Bethany Ober Mannon brilliantly demonstrates the ways activist evangelical women confront their movement at the same time that they enrich the movement’s role in US politics writ large--in studied interpretations of church doctrines, in considered personal decision-making, in social-justice activism, in socio-cultural interactions across differences of every kind, and, ultimately, in informed citizenship. Mannon's illuminating study of activist evangelical women, their generous orthodoxy, and their commitment to human dignity and civil discourse will long serve as a significant resource to rhetorical studies.
~Cheryl Glenn, Distinguished Professor of English and Women's Studies, Emerita, The Pennsylvania State University
Bethany Ober Mannon's goal in studying the rhetoric of evangelical women is 'to explain, not to advocate,' and her book deftly illustrates how scholars can do just. With the respect exhibited by Kate Bowler in her treatment of preachers' wives, Mannon studies personal narratives of evangelical household names like Austin Channing Brown, Rachel Held Evans, and more. She convincingly shows the sophisticated moves made by these women to question the very tenets of the evangelical movement.
~Charlotte Hogg, Professor and Director of Composition, Texas Christian University
Bethany Mannon’s 'I Grew Up in the Church' has much to say to scholars interested in feminist rhetoric, religious rhetoric, cultural rhetorics, whiteness studies, and genre studies. Mannon's careful and convincing analysis of a wide range of Evangelical women’s personal narratives reveals the complex and cogent arguments evangelical women have made and the nuance and power this genre affords. Mannon deftly puts on display the wide rhetorical possibilities within personal narrative, as the women rhetors she studies use it to craft their ethos and cultivate rhetorical leadership, to witness and testify to experience, to critique and call for accountability, and to question and reflect. Readers will ultimately be persuaded by Mannon’s compelling overarching argument that these narratives are practices of hope.
~Jessica Enoch, Professor of English and Director of the Academic Writing Program, University of Maryland
Bethany Ober Mannon highlights the rhetorical efficacy of women’s personal storytelling within Christianity. As Mannon details, women’s storytelling in the church is often dismissed as emotional rather than rational and as experienced-based rather than scripturally-based. This book sets the story right, showcasing the holy authority and rhetorical strategies of women’s resistance to patriarchy, heterosexism, and white Christian nationalism--even when that means leaving the church.
~Sarah Kornfield, Associate Professor of Communication and Women's & Gender Studies, Hope College
Overall, this book is a thoughtful consideration of evangelical rhetoric. Mannon makes an important argument that evangelical rhetoric has a tone, flavor, and distinct commonalities. Differing from a sociological or theological analysis of evangelicalism, this treatment examines the approaches evangelicals tend to take when making effective arguments. By contrasting the ways women challenged those norms, it provides a clearer picture of possible ways forward.
~Lark Kelsey, Baylor University’s George W. Truett Seminary, Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society
