Dismantled: Abusive Church Culture and the Clergy Women Who Leave

Behind the walls of Protestant churches across America is a story that has not been told, until now -- the systemic derailment and disappearance of GenX-Millennial clergy women. Through careful theoretical analysis and in-depth interviews with clergy who have left abusive church systems, Horan applies a gender-critical approach to the phenomenon of "clergy killing." With expert analysis of the social dynamics of feminized servanthood, gendered scapegoating, toxic masculinity, and the mother-daughter wound within intergenerational parish life, this important body of research exposes the oppressive relational dynamics that are pushing clergy women out of active ministry. With a desire to validate and empower survivors of religious trauma, Horan centers the voices of clergy women who are reconstituting their lives and vocational calling beyond toxic church culture. Read more