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A review by cardinalgirl75
Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America by Stephen Bullivant
4.0
When it comes to spiritual beliefs, I've never quite known how to describe myself. I believe in God, so I'm neither atheist nor agnostic. But ever since the age of fifteen, I've believed organized religion to be a complete sham. So what, then, do I tell people if/when I get asked about my beliefs?
I picked up this book because of the title and the description--"nonverts," whom the author, Stephen Bullivant, defines as people who were born and raised a certain faith but, somewhere along the way, stopped believing in the teachings of that church. (Sort of the opposite of a "convert.") I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the book--some enlightenment about why I lost my faith in the church, but not my faith in God? Some reassurance that I wasn't the only one? I got more of the latter than the former, as according to Bullivant, nearly a quarter of Americans identify as "nones" (either someone who was raised in a religion and no longer identified with it, or those who'd never identified with a religion in the first place).
Bullivant weaves tales from people who once belonged to various churches with some theories and evidence of why such a surprisingly large number of Americans are turning away from religion. There were parts that were a little tough to get through, but overall, I enjoyed the book.
I'm not sure how crazy I am about the term "nonvert," but honestly, I don't think there's a better one for me.
I picked up this book because of the title and the description--"nonverts," whom the author, Stephen Bullivant, defines as people who were born and raised a certain faith but, somewhere along the way, stopped believing in the teachings of that church. (Sort of the opposite of a "convert.") I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the book--some enlightenment about why I lost my faith in the church, but not my faith in God? Some reassurance that I wasn't the only one? I got more of the latter than the former, as according to Bullivant, nearly a quarter of Americans identify as "nones" (either someone who was raised in a religion and no longer identified with it, or those who'd never identified with a religion in the first place).
Bullivant weaves tales from people who once belonged to various churches with some theories and evidence of why such a surprisingly large number of Americans are turning away from religion. There were parts that were a little tough to get through, but overall, I enjoyed the book.
I'm not sure how crazy I am about the term "nonvert," but honestly, I don't think there's a better one for me.