived lack of "values fit" with Evangelicals' nominal beliefs.[14] With respect to those who have become nonreligious, podcasts spread the movement and provide space for evangelicals to work through the process of de-conversion. Popular exvangelical podcasts include Almost Heretical, Straight White American Jesus, and Chastain's podcast Exvangelical.[15][10] Non-fiction books related to the movement include Pure by Linda Kay Klein, Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans, The Exvangelicals by Sarah McCammon, A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings, Exvangelical and Beyond by Blake Chastain, and Star-Spangled Jesus by April Ajoy. Exvangelical novels include Hell Is a World Without You by Jason Kirk.[16]

Motivations

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A number of evangelicals have moved to liturgical Christian denominations, such as Catholic Church, Evangelical-Lutheranism, and Orthodoxy. Reasons for this migration include studying church history (such as reading the Ante-Nicene Fathers) and learning about church tradition.[17][2][3][4]

Some exvangelicals choose to leave their religion following what they see as disagreements over the role and treatment of women,[18] LGBT rights, sexual abuse scandals,[19][20] and Christian nationalism. Specific incidents cited by exvangelicals for leaving include the Nashville Statement and evangelical support for Trump, which they perceived as hypocritical.[21]

Some Exvangelicals may cite bad experiences with purity culture as a major factor in leaving their church; this is particularly true among women. Exvangelical women often reject being held responsible for men's thoughts, and resent the disproportionately harsh punishments women face for sexual sins. Both men and women report difficulty living up to their church's expectations, and surprise at the hypocrisy of church officials who do not live up to (or do not appear to believe in) their own sexual standards.[22] For example, exvangelical author Linda Kay Klein writes that treating all girls as potential "stumbling blocks" for evangelical men results a cycle of fear and shame, which she and other girls experienced in secret. Klein began to question purity culture when a youth pastor in her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a twelve-year-old girl.[10][23] Joshua Harris wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye in 1997, a book foundational to purity culture, which encouraged young people to avoid dating and instead practice courtship and abstinence. Harris repudiated his work in 2018, apologizing for its content and withdrawing it from publication.[24] The following year, Harris announced that he was no longer a Christian, describing his experience as a "deconstruction" of his faith and apologizing for his previous teachings against LGBTQ+ people.[25]

Exvangelical journalist Becca Andrews writes that, because Evangelical purity culture taught her the role of sexual gatekeeper, she was at first unable to identify a sexual assault forced upon her during her involvement with Christian organization Cru.[26]

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The #churchtoo movement seeks to draw attention to sexual abuse in churches. Vocal critics of sexual abuse are Emily Joy and Hannah Paasch.[18][27][10][15]

Reception

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In Christianity Today's podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, Baylor University professor Matthew Lee Anderson said the experiences of exvangelicals were "something very different than deep, difficult, self-examination in order to find the truth" and any bad experiences that drove people to leave were "sociologically, actually quite marginal experiences inside of white evangelicalism".[28]

When a Gallup poll showed that fewer than half of Americans belonged to any church in March 2021,[29] some commentators acknowledged criticisms raised by the exvangelical perspective. Russell Moore, director of the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today, speculated that if he were a teenager today, he may also have left the church. He found that "they have come to think the church doesn’t believe its own moral teachings" and so "the presenting issue in this secularization is not scientism and hedonism but disillusionment and cynicism".[30]

On the other hand, Jordan L. Steffaniak, founder of London Lyceum, noted that he did not become an exvangelical after being "guided into the intellectual bulwark of the church", particularly the "vast, deep, and rich intellectual tradition of Christianity".[31]

Exvangelics themselves frequently report that they miss their community, to some degree, upon leaving it. They miss their congregation's support during life events such as childbirth, and opportunities for creative expression such as church music and performance arts. On the other hand, exvangelicals typically feel relief at escaping their community's judgement. One exvangelical reported "I don't miss feeling that I have to live my life in a certain way because somebody else might tattle on me to someone."[32]

