iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I am so glad these are finally arriving! Enjoy!

Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"They wear sport jackets and beards and pretend to be intellectuals while engaging in the most basic form of warfare: name-calling and dehumanization." substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

The theobro-to-extremist pipeline

Hate is profitable, especially when targeted at women

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Imagine this being your best defense: "In arguing that Trump was not engaging in viewpoint discrimination... Velchik said the president had criticized other news organizations, but not banned them. He noted, for example, that Trump had called ABC 'the worst.'" apnews.com/article/trum...

apnews.com

CNN, MS NOW and Politico back at the White House after judge ordered Trump to lift ban

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of the three news outlets.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If you've read DAMNED IF SHE DOES, could you please leave a review on Amazon (plus Goodreads if you have the energy)? I've been linking to Bookshop to promote the book, but a lot of people get their books via Amazon. This book needs the benefit of reader recommendations there too. Thank you ALL!

Image of Damned If She Does book on Amazon, with an orange circle noting it only has five reviews so far, a week out from publication.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

ICYMI (on quitting): "Women in higher control church communities often don’t have a friend group outside of church... For others, it is wonderfully liberating. For some, it’s lonely in a different way..." From my interview with @religionnewssvc's Kathryn Post. religionnews.com/2026/09/17/w...

religionnews.com

Why are women leaving churches and where are they going instead? A journalist explains.

(RNS) — Sarah Stankorb's latest book, ‘Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion,’ published on Tuesday.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

DC-local friends, I would love to see you at People's Book! Plus, as a bonus, I'll be there with Sarah McCammon. RSVP at the link please! withfriends.co/event/290186...

withfriends.co

9/17 - Sarah Stankorb for Damned if She Does by People's Book

Get tickets and support People's Book by becoming a member

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I finally watched it. I didn't think I could. I absorb so much tragedy covering women's stories of abuse within churches. Today I was quoted in the @nytimes about abuse, misogyny and how all of it is driving women away from the church. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | What a Popular Netflix Show Tells Us About Women and Faith

When faith is used to control and subordinate women, they leave the church.

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People's Book @peoplesbooktakoma.com · 16/09/2026

Women's stories matter. Come hear @sarahstankorb.bsky.social talk about her brand new book - Damned if She Does -- this Thursday at 6pm. RSVP: withfriends.co/event/290186...

withfriends.co

9/17 - Sarah Stankorb for Damned if She Does by People's Book

Get tickets and support People's Book by becoming a member

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Olivia Campbell @oliviacampbell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Happiest of pub days to my dear friend @sarahstankorb.bsky.social! Do yourself a favor and snag a copy of "Damned if She Does," a brave, essential book. As someone who only writes about long dead people, I can't imagine the courage it takes to do this work. Kudos, Sarah, you're an inspiration.

Cover of book "Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What it Means for the Future of Religion"

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I am so proud. My second book, DAMNED IF SHE DOES: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, is out today. Not only do these women's stories matter individually, they are a major indicator for the future of religion and this country. www.broadleafbooks.com/store/produc...

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Will (Faithful Politics) @faithfulpolitics.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Why are so many women leaving church? @sarahstankorb.bsky.social "Damned If She Does" looks at the accumulated pressure of purity culture, abuse, racism, LGBTQ exclusion, politics, and Christian nationalism. Sometimes faith remains. Trust in the institution does not. youtu.be/c_by7EAAuOA

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Rev. Angela Denker @angeladenker.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Want to feel empowered? Three groundbreaking books released today - by three authors who I not only call friends but colleagues in the movement to combat rising authoritarianism. @sarahstankorb.bsky.social @bradleyonishi.bsky.social @kkdumez.bsky.social angeladenker.substack.com/p/three-book...

angeladenker.substack.com

Three Books to Empower a Movement

On AMERICAN CAESAR, DAMNED IF SHE DOES, and LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE

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Dr. Bradley Onishi @bradleyonishi.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Book Launch party 🎉

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Thinking about how a girl at Christian summer camp asked me if my dad was in Al Qaeda and I got in trouble for asking if her dad was a Klansman bc “her question was understandable”

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 11/09/2026

25 years ago, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, including 2,753 New Yorkers. As we remember that terrible day, let us also remember the first responders, office workers and strangers who ran toward danger to help each other.

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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

"He said that I’m disrespecting Jesus. You want to know what actually disrespects Jesus? Kicking the sick off their healthcare to give tax cuts to billionaires. Bombing innocent schoolchildren in Iran, and sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war." PLEASE WATCH AND SHARE!

