Evangelical Christians have spoken against deconstructing our faith and expressing questions. They fear it destroys our faith and weakens our church.
But maybe it's the church that has given us unanswered questions and our deep faith that has caused us to look more deeply at how to live out our faith.
Maybe deconstructing our faith is the best way to get at the foundation, Jesus, to eliminate the man-made doctrines and uncover a real, authentic belief.
I was recently listening to the Faith and Feminism podcast, Episode 177 about Deconstruction. The author and host Meghan Tschanz interviews Amanda Waldron, a faith deconstruction and reconstruction coach. In this episode, Meghan tells a bit of her story, which involves being rejected from her church community when she admitted she voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016. Her family and church friends believed that evangelical Christians should support Donald Trump. Feeling that her values differed from her community started her on the path to deconstructing her personal beliefs. She grieved leaving her faith community and the rift with her parents, but she had to follow her conscience.
Faith deconstruction is the process of questioning and breaking apart an idea, practice, tradition, belief or system into smaller components, in order to examine its foundation, truthfulness, usefulness and impact. Deconstructing may involve expressing doubt in certain teachings and traditional biblical interpretations. It's looking back at existing beliefs and forward to new ones.
The established church criticizes deconstruction because those in this process may reject certain church policies, traditions, structures, or Bible interpretations. It threatens the authority of the evangelical viewpoints and the control of the white men who have power in the status quo.
Those who are deconstructing view it as a way to work out their personal beliefs to be authentic. It means dismantling ideas that do not ring true, or that seem to oppose the main themes of the Bible.
Reconstruction is rebuilding your personal beliefs, often with alternative traditions and biblical interpretations. I believe this is consistent with the biblical instruction to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
My writing encourages readers to examine tough topics and work out what they believe using a variety of biblical interpretations so that they can find healing and hope. Having a genuine, personal faith is responding to the call to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15).
Deconstruction and the Exvangelical Movement
Deconstruction is related to the exvangelical movement. Those who leave the church (or feel sidelined and unwelcome) often deconstruct their faith. Exvangelical is a name for those who previously were evangelical Christians and now are not. They may become mainline protestants, progressive Christians, or Catholics. They may find that any Christian church triggers painful memories for them. They may become agnostics, atheists, or spiritual people without a belief in God.
The exvangelical movement allows people leaving the Evangelical Church to find solidarity and comfort. Many are angry or sorrowful at being hurt by the Christian church. Some speak out against the power and hierarchy of the evangelical church, which seemed to support racism (when it did not criticize the killing of George Floyd), supported sexism (increasing restrictions on women), hide cases of abuse, blaming the victim and restoring the perpetrator), exclude and endanger LGBTQ+, and supporting politicians that did not show a good character. The evangelical church was behind the promotion of narrow definitions of biblical womanhood and biblical manhood. The church has largely avoided admitting errors or being accountable.
Much of what I write aligns with the exvangelical movement. My childhood was in the mainline protestant church, and later I attended evangelical groups and churches for various periods. Each has a community and style of worship that I appreciate. After a time of attending evangelical-style churches, I returned to the progressive protestant denomination of my youth.
Evangelical Criticisms and Exvangelical Responses
Church leaders may say the concerns of exvangelicals are not valid and therefore failed to address their concerns. Evangelicals will suggest that Exvangelicals do not take the Bible seriously and have lost their faith.
Exvangelicals are gaslit, their concerns ignored and not addressed. Exvangelical do take the Bible seriously, and suggest that the church has taken a wrong turn and deviated from how the Bible tells us to behave.
I have put together a summary of some evangelical responses to the movement and reasons people leave the church as well as how those deconstructing have responded.
Evangelical Church | Exvangelicals/Deconstruction |
Church hurt: power and authority is designed by God for males; God assigns subordinate roles by gender, excludes roles for LGBTQ+ | Church hurt: abuse of power, ignoring biblical message of freedom, equality, and love. |
Toxic love: true love means telling people to repent so that they keep their salvation. True love means immediately forgiving and restoring abusers. Love for the church means not hurting its reputation by exposing negative activities such as sexual harassment or sexual abuse. | Brotherly/sisterly love means listening to others, empathizing, understanding, and serving all people. True love means addressing victim concerns and making church a safe place. Love for the church means keeping its reputation good by making it a good community, exposing sexual harassment and abuse and taking action to prevent it. |
Poor teaching: Deconstructors leave the church because they believe wrong doctrine regarding faith and science and God's creation and final judgement. inadequate response to the problems of evil and pain in the world | Poor teaching: leaving the church because it would not listen to me or involve me, denied science, opposes LGBTQ+, gender equality, and racial equality. Overemphasis on Hell, white supremacy, and Christian nationalism. |
Desire to sin: those leaving the church are immoral and don't want to follow biblical teaching; they deconstruct to justify their sin (divorce, affair, sex before marriage, drug/alcohol addiction, porn, gay). Soft on sin, following the wide road to Hell. | Desire to avoid sin: witnessing sin in the church: lies, sexual abuse, racism, bullying of gays, hypocrisy of religious leaders having marital affairs while insulting others; legalistic rather than loving faith. |
Street Credibility: it's popular to have doubts in a culture that is hostile to Christians; deconstructionists have lost their faith and been influenced by the world | Incredibility: doubts and questions replied with pat answers instead of authentic experiences; rejected and disrespected due to different biblical interpretations; evangelicals are inventing spiritual warfare |
Ignorant about what the Bible teaches | Knowledgeable about what the Bible teaches; can no longer believe the doctrines upheld by egoist greed-driven patriarchs |
Never really were Christians; didn't know God. | Christians whose desire for a deeper, real relationship with God was not met by the church and our questions were not answered. |
Social Justice: making progressive social causes more foundational than evangelism and spreading the good news; straying from the biblical message of salvation through grace and overemphasizing works. | Social Justice: following the biblical call to act justly, work for righteousness, help refugees, and lift up the lowly; holding to the biblical message of salvation through grace and showing our faith through actions. Address structural inequalities. Address negative impact of colonization instead of doing charitable mission trips |
Wandered off the path of the fruits of the spirit | Stayed on the path of the fruits of the spirit |
Deconstructionists do not believe the Bible, its inerrancy and truth, or use it as a guide for living | Do believe the Bible and use it as a guide for living; believe discussion and non-traditional interpretations can help us understand God's true message |
Elaine R Kelly is writing the historical fiction Forgotten Followers (From Broken to Bold Book 1. Mara is broken by abuse, Joanna by racism. Both become bold #2022release #empoweringwomen #inspirational #biblicalfiction It shows Jesus encouraging, educating, empowering, and equipping women as disciples, speakers and leaders. It embraces biblical themes of love, inclusion and acceptance. Jesus called women to be patrons, disciples, and apostles. Just as the women in my novel overcome brokenness and become bold, you can too. May my writing bring you peace, healing, and hope.
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Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1 (2022)
The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
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