Exvangelical

An exvangelical is a person who was once an evangelical Christian but has since left the movement. The person may have moved onto a more progressive or conservative faction of Christianity or left the entire Christian faith.

What is the evangelical movement?

Evangelicalism is a movement within the Protestant Christian faith that emphasizes salvation by grace through faith in Jesus' atonement on the cross for humanity's sins. Other tenets of the movement include being "born again" as a Christian when receiving salvation, spreading the gospel, and the Bible's ultimate authority.

Evangelicalism is especially prominent in America, existing in every Protestant denomination, including Pentecostal and Baptist faiths. It is also often correlated with conservatism and the U.S. Republican political party but also exists among liberals and the Democrat party.

Where did exvangelical come from?

The term gained popularity in the mid-2010s as it became a shared identity by many adults, many of them millennials, who were raised in the evangelical movement but no longer subscribed to it. Many exvangelicals have utilized the Internet, especially social media, to share their experiences in pursuit of a collective understanding of their past.

Exvangelical experiences

Exvangelicals typically have an aha moment where they realize how different their childhood and teenage years were due to the rules and beliefs they followed as evangelicals. Some instances include the music they could listen to, how they viewed people who were not Christians, and their sexual purity or immorality.

Unfortunately, many exvangelicals experience backlash when leaving the evangelical movement. They may be ostracized by their family or guilted and looked down upon by church members. Some exvangelicals have even gone to therapy to work through religion-induced trauma.