Wow, this is spot on and something I can't remember seeing addressed elsewhere.
Going from a married, middle class woman struggling to recover from Long Covid to a poor widow overnight was eye opening in the worst way. I became a complete "other." The more I questioned or spoke out on the challenges faced by people like me, the more outright hatred or abrupt coldness I received from "Christians." It has been brutal. Thank you for shining a light on this.
On a side note, is there any coalition or place that lists churches that are CN rejecters? Screening church websites and sermons can be exhausting.
Thanks for sharing and I’m sorry it has been so hard. There isn’t a list of CN rejecting congregations, but a number of denominations have created explicit statements against CN. Hope you’re able to find a supportive place. They are out there, but it is tiring having to look.
Kristen, I mentioned your situation to Virgin Monk Boy, who posted the story above on his Substack (he didn’t write it). I have Long Covid & have followed him frequently since he started his Substack. I shared your comment & this was his response:
Tell Kristen this. Any church that treats a grieving woman with Long Covid like a nuisance is not a church. It is a marketing department for empire. She should look for communities shaped b compassion, not culture wars. Red Letter Christians, The Christian Left, and liberal-leaning congregations are usually safe places. Real churchs don’t screen out the suffering. They sit with them.
Beth here, with Long Covid too. If you’re on Substack there are a number of them that focus on Long Covid & wondering if any of them might have followers that could answer your question. If you want any help with this, I’d be happy to check with the LC posts & see if any of them have any experience with situations like yours. Just send a message to Beth Ann Kepple. I have spiritual beliefs but not a church goer so no experience with that & it sucks that youre going thru this. Message me if you ever need support. Or a good joke to help. Sending prayers 🙏. I am so sorry for the loss of your husband & also struggling to recover from Long Covid. It sucks.
It isn’t quite the same, but you could check out the site of The Postevangelical Collective. I think it is safe to say that all those churches would reject CN, although there would be many other CN-rejecting churches not in that collective.
Good research. I have been disabled for a large portion of life. It was an "invisible " disability.
Unfortunately even before the rise of Christian Nationalism, many Americans subscribed to the survival of the fittest. Ironic as that is an Evolutionary theory and Christian Nationalist don't believe in evolution. Maybe they pick and choose.
What I have noticed with alarm is the amount of Eugenics being preached by these people. Nazis have nothing on these guys. They already are instituting policies to "cull" the American population.
Another irony is that these policies are completely against Jesus's teachings. Not to mention the 10 commandments of not killing.
Andrew, I'm so glad that you chose to study this. Your data confirms a hunch that I was starting to look into from an academic perspective within the field of rhetoric. This is an oversimplification, but I have found that evangelical churches are not for people with neurodiversity or who have abilities that are different from what is considered normal.
I have AuDHD. As I have grown into being who I really am and not masking constantly, I realized that the church environment I was raised in (and my home environment permeated by church) taught me that the way I was created was just wrong. At best, my brain was considered something that could be healed through prayer and accountability. At worst, it was considered sinful, something to be handled with tough love (harsh, sometimes physical, discipline.)
I care a great deal about the langauge used in religious spaces. I was confused as a person growing up in evangelical churches that we would always say that we believed in grace, forgiveness, inclusion, and free will and then behave exactly the opposite. Everyone else seemed to be in on a joke that I wasn't privy to - that we were saying these things, but, *wink wink* - that's a bait and switch - it's all about power and control and exploitation of the weak. But, now that background gives me insight into what terms to look at for critical discourse analysis. :) I'm gonna hyperfocus on that for a few months now.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It can be hard in those spaces. Even well-meaning people can accidentally perpetuate some of the harmful stereotypes. Wishing you the best on your journey.
Andrew, thank you so much for your work. I’ve read your books and found them very helpful in my fight here against Christian nationalism. I just finished listening to the podcast you did on Straight, White American Jesus and found it equally helpful.
Is there a way that I can get access to your article? I would really appreciate it.
As you may know, we have a totally unfettered voucher program here in Arizona. I think this information would be very helpful to those finding ways to add more regulation. Thank you.
Your piece lays out the terrain with the clarity most people avoid. I’ve lived under systems that decide who counts and who doesn’t, and once you’ve seen that machinery up close, you recognize its shadows anywhere, even wrapped in scripture, even camouflaged as “values.” What you’re describing isn’t just policy; it’s the quiet cruelty that grows when a nation forgets its weakest are the measure of its strength. Your work names the danger without flinching, and that kind of truth-telling is what keeps a democracy from slipping into something darker.
Christian nationalism always reveals itself the same way. First it wraps cruelty in a Bible verse, then it calls the people it harms “the problem,” and finally it pretends starving public programs is a form of holiness.
Ableism fits neatly into that pipeline because it lets them pretend suffering is a personal failure instead of a shared responsibility. If you convince the country that disability is an individual flaw, you never have to admit the system is the part that’s broken.
And that’s the whole trick. Make people disposable, then claim divine approval for disposing of them.
Virgin Monk Boy isn’t fooled. A society that refuses to care for its most vulnerable isn’t righteous. It’s just announcing its own spiritual bankruptcy.
Wow, this is spot on and something I can't remember seeing addressed elsewhere.
Going from a married, middle class woman struggling to recover from Long Covid to a poor widow overnight was eye opening in the worst way. I became a complete "other." The more I questioned or spoke out on the challenges faced by people like me, the more outright hatred or abrupt coldness I received from "Christians." It has been brutal. Thank you for shining a light on this.