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If you are someone who has deconstructed from evangelicalism and aren't following @marlataviano, you should be. She is in the process of marking up her own book from twenty years ago. It is intense and extraordinary. Check out my interview with Marla. sarahstankorb.substack.com/p/a-public-r...

sarahstankorb.substack.com

From evangelical darling to heretic poet

An interview with Marla Taviano

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Hey, hey, Minneapolis! I hope to see some of you tonight! I got special permission for a pre-launch event and I chose Minneapolis. (Once you read Chapter 2, you will understand why.) #damnedifshedoes moonpalacebooks.com/events/56142...

moonpalacebooks.com

Early Release Book Launch: Damned if She Does | Moon Palace Books

Your neighborhood independent bookstore located in south Minneapolis. Selling new and used books since 2012.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

*I* appear very little in Damned If She Does, but I thought I owed it to readers to introduce myself and explain why women quitting church has fascinated me for years. If you want a sneak peek, please see this excerpt, shared today by @therevealer.bsky.social. therevealer.org/why-i-quit-c...

therevealer.org

Why I Quit Church—and Why I’m Not Alone — The Revealer

An excerpt from “Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion”

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The Revealer @therevealer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Our September Issue! Articles on religious diversity & democracy, global Hindu nationalism, Jewish food, evangelical silence on LGBTQ Christians, & women leaving religion from @nberlat.bsky.social, @anujbehal.bsky.social, @adriennekrone.bsky.social, & @sarahstankorb.bsky.social. therevealer.org

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Hey Minneapolis, please come out and see us for my very first book event for DAMNED IF SHE DOES--a pre-event, days before the book is actually supposed to hit stores! Please invite your favorite humanist, agnostic, atheist, slightly witchy, lapsed-Catholic or lapsed-[fill in the blank] friend!

Graphic that says The Damned Book Tour, Sept 10, 7 pm, Minneapolis, Moon Palace Books, an early release event for Damned If She Does, featuring author Sarah Stankorb, in conversation with Angela Denker, author of Disciples of White Jesus.

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4fuxake @blueheartedly1.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

If you owe a woman $5 million dollars for sexual assault, you also owe the country your resignation. It's that simple.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This endorsement meant a lot to me. I first met Debbie through an interview. We talked about how organized atheism was changing and how women and, in particular women of color, were confronting challenges with the old guard.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I looks like if you preorder you can get DISD pre-pub day! 🔥

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

We covered so much in this episode of Cafeteria Christian, but one of the key points for me was reflecting on how lonely it can be to leave church (but not as lonely, sometimes as staying) and how I really hope DISD shows people they are not alone. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3...

podcasts.apple.com

#372 Damned if She Does, with Sarah Stankorb

Podcast Episode · Cafeteria Christian · August 31 · 1h 6m

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I was so thrilled to get to talk to @bradleyonishi.bsky.social for Straight White American Jesus. We talked Damned If She Does, what pushes people out of church, and even ended with a little plea from me for remaining progressive Christians to claw back their faith from Christian nationalists.

axismundinetwork.substack.com

The Axis Report: Damned If She Does - Why Women Are Leaving the Church

Newsletter + The Longform Interview

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Who else is going to Wild Goose? It's my first time and it would be so fun to see some of you there! I'm hosting a workshop Friday at noon (Apostate Story Hour) and then have a book signing at 6 pm Friday. Otherwise, I'll be roaming around and hanging out through Saturday morning. #wildgoose

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

There was enough to Dolly's extraordinary character that it’s as if people can only latch onto a piece of her, and that bit is big enough to work like a mirror reflecting what they wish to see elsewhere in the world. sarahstankorb.substack.com/p/my-dolly?u...

sarahstankorb.substack.com

My Dolly

She was a mirror to a lot of our greatest hopes, highest virtues

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Bethany Mannon @drbethany.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I'm reading *Damned if She Does* right now and it's a really good take on how the evangelical church has mistreated women. Some history I didn't know, like Danuta Soderman being made a celebrity on The 700 Club and then discarded to protect male "authority."

It would take years for her to process her strange apotheosis and eventual dismissal. The pattern would hold for so many other women, too, who served and sacrificed (but were also manipulated or lied to), and eventually left, feeling used up or dumped by their faith. Danuta was “Christian famous” for a time, but she was used. Like many less renowned women in the church would discover, she learned that as much as they were relied upon to maintain all aspects of faith life, they could also be recast as dangerous—and, thus, disposable.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Wow. Noelle Cook is the real deal. She has spent years studying how women fall into conspiracy and fringe ideologies. I’d say a good portion of my sources for Damned If She Does ran the other way, turned off by some churches’ association with such ideologies. What attracts some, repels others.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I think a lot about the right way to cover someone with extreme views, and it's not just giving them a mic. In contrast, @kieraevebutler.bsky.social did an excellent job showing how people get drawn into Wilson's world and acknowledging some of the consequences. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Pete Hegseth dreams of holy war. Meet his spiritual adviser.

