What is Deconstruction?

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For the past few years, I’ve explained the constant change in my relationship with Christianity by saying that I was “deconstructing.” It seems that in many progressive Christian circles, it’s a fairly common term, but my guess is that every person has their own individual understanding of what it means to be in that process, so I wanted to take some time to go a bit more in depth of what it means generally to deconstruct, as well as why it seems to be happening in so many faith communities lately.

A general definition of deconstruction is “the process of critically dismantling a common or traditional understanding of something.” This can happen in many fields, whether that’s politics, history, or religion. When it comes to Christianity, people who are deconstructing are critically dismantling the common or traditional understanding of what Christianity is and what it should be, and in my opinion, that’s a good thing. There have been movements all throughout history of individuals and communities moving towards a different understanding of Christianity, for better or worse, and there’s no reason to think this won’t continue to happen again and again.

Narrowing in on this specific moment of history, people seem to becoming more and more aware of the ways that many forms of Christianity (and most often fundamentalist and Evangelical forms) have been complicit in racism, homophobia, power in politics, colonialism, a very specific Western/ American interpretation of Scripture and salvation, etc., as well as rampant hurt, shame, and abuse in many churches. For some, deconstructing from this understanding of Christianity leads to a total loss of belief in Christian theology, while for others it leads to finding a healthier form of faith to move towards.

I’ll give you a metaphor for deconstruction that I love. Imagine that your beliefs/ faith/ spirituality are like a house that you exist within. Maybe you loved the house for a long time, but at some point you realize there are leaks in the ceiling that are causing mold and rot. How did you never see that before? You start examining the house more closely, and come to find out there are cracks in the foundation, that structurally the house was not nearly as sound as you once believed. Maybe for awhile you try to paint over the mold, and ignore the major issues you’ve seen (because where else would you live?), but eventually you realize you have to address the problem.

So you deconstruct. You begin tearing down the house one piece at a time, maybe violently in anger, or maybe gently and with kindness. Some of your friends think you are crazy for tearing the place down- it looks the same as their houses after all, and they love theirs. But now that you have seen the mold and the cracks, you know you can’t live in an unsafe house anymore. You have to take the risk of starting over. As you take apart the pieces of the house, you begin to examine each one. How should Scripture actually be interpreted? What leads to human flourishing? Who is God? What is prayer? You don’t take anything for granted anymore. It may take a really long time, but eventually the parts of the house that feel solid, and secure, and true will become the new foundation. You may need some new materials along the way. You may need other people to join you and help you rebuild. But eventually you have a new house, one that you can trust, and feel safe in. Maybe when it’s done it looks similar to the old house, or maybe it’s completely unrecognizable, but either way, it’s yours and it’s good. That’s the process of deconstruction- taking apart and putting back together your spiritual home.

Whether you are experiencing deconstruction or not, or whether you believe deconstruction is needed or not, I hope in reading this that you can see the potential beauty that can come from it. That while it is scary to step into something unknown, if it leads to a more honest, genuine life, then I hope it can be worth it.