Hillbilly Elegy

natural finish for a culture sliding so
quickly toward the abyss.
Other authors have noted the terrible
retention rates of evangelical churches
and blamed precisely that sort of
theology for their decline.^19 I didn’t
appreciate it as a kid. Nor did I realize
that the religious views I developed
during my early years with Dad were
sowing the seeds for an outright
rejection of the Christian faith. What I
did know is that, despite its downsides, I
loved both my new church and the man
who introduced me to it. The timing, it
turned out, was impeccable: The next
months would bring a desperate need for
both a heavenly father and an earthly