Back in Episode 32, Dr. Oord, Kelley, and Erin discuss the idea of faith deconstruction - a process in which a person steps away from the religious context in which they were raised, questions the doctrines, and arrives at new conclusions about their beliefs.

In this episode, Kelley and Erin meet Chelsea, someone who went through her own deconstruction and has since developed a faith that is non-traditional, progressive, and very rooted in both classical religious practice and anthropological human community building. 

Chelsea Kim Long is a lay theologian, Cyristian mystic, meditation teacher, and a neighborhood faith practitioner.  Above all, she identifies as a mother. In this conversation, she openly discusses her own spiritual journey, the impact that motherhood had on her deconstruction, the impact of politics on the female body, and the benefits of practicing her faith in an intentionally small group.

Chelsea writes at the intersection of faith deconstruction, the political and theological implications of living in a female body, and the impossible demands on modern American mothers.

SIDE NOTE: The community-based church that Chelsea describes sounds a lot like the home church described by Linda Pieczynski in Episode 19 (Women in the Church Part 2).

This episode was first released on September 23, 2024.