Outside the United States

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Although it started in the United States, the exvangelical movement has also been noted in Brazil during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.[33]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. 1 2 Heil, Hannah (April 10, 2023). "Becoming Catholic: Ex-Evangelical Christian says Church teachings 'just about God'". The Catholic Times. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Richard, Matthew (September 23, 2013). "Becoming Lutheran: Exploring the Journey of American Evangelicals into Confessional Lutheran Thought an Thought" (PDF). Concordia Seminary. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Wilson, Tony (August 26, 2022). "Why I left evangelicalism behind to become a Roman Catholic". Premier Christianity. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Are Your Pews Filling With Young and New Christians?". Ad Crucem. Retrieved May 16, 2025. Confessional and liturgical Lutheran churches have also enjoyed an influx of young men and women, which is part of an overall trend that has arrested the long-term decline in Christian affiliation in the US.
  5. 1 2 Schlott, Rikki (December 3, 2024). "Young men leaving traditional churches for 'masculine' Orthodox Christianity in droves". New York Post.
  6. 1 2 3 Mathieu, Jon (January 13, 2022). "How can mainline denominations care for ex-vangelicals?". The Presbyterian Outlook. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  7. ↑ Fitzgerald, Jonathan D. (July 28, 2010). "Evangelicals 'Crossing the Tiber' to Catholicism". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Van Loon, Michelle (February 24, 2026). "Four things mainline churches should know about exvangelicals". The Christian Century. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  9. 1 2 Kristian, Bonnie (January 21, 2025). "The Peace Church that Changed My Life". Christianity Today. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Onishi 2019.
  11. ↑ Bullivant 2022, p. 133.
  12. ↑ "Religious 'Nones' in America: Who They Are and What They Believe". January 24, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Religious Change in America". March 27, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  14. ↑ Bullivant 2022, pp. 146.
  15. 1 2 Kight, Stef W. "Exvangelicals are breaking away — and spreading the gospel". Axios. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ Altman, Dr. Michael J. (April 22, 2024). "'Hell Is a World Without You' shows readers how squarely they would have been on the path to Jan. 6 if they'd come of age in Evangelicalism'". Religion Dispatches.
  17. ↑ Schlott, Rikki (April 17, 2025). "Why young people are converting to Catholicism en masse". New York Post. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "As a Teen, Emily Joy Was Abused by a Church Youth Leader. Now She's Leading a Movement to Change Evangelical America". Mother Jones. May 25, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  19. ↑ "The sin of silence". Washington Post. May 31, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  20. ↑ "The sexual abuse scandal rocking the Southern Baptist Convention, explained". Vox. June 7, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  21. ↑ Herrmann 2021, pp. 12–13.
  22. ↑ Bullivant 2022, pp. 136–142.
  23. ↑ Klein, Linda Kay (2018). Pure:Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-2482-2.
  24. ↑ "Joshua Harris Says 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' Will Be Discontinued, Apologizes for 'Flaws'". www.christianpost.com. October 23, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  25. ↑ Sherwood, Harriet (July 29, 2019). "Author of Christian relationship guide says he has lost his faith". The Guardian. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  26. ↑ Andrews, Becca (September 2018). "Evangelical Purity Culture Taught Me to Rationalize My Sexual Assault". Mother Jones.
  27. ↑ "Exvangelical TikTokkers Aren't a Sign of the End Times, But Here's What Evangelicals Need to Understand About 'The Falling Away'". Religion Dispatches. July 22, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  28. ↑ Chastain, Blake (August 28, 2021). "Evangelicals: You're still not really listening to what exvangelicals are saying". Religion News Service. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  29. ↑ Jones, Jeffrey M (March 29, 2021). "U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time". Gallup.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  30. ↑ Moore, Russell. "Losing Our Religion". createsend.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  31. ↑ Steffaniak, Jordan (May 19, 2021). "My Antidote to Deconstruction: Confessions of a Near Exvangelical". The Center for Faith and Culture. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  32. ↑ Bullivant 2022, pp. 140–141, 151.
  33. ↑ Barreto, Raimundo; Py, Fábio (2022). "Ex- and Post-Evangelicalism: Recent Developments in Brazil's Changing Religious Landscape". International Journal of Public Theology. 16 (2): 197–222. doi:10.1163/15697320-20220040. S2CID 251266321.

Sources

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Further reading

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