Elena Trueba

truly the ultimate wife guy, we love to see it.

The Gilded Age is back today, which is an excellent time to note that it is the perfect television show because it features the most realistic storyline of all time: a man being down so astronomically bad for Carrie Coon

Biblical Patriarchy Lied To Me About Motherhood I grew up under the influence of Christian fundamentalism and all I got was this dumb fear of having kids.

Writing this gave me a vulnerability hangover but it is one of the only things I have been able to think about in the wake of the greatest life change I've ever experienced

me: hm I don’t feel very good

also me: my nutritious breakfast was half a cup of coffee and a See’s bordeaux egg

this is Easter week folks

The Resurrection of Todd Bentley — The Revealer A popular Charismatic Christian leader’s fall and what his redemption reveals

The massively popular Charismatic Christian leader, Todd Bentley, faced public scandal multiple times. But that didn't end his career.

@elenactrueba.bsky.social explores what his redemption reveals about conservative Christian culture in the United States today. therevealer.org/the-resurrec...

The Resurrection of Todd Bentley — The Revealer A popular Charismatic Christian leader’s fall and what his redemption reveals

Thrilled to have a piece out in @therevealer.bsky.social on the first real disillusionment with the faith in which I was raised: at 14, I attended the “Florida Outpouring,” a revival led by the controversial evangelist Todd Bentley that quickly descended into scandal: therevealer.org/the-resurrec...

Our February issue is here!

With great articles on adoption as a religious industry, Hindu divorce, student protests, ecstatic dance, a scandalous Charismatic Christian televangelist, & more from @mpgphd.bsky.social, @profirmf.bsky.social, @elenactrueba.bsky.social, & others! therevealer.org

and Dr. Burke isn't exactly wrong about any of this (of course if women aren't pursuing education, they're more likely to have children younger), but it is wild that the new go-to is "limit access to higher education" rather than, like, expand access to parental leave

the second part to this proposal: allow parents to use public funds for religious education to "increase the religiosity of the next generation" because "religious people see stronger benefits in having children and are less bothered by its expense"

Here’s How To Actually Reverse The Baby Bust The best way to promote fertility isn’t subsidizing parenthood. It’s stopping the programs that discourage people from having babies.

How does the author of Project 2025's chapter on the Department of Education want to raise birth rates in America? By reducing the subsidization of student loans—because if women aren't pursuing higher education, they're more likely to have children: thefederalist.com/2024/12/02/h...

Thank you so much! Your work has been so important to me!

Great article on homeschooling!

christmas baking in FULL swing over here

Thank you so much, Madolyn! @rlstollar.bsky.social and @julieingersoll.bsky.social are indispensable voices around this topic.

The Founding Fathers of Homeschooling Rushdoony's theology, Moore's science, and Farris'... novels?

On Substack today, I'm writing about the men who launched the Christian homeschooling movement: their theology, their ideology, and their novels (yes, really): open.substack.com/pub/elenacec...

writing hack: realize your laptop is on 10% battery and you absolutely must finish the Substack post you’re working on before it dies (leaving the confines of bed to go downstairs and fish around for the laptop charger is not an option)

every year I wait for Spotify wrapped to give me the exact same piece of information

So Much More Than Trad Wives Take a trip with me into the origins of Stay-At-Home-Daughters.

If you want to know more about the Stay-At-Home-Daughter movement, you can read my latest Substack deep dive: elenacecilia.substack.com/p/so-much-mo...

In 2014, Doug Phillips was sued by a former Stay-At-Home-Daughter for the alleged sexual abuse he perpetrated against her. Vision Forum went dark. But the rippling effects of biblical patriarchy and the Stay-At-Home-Daughter movement went far beyond one man and one organization.

Many former Stay-At-Home-Daughters have told their stories years later. Some, like Jasmine Holmes (formerly Baucham, Voddie Baucham's daughter), framed the movement as something she was drawn to by choice. But how much choice exists in a world where you're not encouraged to consider what you want?

As a teenage girl, I was unnerved that the Botkins were answering the question I had been asking (what did God want from me, anyways?) unambiguously: my calling, and the calling of every girl, was to make myself into an impeccable helpmeet to the men in my life. First my father, then my husband.

In 2005, Vision Forum sparked a small but mighty movement by publishing a book written by two teenagers, Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin: "So Much More." These daughters preached skipping college & careers to stay home under their father's "headship," learning to be helpmeets to their future husbands.

Vision Forum published all kinds of materials on biblical patriarchy. Its stated mission was to "reinforce godly masculinity and femininity," which included selling these knock-off American Girl dolls to "fill your daughter's childhood with memories to inspire her as she grows up to be a mommy."

As a teenage girl in the world of conservative Christian homeschooling, biblical patriarchy was very familiar to me early on. One of the most notable patriarchal forces in my life and in that world was Vision Forum, a ministry founded by Doug Phillips (who resigned in disgrace in 2013).

Trad wives are everywhere, it seems. We love to hate-watch their TikToks and write think pieces about women who perform traditional gender roles online. But trad wives have a predecessor and an ideology less ancient than they'd like you to think: Stay-At-Home-Daughters & biblical patriarchy.

A 🧵

Rape Culture and Purity Culture Dismantle the Myths

Regardless of what happens on the national stage, it is critical to continue to expose teachings trapping women and children in harmful situations and enabling abusive and controlling behaviors to go unchecked.

open.substack.com/pub/kristind...

Weekly Wrap-Up Texas introduces Christianity into public school curriculum, Trump knows what Project 2025 is after all, and many horses are loose in the hospital.

each Friday, I'll put out a weekly wrap-up covering the stories and writing I’m paying attention to in the world of American religion and politics, plus whatever else I’m up to/reading/watching/etc. for the sake of balance! here's the first wrap-up: elenacecilia.substack.com/p/weekly-wra...

Post-Election Reflections (Or, Here We Go Again) What an utterly weird day to have a birthday. Plus, let me tell you about the future of this newsletter.

each Tuesday, I'll put out a deep-dive essay into some topic of interest from these wildly interwoven and intersecting worlds (coming up next: a deep-dive into the stay-at-home-daughter movement). you can read my first essay/post-election thoughts here: elenacecilia.substack.com/p/some-post-...

Unholy Alliances | Elena Cecilia Trueba | Substack A twice-weekly newsletter on the stories and intrigues of the American evangelical church and their interwoven connections to right-wing politics from an insider turned outsider, plus literally anythi...

I write a recently-launched biweekly Substack called Unholy Alliances, which covers Christian evangelicalism/fundamentalism & right-wing politics from the perspective of an insider turned outsider to those worlds (plus whatever else I'm thinking about at the moment): elenacecilia.substack.com