She Deconstructed Her Faith - And Stayed Christian | Chelsea Kim Long

Chelsea Kim Long grew up deeply embedded in conservative evangelical Christianity. She knew what she believed, what Christian womanhood was supposed to look like, and the life she expected to have.

Then life got complicated.

Motherhood, a traumatic birth, miscarriage, infertility, a complicated pregnancy, and questions about women's place within Christianity forced Chelsea to reconsider much of the theology she inherited.

But she never wanted to leave Christianity.

Chelsea joins Faithful Politics to discuss her new book, *Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood beyond Patriarchy*, and why deconstruction doesn't always end with walking away from faith.

We discuss patriarchy, male headship, women's spiritual authority, abortion, feminine images of God in Scripture, and the tension of being told by some Christians that you've gone too far while being asked by former Christians why you're still holding on.

At the center of the conversation is a simple question: **Can you question the Christianity you inherited and still remain Christian?**

Bookshop.org - Faithful Politics affiliate link:

Chelsea Kim Long:

Guest Bio:

Chelsea Kim Long is a writer, lay theologian, meditation teacher, and neighborhood pastor whose work explores Christianity through women’s embodied experiences and contemplative spirituality. She co-leads an intentional neighborhood faith community in San Diego, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Her debut book, Faithfully Dissident Daughters: Reclaiming Christian Womanhood Beyond Patriarchy, combines personal narrative, theology, and Christian history to explore women’s spiritual authority, faith reconstruction, and feminine expressions of the Divine within the Christian tradition. The book features a foreword by Dr. Christena Cleveland and releases September 8, 2026, from Westminster John Knox Press.