'Exvangelical' women are leaving their churches. But is it decline or renewal?

Taylor Yoder, who grew up in an evangelical Christian family in southern Pennsylvania, was active in her church and its youth group. But as a young adult, she found that friendships with LGBTQ co-workers at a Starbucks caused her to reexamine what she’d been told about homosexuality. “Do I really believe that these people deserve to burn in hell just because they don’t believe like me?” she asked herself.

When her family embraced Donald Trump, she continued to unpack, or “deconstruct,” her faith. “What upsets me most is how politics has become so intertwined with the church,” said Yoder. “It turned a lot of evangelicals in my life really ugly.”

Today, at 31, she is an atheist, and one of many formerly evangelical young women who are disengaging from religion, and at higher rates than their male counterparts. “Exvangelical” women have generated a flurry of memoirs, podcasts, social media posts and YouTube channels depicting evangelical culture as oppressive, unhealthy and even harmful.

Some, like Yoder, have abandoned their faith entirely. Others still follow Jesus but seek to reclaim what they believe is a purer, more inclusive version of the faith. The latter are moving to more progressive churches, though many who have trouble finding a church often meet in private homes. But their outspokenness makes these dissenting women different from others who have left the church in the decades-long decline in institutional faith. Their exits could be catalysts for revival in the wider church; some even wonder if the early seeds for another Reformation are being planted.

Religion & Politics

Photos of the Week: Peace meetings, RNS symposium

Pope Leo XIV, center, speaks with Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican after a state visit and prayer with him in the Sistine Chapel, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

In Opinion

And finally, Tree of Life rabbi and Mother Emanuel pastor: 7 years of friendship forged in tragedy

When the Rev. Eric Manning arrived in New York for a recent speaking engagement, a friendly face was waiting for him.

As he walked off the plane, there was his friend, Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers.

“Somebody might say, ‘it’s not a big deal,” said Manning. “It’s a big deal to me.”

Monday (Oct. 27) marks the seven-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where Myers is the rabbi and cantor. And this week marks the seventh anniversary of Myers’ and Manning’s unlikely friendship — one that has led both men to believe that love is stronger than the hate that seeks to divide us.

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