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Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning Hardcover – August 8, 2023

by Sarah Stankorb (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 94 ratings
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In this national bestseller, journalist Sarah Stankorb outlines how access to the internet—its networks, freedom of expression, and resources for deeply researching and reporting on powerful church figures—allowed women to begin dismantling the false authority of evangelical communities that had long demanded their submission.​

A generation of American Christian girls was taught submitting to men is God’s will. They were taught not to question the men in their families or their pastors. They were told to remain sexually pure and trained to feel shame if a man was tempted. Some of these girls were abused and assaulted. Some made to shrink down so small they became a shadow of themselves. To question their leaders was to question God.

All the while, their male leaders built fiefdoms from megachurches and sprawling ministries. They influenced politics and policy. To protect their church’s influence, these men covered up and hid abuse. American Christian patriarchy, as it rose in political power and cultural sway over the past four decades, hurt many faithful believers. Millions of Americans abandoned churches they once loved.

Yet among those who stayed (and a few who still loved the church they fled), a brave group of women spoke up. They built online megaphones, using the democratizing power of technology to create long-overdue change.
 
In Disobedient Women, journalist Sarah Stankorb gives long-overdue recognition for these everyday women as leaders and as voices for a different sort of faith. Their work has driven journalists to help bring abuse stories to national attention. Stankorb weaves together the efforts of these courageous voices in order to present a full, layered portrait of the treatment of women and the fight for change within the modern American church.

Disobedient Women is not just a look at the women who have used the internet to bring down the religious power structures that were meant to keep them quiet, but also a picture of the large-scale changes that are happening within evangelical culture regarding women’s roles, ultimately underscoring the ways technology has created a place for women to challenge traditional institutions from within.
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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Worthy Books
  4. Publication date
    August 8, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6.45 x 1.13 x 10.05 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1546003800
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1546003809
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

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Meet the Disobedient Women

Millions of American women have abandoned their faith because they were made to shrink themselves, feel shame, question their value, and question God. Others clung on, salvaging faith despite the darkness. A brave group of women spoke up, shared their stories, and mobilized online, including

  • Christa Brown, a Southern Baptist sex abuse survivor who assembled a database of known abuse cases on her blog Stop Baptist Predators because the church would not
  • Rachel Frost and others who stepped forward on the blog Recovering Grace to describe how they’d been raised to trust and admire influential pastor Bill Gothard, only to have that trust betrayed
  • Rachel Held Evans, a beloved figure in an online movement that made her a bestselling author, is remembered by readers with the intimacy of a spiritual mentor and an online friend

The stories of these and other women show the transformative power of women raising their voices within and concerning evangelical culture—and the work still needed.

What People Are Saying About Disobedient Women

endorsement from Kristin Kobes du Mez

endorsement from Brad Onishi

endorsement from Bob Smietana

endorsement from Angela Denker

endorsement from Michelle Legro, editor at WIRED

endorsement from Andrew Whitehead

Publishers Weekly starred review

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Journalist Stankorb debuts with an intimate and engrossing look at how a small number of evangelical women have engaged in an "Online battle" with the American evangelical church, challenging the rigid gender roles favored by ultraconservative church leaders… Sheds fascinating light on the process of deprogramming from extremist religion. Weaving in her own faith journey as the child of an abusive alcoholic father, Stankorb delivers a compassionate portrait of pain and perseverance.” 

―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A long overdue expose of how girls and women have been the victims of institutionally protected abuse by all too many previously unaccountable leaders within the Evangelical Christian community in America... highly recommended."―Midwest Book Review

“Filled with accounts of survivors who exposed the shocking patterns of abuse plaguing conservative Christian churches, Disobedient Women centers the voices of women who spoke truth to power and forced an evangelical reckoning. A moving testament to the courage and resilience of women who refused to stay silent.”
 ―Kristin Kobes du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne

“With meticulous reporting and deft writing, journalist Sarah Stankorb tells the story of women who despite great odds and opposition stood up to the Christian leaders and system that abused them and told them they were worthless unless they obeyed… In between the stories of survivors, Stankorb tells the story of the unraveling of her own faith and her own struggles to escape the pain of her family’s past and find a way forward.”