Doug Wilson preaches iron discipline and male dominance. One of his disciples runs the Pentagon.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

@saramoslener.bsky.social's book VIRGIN NATION is on my reference shelf and often my desk. It's the sort of book I just keep finding myself going back to again and again. It means so much to be considered a "must read" by someone to whom I so often find I "must footnote."

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

This endorsement from Samuel Perry means a lot to me, not only because I know him as a serious scholar, but also because I know he is a person of faith—and it is so good to see someone with both lenses be outraged *and* inspired by these stories. DAMNED IF SHE DOES is out 9/15/26!

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Such a wrenching story. People built lives caring for our families, becoming family. "I lost not only a lady working for me," the 87-year-old Holocaust survivor says, her voice broken by sobs, "I lost a friend." apnews.com/article/immi...

apnews.com

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 02/08/2026

I worked for New York’s largest medical center at the start of the pandemic. There were morgue trucks on the streets. They set up emergency medical tents in Central Park. Healthcare worker colleagues died. It is horrific that RFK Jr is on national TV lying that ICUs were empty.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

"Since at least the time of the Moral Majority, conservative Christians have been trying to claim and shape the American church’s brand. Now, to a lot of Americans, they do represent the church—and that brand is politically toxic." sarahstankorb.substack.com/p/gen-z-goin...

sarahstankorb.substack.com

Gen Z, going no-contact with the church over Trump?

They aren't the only ones

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

This endorsement is so meaningful to me. If you know Bradley Onishi you know he is one of the leading voices warning against those who want to reshape our country with an authoritarian form of religion (that little resembles the faith many still hold dear).

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Stories like these are ever-present. But this week, in a matter of a few hours, these three popped up with important similarities... and all show an awful reality: that our institutions often do not help survivors, and instead, make healing more difficult. sarahstankorb.substack.com/p/why-didnt-...

sarahstankorb.substack.com

Why didn’t you come forward?

A lesson in survivors’ hell, in three vignettes

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

sarahstankorb.substack.com

Why didn’t you come forward?

A lesson in survivors’ hell, in three vignettes

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

One of the beautiful things about being a writer is the connections we make between our words, to other writers. I am so grateful that @tialevingswriter's voice is in this world, that she speaks and writes so clearly about what she survived. I am moved that she was willing to endorse DAMNED IF SHE D

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I keep joking that these books are sisters. Kobes Du Mez's is the one who stayed; mine is the slightly witchy one who left. I think we need to somehow read both to get a full picture... though simultaneous reading might get a little confusing!

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

More of the review will be out in August, but this early love from Booklist (published by the American Library Association) is so heartening! 🩷 If you want to help support Damned If She Does, please request that your local library order it!

Blurb from Booklist: “With exceptional care and compassion, [Stankorb] shares the stories of once devout women who reached the point
where they could no longer reconcile the teachings of the church with the actions of its leadership...

Damned If She Does is a generous and illuminating book.”

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Imagine if your neighbor's home were on fire and you threatened to call them with your dry cleaning bill because of the smoke...

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WIRED @wired.com · 17/07/2026

Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.

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Sarah Stankorb @sarahstankorb.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

The recent call for conservative (usually white) Christians to “have more babies than you can afford” is nothing new. This call is rooted in religious and racial anxiety… and does not care a fig about the reality of poverty for families of any size. sarahstankorb.substack.com/p/have-more-...

sarahstankorb.substack.com

“Have more children than you can afford”

A vow of poverty and pronatalism all in one!

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Wow. The ICE shooter in Maine asked his ex-wife to "to lie for him and to cover for his character." She said he was abusive and had previously reported concerns about him to his military superiors. He was also a volunteer firefighter, but was removed after several spats with department leadership.

pressherald.com

ICE agent who killed man in Biddeford identified as former Maine law enforcement officer

An ex-wife told the Press Herald that David Brouillette called her and admitted he was the ICE agent who shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16/07/2026

Ossoff: "Here's what's going to happen tonight: the world's most famous sore loser will deliver a prime-time presidential sour grapes address to pursue his 6-year-old grievances about the 2020 election, while his war in the Middle East spirals out of control & the cost of living continues to rise.."

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