NPR's Sarah McCammon grew up in Kansas City, as a member of the evangelical community. She was taught to fear God, obey Him, and never question her faith. But that put her at odds with her gay grandfather and a Muslim friend who she felt needed to be converted.
As she grew older, McCammon began to question much of what she had once taken as the truth. She also learned that she was hardly alone: Other children of evangelicals were asking similar questions and even walking away from a life they thought they could never leave.
Their stories and her own are the foundation of her new book, "The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living and Leaving the White Evangelical Church."
"It's hard to leave any community that forms you and gives you an identity and relationships and a sense of purpose and meaning. I mean, that's what religion — one of the things — that religion provides for people," McCammon told KCUR's Up To Date.
"Particularly, sort of, what some sociologists and researchers call 'high-demand religion.' It's not just about a belief system, it's also about being a part of a community, doing certain things, not doing certain things. And there are unspoken but still very clear boundaries, and if you get outside of those boundaries, even sometimes expressing doubt about beliefs, the consequences can be pretty significant."
- Sarah McCammon, author, NPR Washington Desk correspondent