―Bob Smeitana, author of Reorganized Religion

“A book full of devastating honesty, active empathy, and a desire to bring what is holy and abject to light at the same time… As a seasoned reporter, she writes with candor and grace. Stankorb’s is a mature voice, but one that hasn’t lost its sense of urgency or care. The result is a work that will open readers’ eyes to the devastating effects such abuse can have on women, and hope that the more things change . . . the more they might be different next time.”
 ―Brad Onishi, author of Preparing for War and co-host of Straight White American Jesus

“For much of its history white evangelicalism thrived on identifying threats external to the church which served to mobilize those in the pews toward greater devotion. By elevating the brave voices of those who were sexually abused by church leaders and then ignored and abandoned, Sarah Stankorb demonstrates that one of the greatest threats to evangelical witness actually came from within. If there is a future for white evangelicalism, it must include a deep reckoning with the savage destruction caused by abuse. This story is far from over and this book is an ideal place to start the journey.”
 ―Andrew Whitehead, author of Taking America Back for God

"Sarah Stankorb writes with extreme empathy about generations of women who grew up in the church and are finding a way out... unwinding a mental landscape of power and sexuality that informed their entire selves. It takes incredible strength to do this, and Stankorb deeply understands each woman’s journey."
 ―Michelle Legro, editor at WIRED

"Sarah Stankorb takes readers through the ugliest sins and broken places of modern American Christianity, and reminds us that our country’s best heroes are those whose voices were silenced for far too long. In Disobedient Women, you won’t be spared the hard truth about religion - but you’ll also find women in whom to place your trust."

―Angela Denker, pastor and author of Red State Christians

About the Author

SARAH STANKORB has written hundreds of reported articles and essays, which have appeared in publications, including: The Washington Post, The New York Times, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, and VICE. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and as a kid, often found escape in books. She studied religion and philosophy at Westminster College, and ethics and South Asian religion and history at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. Her beat spans religion, politics, gender, and power, but is informed by questions of basic morality. This means investigating wrongdoing; it can mean reporting on how people find the strength to prevail. Sarah lives in Ohio with her husband and two children.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Worthy Books (August 8, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1546003800
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1546003809
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.45 x 1.13 x 10.05 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

About the author

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Sarah Stankorb

Sarah Stankorb

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Sarah Stankorb is a journalist, essayist, and the author of Disobedient Women. She was born near Youngstown, Ohio, and often found escape in books. She studied world religions and philosophy at Westminster College, a place surrounded by rolling Pennsylvania farm country. A chance to study abroad in Northern Ireland, then Israel further opened her eyes to how faith (and conflict) can shape people’s everyday existence. She earned her master’s degree from University of Chicago’s Divinity School, where she studied ethics and South Asian religion and history.

Hundreds of her pieces have been featured in publications, including: VICE, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Republic, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and others. Her beat spans religion, politics, gender, and power, but is informed by questions of basic morality.

She’s more fun than all this sounds.

Sarah lives in Ohio with her husband and two children, and she writes a few times a month about the quirks of American faith at In Polite Company via Substack.

https://sarahstankorb.substack.com/

https://instagram.com/sarahstankorb

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
94 global ratings
Women of Courage
5 out of 5 stars
Women of Courage
Sarah Stankorb does an incredible job giving voices to a movement that some thought was small and insignificant.Woven through this radical truth is her own story, engaging, heartbreaking, heartwarming and poignant.Women are leading the resistance. We are the Disobedient Women.
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Top reviews from the United States

Cindy
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
Just finished the book yesterday and I appreciate how much research went into it and that she named the names of abusers so there's no doubt who they are. Having been born and raised in a Baptist home in the south, I was taught most of the things the book covers regarding women,but have since left that lifestyle. The reports of abuse are staggering and infuriating. My only wish is that at some point, these and future abusers will be held accountable by the justice system. They belong behind bars just like abusers outside the church. Thank you, Sarah, and all the women who have come forward.
4 people found this helpful
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Kimberly K. Osment
5.0 out of 5 stars So proud
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
I WAS THERE !!

