Empty the pews : stories of leaving the church / edited by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O'Neal ; foreword by Frank Schaeffer.

Purity culture, sexuality, and queerness -- Focusing on the family -- Trauma and abuse in Christian contexts -- American Christianity, diasporas, and missions -- Intellectual odysseys.

This 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.