Nashville’s exvangelical movement

Today, we delve deep inside the growing movement of people who identify as “exvangelicals.”

While mainline denominations are seeing an overall decline in attendance, exvangelicals, a term that denotes former evangelical status, are part of a growing online community who are outspoken about why they’ve left the church.

Many are starting podcasts or using social media to visibly deconstruct their Christian faith. Others still maintain their faith, although they no longer wish to affiliate with evangelical churches or culture.

In Nashville, evangelical culture is everywhere — think Bible verses on your favorite donut store’s boxes, prayer at social gatherings or the common practice of incorporating a gospel song into a set. With guest host Marianna Bacallao, we explore the experiences of exvangelicals in Nashville, the home of Christian publishing and Contemporary Christian Music. Are the city’s exvangelicals finding support from one another? And if so, how?

This episode was produced by Magnolia McKay. 

Guests:

• Marianna Bacallao (host), reporter, WPLN
• Holly Meyer, religion news editor, Associated Press
• Rev. Diane Dowgiert, Reverend, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville
  
• Mike Maeshiro, ex-pastor, consultant for queer and deconstructing Christians
• Heather Mae, artist, activist, and songwriter
• Eve, ex-evangelical content creator, and host of Chewed Gum Live
• Dr. Laura Anderson, therapist, religious trauma resolution coach and consultant, author of When Religion Hurts You: Healing From Religious Trauma and the Impact of High Control Religion.

Further Reading and Listening

• If you’d like to read more, there are several books exploring the exvangelical and dechurching movement, including Reorganized Religion by Bob Smietana and The Great Dechurching, by Jim Davis and Michael Graham.
• For more about dechurching trends in the United States, Pew Research released two studies fairly recently: In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace and How the Pandemic Has Affected Attendance at U.S. Religious Services.
• Last fall, the AP released a report called, The Nones, about people who self-identify as “nonbelievers or unaffiliated with any organized religion.”
• You can find additional background coverage by listening to the past This is Nashville episodes:
  • • The growth of LGBT-affirming churches
    • The role of Black churches in Middle Tennessee
    • The Southern Baptist Convention report: What it means for abuse survivors and the faithful