I studied political science and English together in college. Reading conservative legislation blew holes in my flawed concept of what being a republican was. I was told throughout my childhood by pastors that you couldn’t be a Christian and vote Democrat. /1 https://twitter.com/feministemiiy/status/1252838676905594880

I always had gay friends and couldn’t comprehend why, in a non-theocracy, the Christian view of homosexuality should have any bearing on gay marriage laws. I started finding ways to alter my perspective like holding the opinion that “marriages” should be done away with...

...in lieu of nonreligious civil unions for gay and straight couples.

I had a friend in college who was raped and needed an abortion. Seeing what she went through made me disgusted in ever calling myself “pro-life.”

I then called myself “only fiscally conservative.”

I finally decided to embrace the liberal title while talking to one of my best college friends, Nicole, who was the most empathetic bleeding-heart liberal I’d ever met.

Rejecting republican ideology VERY quickly led to atheism.

I had always wanted to be a Democrat but was afraid of spending eternity in hell for it. Once I let that fear go, I finally felt free to ask questions about my faith. It unraveled very quickly from there.

I don’t think people realize how intertwined politics...

...and religion are to evangelicals, but church leaders instill fear of hell into their congregations and promote conservatism as god’s will. I still wonder how much of that can be attributed to wanting to remain tax-exempt.