We’re excited to share that our November Book Club selection is Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, co-edited by Lauren O’Neal and Chrissy Stroop and forthcoming from Epiphany Publishing on December 1, but available to Rumpus Book Club members in just a few weeks!
This necessary and revealing anthology collects original and previously published pieces about leaving Christianity. Examining the intersections of queerness, spiritual abuse, loss of faith, and the courage needed to leave one’s religious community, these two social critics use a diverse collection of personal essays by apostates and survivors of religious trauma to boldly address the individual experiences and systemic dysfunction so common in conservative churches.
A provocative anthology of undeniable importance and power, Empty the Pews reflects upon the disoriented worldview of harmful, narrow-minded religious ideologies and also offers a clear call to action: to those who refuse to be complicit in the bigotry and abuse present in so many churches, now is the time to empty the pews. Contributors include Garrard Conley, Lyz Lenz, Juliana Delgado Lopera, Carmen Maria Machado, Maud Newton, and more.
Subscribe to the Rumpus Book Club by October 15 to join us in reading Empty the Pews, culminating in an exclusive online discussion with co-editors Lauren O’Neal and Chrissy Stroop about the book!
