Rachel Held Evans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rachel Held Evans
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| Born | Rachel Grace Held June 8, 1981 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | May 4, 2019 (aged 37) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Bryan College |
| Period | 2004–2019 |
| Genre | Christian |
| Spouse |
Dan Evans
(m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
Rachel Held Evans (born Rachel Grace Held) was an American writer. She was known for her work as a Christian columnist, blogger, and author. Her books often explored faith and doubt in modern Christianity. Two of her books became New York Times bestsellers. These were A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Searching for Sunday.
Contents
Rachel's Early Life and School
Rachel Evans was born in Alabama. Her parents were Robin and Peter Held. She spent her first years in Birmingham, Alabama. When she was 14, her family moved to Dayton, Tennessee. Her father started a job at Bryan College there.
Rachel went to Rhea County High School. After that, she attended Bryan College. She studied English literature and earned her degree in 2003.
Rachel's Writing Career
After college, Rachel moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. She worked as an intern for the Chattanooga Times Free Press newspaper.
In 2004, Rachel went back to Dayton. She worked full-time for the local paper, The Herald-News. By 2006, she became a humor columnist for the paper. She wrote articles for free. In 2007, she won an award for her funny columns. She also started writing articles for national magazines. Around this time, she began writing on her own blog.
Her First Books
In 2008, Rachel signed a deal for her first book. It was called Evolving in Monkey Town. This book talked about her journey of faith. She wrote about moving from strong religious beliefs to accepting questions and doubts. The title came from the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. This trial happened in Dayton, where she lived.
Her second book came out in 2012. It was titled A Year of Biblical Womanhood. In this book, she described living a very strict "Biblical" lifestyle for a whole year. This book gained a lot of attention. Rachel even appeared on The Today Show to talk about it. In 2014, her first book was re-released. It was given a new title: Faith Unraveled.
Writing for The Washington Post
In 2015, Rachel wrote an important article. It was for The Washington Post newspaper. The article was called "Want millennials back in the pews? Stop trying to make church 'cool.'" In it, she said she was a millennial. She believed churches were trying too hard to be trendy. She felt that young people wanted more than just a "cool" church. They wanted a real and lasting connection to God.
Evolving Faith Conference
In 2018, Rachel Held Evans and Sarah Bessey started something new. They co-founded the Evolving Faith Conference. This was a meeting for young progressive Christians. They thought about 200 people would come to the first event. But 1,400 people actually attended! Jeff Chu joined them as an organizer for the 2019 conference. After Rachel's death, this conference became a way for her readers and friends to find comfort.
Rachel's Death
In April 2019, Rachel had a severe allergic reaction. It was to medicine she was taking for an infection. Doctors placed her in a medically induced coma. By May 2, her brain began to swell badly. She sadly passed away on May 4, 2019.
Her Family Life
Rachel married her college boyfriend, Dan Evans, in 2003. They had two children together. She was a member of the Episcopal Church. She attended St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Cleveland, Tennessee. Before she died, she no longer called herself an evangelical. This was because she felt the movement was too closely linked to certain political groups.
Rachel's Legacy
Emma Green, a writer for The Atlantic, wrote about Rachel's impact. She said Rachel was part of a group of Christian women. These women worked to change how Christianity was taught and seen in the U.S. Green also said Rachel's legacy was her refusal to let only traditional, conservative men define Christianity. Her open and honest journey of faith, even with doubts, helped many other writers and pastors. It showed them they could also be Christians and share their own views.
Books by Rachel
- Evolving in Monkey Town (2010), republished as Faith Unraveled (2014)
- A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master (2012)
- Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church (2015)
- Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again (2018)
- Wholehearted Faith: Embracing Doubt, Loving God, and Finding Community (2021, published after her death)
