Prominent progressive Christian figure Jen Hatmaker has disclosed her departure from the Church, sparking discussions about faith and institutional religion. Known for her influence as an author and speaker, Hatmaker shared her current stance on organized Christianity, mentioning she might never return.
“I’m out of the church right now. I don’t know that I will ever go back, and I don’t know that I will never go back,” Hatmaker expressed in an interview with Time prior to the launch of her book, Awake. “My lifelong exposure has left me in a place where I know too much. I have been a part of the problem. So I need a break from the machine.”
With a following of over 1.5 million, Hatmaker, aged 51, continues her spiritual journey with Jesus but distances herself from institutional Christianity.
“I don’t feel like I am forfeiting or want to forfeit my faith. I’m relearning what faith can look like outside of the structures. And I’m finding it very healing, very gentle,” she noted.
In her memoir, Hatmaker describes the end of her 26-year marriage to pastor Brandon Hatmaker, following his infidelity in 2020. The pair shared five children and were leaders at Austin New Church.
“Divorce is not that interesting of a story. It happens to every other one of us,” she remarked. Reflecting on her past, she added, “I started examining all the bricks that built that house — patriarchy, religious subculture, body shame, gender limitations, purity culture, misogyny — I started to realize that maybe it just wasn’t such a shock that that house came down.”
Hatmaker questioned whether the Church contributes to marital issues, stating, “hard to parse out” the threads of “health and connection and goodness and longevity.”
“They’re in there, but they’re interspersed with all these others which actively sabotage the system,” she elaborated, criticizing how the Church idealizes marriage, potentially fostering unhealthy relationships.
Facing backlash post-divorce, Hatmaker shared, “After the divorce became public, it was all eyes on me. ‘What did she do? I knew this was going to happen. She had walked away from the tenets of her faith. She let Satan into the marriage,’” she recounted, emphasizing the blame directed at her.
Critiquing the sexual ethics of the 1980s purity culture, she described her experience as “shame- and fear-based,” impacting not only her personal life but also her views on faith.
Hatmaker’s critiques of “corrosive systems” have positioned her as a controversial figure within Evangelical circles. Her website acknowledges her shift from a favored status to a more contentious one.
While she maintains her love for Jesus, Hatmaker admitted, “church is hard for me, and this makes me sad, like I am missing my childhood home.”
Her support for same-sex marriage in 2016 led to her books being dropped by Lifeway. She asserted, “From a civil rights and civil liberties side and from just a human being side, any two adults have the right to choose who they want to love,” advocating for equal legal protections.
In 2020, Hatmaker launched a podcast, “A Moment of Pride,” celebrating her lesbian daughter and expressing regret over her past views on homosexuality.
“I wouldn’t change one ounce of who she is. Not a molecule. Not a moment. The only thing I would change in our story, is I wish I could go back and shake myself to life sooner — well, well, well, before,” she said, advocating for inclusive spaces within churches.
In 2022, she wrote in support of abortion rights, highlighting women’s autonomy in life decisions.
By 2023, Hatmaker was promoting “sexual wellness” products, like “libido gummies” and “arousal oil,” on social media, underscoring her evolving approach to faith and personal well-being.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