I AM A DISOBEDIENT WOMAN <3

I've forgotten page numbers. 148 sticks in my mind!

I know this story UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

She got it right !!

So grateful for her research, reporting and responsible writing

Accurate with all the names and details.

We can't thank her enough for telling all these events !!
3 people found this helpful
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M. Iddings
4.0 out of 5 stars An Emotional Book with Lots of Triggers
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
This was a hard read for me. There were things that hit home and made me squirm. Like I had my kids read “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”. I had no idea the damage that book caused.🫤

There were things that made me angry 😡. Actually lots of things made me angry in this book. All the sexual abuse done by spiritual leaders abusing their authority.

There were some ah ha moments in the chapters on Moscow, ID, where I could connect some dots relating to Christian Nationalism.

There were a few things I completely disagreed on, because she was parroting the same tired lies about Trump being racist. I can not understand why there are so many Blacks and Hispanics that support Trump if he is so racist. This doesn’t compute. My Hispanic neighbor flies two different colored Trump flags on his truck and my daughter lives in a Black neighborhood and her Black neighbors said they liked her Trump sign. I recently saw a video of Trump having a good time laughing with Black employees at a drive in. This doesn’t seem racist to me 🤷🏻‍♀️

And then it made me sad because the abuse most of these people endured caused them to throw faith in Jesus and anything to do with church down the toilet.😔
2 people found this helpful
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Nori J. Rost
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant Powerful Needed
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024
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This book should be read by any who call themselves Christian or by those who have been harmed by those who call themselves Christian.
One person found this helpful
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Abigail A
3.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening read
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2023
This is a long read about many abusive men I already know about. Gothard, Phillips, SBC, and Doug Wilson. I hope light is shed on the problems.
The end turned political and completely turned me off.
I have a much more detailed review on Goodreads.
4 people found this helpful
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GaGirl
5.0 out of 5 stars “Disobedient Women” Is Accurate, Compelling, and Engrossing
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
So far, I’ve read 5 chapters and will report back when I complete “Disobedient Women”. Thus far, Sarah Stankorb is masterful at summarizing the history and accounts of abuse within the culture of communities that purport to be Christian. She found the best of the bloggers and survivor sites and I am very thankful for the people who allowed her to tell their stories. I look forward to Chapter 8, “Daughters of Stan”, because I have followed that blogger for years. She sees through the smoke and mirrors and calls offenders out and everyone who covers for them. I count myself as a disobedient woman. Thank you, Sarah Stankorb.
5 people found this helpful
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family
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Wow. I am only on chapter two and I am hooked. Didn't think I'd enjoy a book about women and religion but I am finding it fascinating.
2 people found this helpful
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Jonathan Foster
5.0 out of 5 stars Courageous
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023
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This took a lot of courage to write... and it takes courage to read... I hope everyone does. Thanks Sarah for writing this book.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bristol Book Blogger 📚📖📓
3.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't conclude how expected
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is an okay read if you don't already know anything about evangelism, fundamentalism, complementarianism, or the Southern Baptist church. It explains what harm its tenets cause and how the men preaching authoritarianism hurt women and children, and how they're responsible for covering up abuse of power and spiritual abuse. But it doesn't show how women got anywhere with speaking out. It kind of ends abruptly after describing what they said and where.

The author also meanders, going back and forth between her own experiences - which has nothing to do with the subject matter -and name-drops about people so often I forgot who was who and what relevance they had to the book.
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