Yes, exvangelicals can be Christians
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One of the more interesting things I’ve discovered in my post-evangelical Christian faith is how anxiety-inducing the term exvangelical can be for others, especially white evangelicals.
Most of my musings here are about the Christian faith and the messiness of church culture in the American South. These are tricky topics to navigate as a lot of people in my neck of the woods associate white evangelicalism with all of Christianity. While this subculture does have a lot of sway in the American South, it is by no means the full picture of Christian life here.
More recently though, several white evangelicals have asked me what the word exvangelical even means. How they came about to asking this question is fascinating and instructive for understanding some of the white evangelical and exvangelical divides we see today.
Out of the seven people who asked me this question, six mentioned they were told at church that exvangelicals are people who have lost their faith entirely. This hasn’t matched up with what they see in the real world. All but two of these people said they’ve seen former members of their churches thrive in their faith after leaving their evangelical church for a different tradition.
This has created some cognitive dissonance. To their credit, these folks did what few other white evangelicals seem willing to do: they actually sought out someone who has left white evangelicalism for answers. Everyone found the resulting conversations helpful, including me.
Defining the word “exvangelical”
While people have left white American evangelicalism for as long as the culture has existed, there are now so many fleeing that some feel the phenomenon needs a description. Exvangelical is still a relatively new term and people have different ways of defining and using it.
It’s helpful to view the concept of exvangelical as existing on a spectrum, or as a working definition. The term doesn't have a single meaning, but this doesn't mean every definition ascribed to it is accurate.
To provide just one example, many white evangelicals seem to believe exvangelical means being “against evangelicals” or “no longer Christian.” In some cases that can be true; however, knowing many exvangelicals and having left for historic Protestantism myself, I think it’s more appropriate to view the term as meaning “after white evangelicalism.”
So, what does that mean?
Exvangelical is an identifying term for some people who have broken with white evangelical culture, but may not be sure exactly who they are now or where they fit in. It speaks to a past relationship with white evangelicalism — similar to how we say ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend with regards to a past dating relationship — without pigeonholing people into a new belief system or culture.
Because this dominant strain of American evangelicalism rejects Gospel-unity in favor of cultural conformity and hierarchal domination, many people limp away from white evangelicalism abused, traumatized, confused, and lonely. A person taking up the exvangelical identity often signals three things:
They can no longer consider themselves an evangelical, usually for very personal reasons.
They often feel that truly following Jesus requires them leaving white evangelical culture. They depart understanding there will be consequences for doing so, such as losing friends, a church home, and even their livelihood.
They likely are in need of a new community that can help them process their pain, grief, and trauma.
Exvangelicals exist across the theological, political, and cultural spectrum. Some remain conservative in their beliefs but take on a deep desire to love God and their neighbors better. Others moderate or move toward different traditions of Christianity that are more conducive to doing the same. And yes, some eventually leave the Christian faith entirely. Some find new church homes quickly, while others have given up on a local church for the time being. And there is everything in between all of this.
The word exvangelical is especially useful among exvangelicals themselves. It acknowledges a shared past those in the fold are familiar with, but also does not assume everyone landed in the same place with the same beliefs. It’s a way of showing the respect and humanity to each other that people were ultimately denied in white evangelicalism. This is why it is common to see exvangelicals remain friends with people who have lost their faith entirely.
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Why so many white evangelicals don’t understand exvangelicals
I would be remiss if I did not address the elephant in the room. I’ll begin by saying there is not a simple answer here. There are two common, connected themes that are worth examining though.
The first is that many white evangelicals refuse to try to listen to exvangelicals. There’s not a single reason why. Some fear it will open themselves up to doubts about their own beliefs. Others are scared — perhaps understandably — that they will learn some dark realities about their church. And more than a few consider exvangelicals to be traitors who should be treated as such.
Second, many white evangelical leaders know they’re losing control of the narrative they tell about themselves. Over the past few years especially, more and more exvangelicals have shared publicly their damaging experiences in this subculture. People have started to notice that the authoritarianism of many white evangelical leaders throughout years of abuse, hypocrisy, incompetence, and oppression reflects poorly on them, too.
This explains why there has been a surge of white evangelical leaders attacking deconstruction, claiming that exvangelicals are just engaging in something trendy, and more of the like. As an ideology, in practice, white evangelicalism requires a constant array of perceived outside enemies to fear and fight, otherwise the entire belief system starts to fracture and break apart. Such broadsides are effective in making many ordinary white evangelicals distrustful of exvangelicals and everyone else outside the subculture.
But this is a playbook many exvangelicals know well. Attempting to discredit the abused and people they disagree with is a common tool white evangelical leaders use to silence their victims and keep their followers in line. Because there are so many deeply bad experiences stemming from this subculture, exvangelicals can speak authoritatively about how white evangelicalism works and how certain decisions and teachings lead to systemic abuse and communal destruction.
As the exvangelical community continues to grow, many find themselves emboldened to push back on the white evangelical propaganda that has controlled our national discourse and many churches for far too long. Reporters are increasingly seeking exvangelcials out. And while there is still much to be done in this area, there are signs that exvangelicals are beginning to build space discuss these problems and envision new institutions that can replace white evangelical ones with something healthier.
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Closing Thoughts
Not every white American evangelical behaves in these ways with regards to the exvangelical phenomena. As I previously mentioned, this entire essay began with white evangelicals approaching me — a former evangelical— with intellectual honesty, kindness, and curiosity.
During those conversations though, I discovered that four of them had been recently and seriously hurt by someone at their church. They sensed their pain was attached to deeper problems in their theological and cultural traditions, but found it impossible to discover answers in those places. So, to their credit, they began to venture out.
Stories like these are why I’m not as optimistic about the collapse of white evangelicalism as some others are. While there is no doubt that this subculture is bleeding in the face of serious headwinds brought on by self-inflicted wounds, white evangelical institutions remain well-funded and as resistant to any and all change as ever. The diehards are doubling down on their oppressive ideology and herding their dwindling followers into ever more rigid forms of hierarchal domination. No amount of Scripture, stories of abuse, or logic will change their minds. They will do whatever it takes to cling to the power that is slipping from their hands.
Simply put, these conversations were another sign to me that abuse and oppression are often still the easiest ways to leave this subculture. That’s not good.
It’s also worth mentioning that the exvangelical community isn’t without our own faults. There’s righteous anger and frustration in some of these circles that is completely understandable. Many exvangelicals know that those who harmed them are still hurting others within a system of injustice. Frankly, I’d be concerned if there wasn't some anger and frustration.
But exvangelicals can sometimes miss the trees for the forest, to flip the popular expression. Some can get so focused on the behemoth that is white evangelicalism and its abusive leaders that it becomes easy to forget there are people limping out of this subculture everyday who need help. And I get it. Grief needs someplace to go and it really is disheartening to see powerful individuals who have harmed you remain on their pedestals.
I think it would be more helpful if we all viewed the white evangelical meltdown as a sort of spiritual and cultural refugee crisis and treat it as such. The borderlands of white evangelicalism — such as they are — aren’t as well-defended as white evangelical leaders want everyone to believe. Seemingly no one on the outside can stop most of the death and destruction that is now underway in white evangelicalism, but everyone can help set up safe passage for those who are fleeing. Because of hard lessons learned, exvangelicals who are maturing in their faith are uniquely positioned to help such people, especially.
I explore faith and American church culture from Memphis, TN. Never miss an article by signing up for my free newsletter or becoming a member. You can also subscribe to my podcast.
