Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself
Ebook
How to heal religious trauma by releasing harmful beliefs
Have you experienced #ChurchHurt? Are you frustrated by judgmental church people supporting oppressive systems? Do you have doubts about the faith tradition you were raised in but are afraid of losing your community? Angela J. Herrington has been there. And with over a decade of experience as a life coach, she can teach you how to begin healing religious trauma through deconstruction.
Lively and empathetic, Angela will gently guide you through deconstructing your faith. This concise and actionable handbook will
• give you permission to trust yourself,
• show you how to seek new perspectives and information,
• teach you how to embrace vulnerable exploration and self-compassion, and
• help you release unhealthy beliefs that are harming you and marginalized persons.
Deconstructing your long-held beliefs can be isolating and overwhelming. But you don’t have to do it alone. Begin your healing journey with Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself.
Table of Contents
Foreword by David Hayward
Introduction: Deconstruction Is Not a Trend
Part 1: Understanding Where You Are
1. Explore the Heart of Deconstruction
2. Beware the Wolf in Deconstructionist Clothing
3. Pack for Your Deconstruction Journey
Part 2: Mapping the Wilderness
4. Commit to Embodied Curiosity
5. Lower Your Defenses
6. Gather New and Different Information
7. Examine and Sort
8. Reconcile and Release
9. Recenter On What Is Good
10. Carry On with Compassion
11. Deconstruct without Losing Yourself
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Gil Stafford in The Englewood Review of Books
“Love has taken me to feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison, and to embrace the immigrants in our country, legal or otherwise. I’m sure that sounds familiar. But that’s just me. You’ll have to find your own word and your own spiritual practices. And Angela Herrington’s book is an excellent place to start.”
Foreword Reviews
“Faith coach Angela J. Herrington delivers a reassuring, practical guide for people who are questioning their commitments to Christianity or who are looking to trade 'toxic, man-made religion' for something healthier. . . . Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself is an empathetic, realistic self-help companion for those on painful but necessary spiritual quests.”
“To deconstruct is to nurture networks of new language through relationships that heal and call us into being. This book creates conditions for other possible worlds that always contain multitudes. May our faith no longer be toxic to ourselves and our community, but may our faith be a practice and orientation that guides us to plant seeds for other worlds to emerge, so that we can make meaning in ways that call forth the divine in everything. If you’re struggling to find yourself in the swirl of deconstructing your faith, I hope this book calls you back to relationship with yourself and with others and inspires you to think beyond the dogma of toxic religion.”
—Roberto Che Espinoza, author of Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation
“When I started my deconstruction process more than twenty years ago, I felt completely alone. No one was talking about this stuff, and raising a question got you dirty looks or worse! What I would have given for a guide like this one! Angela Herrington has written a comforting and beautiful balm for the soul. For all who are wrestling, wondering, and wandering in what feels like the barren wasteland of deconstruction, this is the companion for you. This guide will comfort your fears, welcome your questions, and let you know you are not alone.”
—Shannon T. L. Kearns, author of In the Margins: A Transgender Man's Journey with Scripture
“Angela Herrington has tackled a triggering topic in a beautiful and compassionate way. Her approach empowers the reader to explore faith deconstruction at their own pace without shame, fear, or judgment and with no agenda other than authenticity.”
—Tiffany Yecke Brooks, author of Gaslighted by God: Reconstructing a Disillusioned Faith
“Deconstruction is a lonely journey. Sometimes people are on the journey for years before they even know what's happening to them. In Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself Angela Herrington reminds us that we are not alone on this journey. And she equips us with the essential tools to navigate the nuances of this life-changing shift in our worldview.”
—Kristian Smith, author of Breaking All the Rules: An Ancient Framework for Modern Faith
- Title: Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself
- Authors: David Hayward, Angela J. Herrington
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781467466677, 9780802883285, 0802883281, 1467466670
- Resource ID: LLS:9781467466677
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-22T02:17:26Z
Angela J. Herrington helps those deconstructing their faith heal from their religious trauma and cultivate healthy spirituality. She is a Lark’s Song Certified Life Coach and holds a BA in biblical studies from Indiana Wesleyan and an MA in leadership from Wesley Seminary.