ex-Christian
Left the faith
An ex-Christian is someone who formerly identified as Christian but no longer does.
The term implies a conscious departure from the faith rather than mere lapsed practice: As an ex-Christian, I still struggle with guilt.
Some use it as an identity marker in secular or atheist communities, while others simply describe their religious history.
Abandon a held belief
- apostateOne who renounces faith
- former believerOne who renounced faith
- nonbelieverOne lacking religious faith
- lapsedEnded through neglect
backslider · fallen away · unchurched · secular · atheist · agnostic · freethinker · humanist
Analysis exposing self-contradiction
- deconversionAbandoning religious belief
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- faith crisisLoss of spiritual certainty
- doubtLack of firm belief
questioning · disillusionment · unbelief · walking away · falling away · rejection · abandonment · renunciation
Regaining health or strength
- support groupGathering for mutual encouragement
- online communityDigital gathering place online
- podcastEpisodic digital audio series
- memoirWritten personal recollection
testimony · shared experience · solidarity · validation · belonging · coming out · secular · found family
- purity cultureIdeology emphasizing virginity before marriage
- fearEmotional response to threat
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- shamePainful awareness of failure
indoctrination · manipulation · control · fundamentalism · evangelicalism · cult · healing · therapy
Pretense of virtue
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
- scienceSystematic study through observation
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- biblical criticismScholarly analysis of scriptures
contradictions · problem of evil · suffering · LGBTQ · exclusion · politics · nationalism · judgmentalism
deconvert
Abandon a held belief
- apostateOne who renounces faith
- former believerOne who renounced faith
- nonbelieverOne lacking religious faith
lapsed · backslider · fallen away · unchurched · secular · atheist · agnostic · freethinker · humanist · skeptic
deconstruction
Analysis exposing self-contradiction
- deconversionAbandoning religious belief
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
- faith crisisLoss of spiritual certainty
doubt · questioning · disillusionment · unbelief · walking away · falling away · rejection · abandonment · renunciation · spiritual journey
recovering
Regaining health or strength
- support groupGathering for mutual encouragement
- online communityDigital gathering place online
- podcastEpisodic digital audio series
memoir · testimony · shared experience · solidarity · validation · belonging · coming out · secular · found family · safe space
religious trauma
- purity cultureIdeology emphasizing virginity before marriage
- fearEmotional response to threat
- guiltMoral self-reproach
shame · indoctrination · manipulation · control · fundamentalism · evangelicalism · cult · healing · therapy · PTSD
hypocrisy
Pretense of virtue
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
- scienceSystematic study through observation
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
biblical criticism · contradictions · problem of evil · suffering · LGBTQ · exclusion · politics · nationalism · judgmentalism · anti-intellectualism
- ex-believersapostate, ex-believer, former believer, lapsed, deconvert
- Unbeliefatheism, agnosticism, irreligion, nonbelief, disbelief
Christian, Christ, Christlike, Christianity, Christianize, Christianization, unchristian, anti-Christian, Christians