On a side note, is there any coalition or place that lists churches that are CN rejecters? Screening church websites and sermons can be exhausting.
Thanks for sharing and I’m sorry it has been so hard. There isn’t a list of CN rejecting congregations, but a number of denominations have created explicit statements against CN. Hope you’re able to find a supportive place. They are out there, but it is tiring having to look.
Kristen, I mentioned your situation to Virgin Monk Boy, who posted the story above on his Substack (he didn’t write it). I have Long Covid & have followed him frequently since he started his Substack. I shared your comment & this was his response:
Tell Kristen this. Any church that treats a grieving woman with Long Covid like a nuisance is not a church. It is a marketing department for empire. She should look for communities shaped b compassion, not culture wars. Red Letter Christians, The Christian Left, and liberal-leaning congregations are usually safe places. Real churchs don’t screen out the suffering. They sit with them.
Beth here, with Long Covid too. If you’re on Substack there are a number of them that focus on Long Covid & wondering if any of them might have followers that could answer your question. If you want any help with this, I’d be happy to check with the LC posts & see if any of them have any experience with situations like yours. Just send a message to Beth Ann Kepple. I have spiritual beliefs but not a church goer so no experience with that & it sucks that youre going thru this. Message me if you ever need support. Or a good joke to help. Sending prayers 🙏. I am so sorry for the loss of your husband & also struggling to recover from Long Covid. It sucks.
It isn’t quite the same, but you could check out the site of The Postevangelical Collective. I think it is safe to say that all those churches would reject CN, although there would be many other CN-rejecting churches not in that collective.
Such a great reminder of how CN affects all aspects of American life. I worry about this a lot given that I work with people with disabilities daily.
Thank you, and thank you for your work. It’s going to take all of us doing what we can, where we can.
Good research. I have been disabled for a large portion of life. It was an "invisible " disability.
Unfortunately even before the rise of Christian Nationalism, many Americans subscribed to the survival of the fittest. Ironic as that is an Evolutionary theory and Christian Nationalist don't believe in evolution. Maybe they pick and choose.
What I have noticed with alarm is the amount of Eugenics being preached by these people. Nazis have nothing on these guys. They already are instituting policies to "cull" the American population.
Another irony is that these policies are completely against Jesus's teachings. Not to mention the 10 commandments of not killing.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your experience. Always helpful to hear.
Andrew, I'm so glad that you chose to study this. Your data confirms a hunch that I was starting to look into from an academic perspective within the field of rhetoric. This is an oversimplification, but I have found that evangelical churches are not for people with neurodiversity or who have abilities that are different from what is considered normal.
I have AuDHD. As I have grown into being who I really am and not masking constantly, I realized that the church environment I was raised in (and my home environment permeated by church) taught me that the way I was created was just wrong. At best, my brain was considered something that could be healed through prayer and accountability. At worst, it was considered sinful, something to be handled with tough love (harsh, sometimes physical, discipline.)
I care a great deal about the langauge used in religious spaces. I was confused as a person growing up in evangelical churches that we would always say that we believed in grace, forgiveness, inclusion, and free will and then behave exactly the opposite. Everyone else seemed to be in on a joke that I wasn't privy to - that we were saying these things, but, *wink wink* - that's a bait and switch - it's all about power and control and exploitation of the weak. But, now that background gives me insight into what terms to look at for critical discourse analysis. :) I'm gonna hyperfocus on that for a few months now.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It can be hard in those spaces. Even well-meaning people can accidentally perpetuate some of the harmful stereotypes. Wishing you the best on your journey.
Andrew, thank you so much for your work. I’ve read your books and found them very helpful in my fight here against Christian nationalism. I just finished listening to the podcast you did on Straight, White American Jesus and found it equally helpful.
Is there a way that I can get access to your article? I would really appreciate it.
As you may know, we have a totally unfettered voucher program here in Arizona. I think this information would be very helpful to those finding ways to add more regulation. Thank you.
Thanks for reaching out! I'd gladly send you a PDF. I'm at aw122 at iu dot edu. Send me an email and I'll send it along.
Thank you, Andrew!!
Your piece lays out the terrain with the clarity most people avoid. I’ve lived under systems that decide who counts and who doesn’t, and once you’ve seen that machinery up close, you recognize its shadows anywhere, even wrapped in scripture, even camouflaged as “values.” What you’re describing isn’t just policy; it’s the quiet cruelty that grows when a nation forgets its weakest are the measure of its strength. Your work names the danger without flinching, and that kind of truth-telling is what keeps a democracy from slipping into something darker.
I’m so glad you found this helpful and I really appreciate the encouragement!
Christian nationalism always reveals itself the same way. First it wraps cruelty in a Bible verse, then it calls the people it harms “the problem,” and finally it pretends starving public programs is a form of holiness.
Ableism fits neatly into that pipeline because it lets them pretend suffering is a personal failure instead of a shared responsibility. If you convince the country that disability is an individual flaw, you never have to admit the system is the part that’s broken.
And that’s the whole trick. Make people disposable, then claim divine approval for disposing of them.
Virgin Monk Boy isn’t fooled. A society that refuses to care for its most vulnerable isn’t righteous. It’s just announcing its own spiritual bankruptcy.
Thank you! And I’m glad you find the explanations useful.