Jon Ward grew up in a more isolating corner of Christianity. He was raised in an evangelical church in Virginia that defined his life, his friends, his family – his whole identity. He was taught never to question the teachings of the Bible, or the judgment of the men who led his church. And he was discouraged from ever engaging in the world outside his religious community.

Jon had other plans though. After college, he decided to pursue a career in journalism. It was a choice that would fracture his family. Through his work as a political journalist, Jon learned how to interrogate assumptions, how to question authority, and eventually that meant questioning the church he grew up in — and leaving it altogether.

Jon Ward wrote a memoir about this experience. It’s called Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation.

  • A Phlaming Phoenix@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    I may pick it up, but this honestly sounds like a pretty common story. Religion invalidates identities that don’t fit its restrictive ideologies. It rejects people who do not have compatible identities. People who are rejected by their communities do not tend to stay in those communities, or else they are tortured by the dissonance the communities create in them. When you are outside the community, it becomes easier to see the faults in the community.

    • ifyoudontknowlearnEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      honestly sounds like a pretty common story.

      Something heard here (well other atheist forums) over and over and over.

      Boring. Mind you if people stuck in thier horrible religion find it read it and get out then great!