EXVANGELICAL AND BEYOND

A former evangelical unpacks what it means to deconstruct that faith.

Chastain grew up evangelical and went to an evangelical college, aspiring to be a pastor. Coming to “a more open-minded and historical understanding of Christianity” there, he became alienated by the “militant, conservative faith” that seemed contrary to its spirit. In 2016 (not coincidentally, the year of Trump’s rise to power), Chastain created the term “exvangelical” to denote a person who has left evangelicalism, launching a podcast and hashtag of the same name. The term has since taken on a life of its own, with the hashtag to date boasting 1.7 billion impressions on TikTok ("a platform I hardly ever post to," the author comments). In his highly readable first book, Chastain explains why the term found such deep resonance, especially in online spaces, among populations of people leaving the evangelical church and losing their faith, though not always both and not always in that order. As he carefully points out, “the term [exvangelical] acknowledges personal autonomy because, although it does define past experience, it...doesn’t try to dictate what people who leave evangelicalism should believe.” In addition to describing the online movements and communities that have taken shape around this idea, the author provides readers with an in-depth history of American evangelicalism from its roots in the 1840s through its rise to cultural dominance in the years since. Those who grew up evangelical may particularly relate to Chastain’s Christian pop culture references, but his inclusive, personable writing will appeal to readers of all backgrounds. Beyond theology, “evangelicalism can also be understood as a public, an imagined community, a market, and a voting bloc,” he argues, and Christian nationalism has risen in influence to impact the lives of every American, whether they consider themselves believers or not.

A timely exploration of evangelicalism’s influence and how former believers find meaning beyond it.