CBS to Air Crisis-of-Faith Special ‘Deconstructing My Religion’ Dec. 2

CBS will air the faith special Deconstructing My Religion, about what happens when people have doubts about the faith in which they were raised, Dec. 2nd.

The special will feature Linda Kay Klein, author of Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free, which is published by Touchstone, an imprint of CBS-owned Simon & Schuster. As a girl, Klein was told that any expression of her sexuality might reflect poorly on her character. Her book explores how this culture of shame had an impact on her understanding of herself, and why it led to her leaving evangelicalism.

The special also checks in with Blake Chastain and Christopher Stroop, who grew up in evangelical homes and experienced a crisis of faith in their youth. In 2016 they created an online response to white evangelicals’ support for President Trump. Chastain popularized the term “exvangelical” and Stroop is known for his Twitter movement #EmptyThePews.

Also featured is Julie Ingersoll, Ph.D, professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida and author of Building God’s Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction.

John P. Blessington is senior executive producer on Deconstructing My Religion and Liz Kineke is producer. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.