Joel Kuhlin and Julia Kuhlin’s recent article on religious deconstruction in Sweden has been referenced in Christianity Today, a widely read evangelical magazine on faith and culture.

The study examines the role of podcasts like Exvangeliet in forming networks among those leaving conservative Christian communities in Scandinavia, where secularity often renders religious disaffiliation unremarkable.

Here is a little excerpt from the Christianity Today’s piece, written by Kate Shellnutt:

Scandinavia ranks among the most secular regions in the world, where “religion was something simply left behind in the process of becoming an adult. The leaving of religion was something hardly memorable and of little personal significance,” Swedish scholars wrote in a paper out this month on religious deconstruction.

Yet a small network has emerged among Christians who had a different experience leaving Sweden’s minority churches, including charismatic, Pentecostal, and Evangelical Free.

“The stories told in the podcast Exvangeliet (and other similar podcasts) give a radically different picture of what it might mean to leave a Christian community in Sweden. The stories narrated are full of anger, bitterness, anxiety, loneliness, and grief,” scholars wrote. “Podcasted stories highlight that it is also the case that the ‘secular Swedes’ have little understanding of religion and the struggle of leaving a religious community.”

The full Christianity Today piece can be found here, and Joel’s original article is available for further reading.