Rachel Held Evans, progressive Christian author who challenged evangelicals, dies at 37

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey May 4 at 1:37 PM

Rachel Held Evans, a best-selling Christian author who was unafraid to wade into fierce theological battles over issues like the role of women, science, LGBT issues and politics on her blog and social media, died Saturday, after spending weeks in the hospital for an infection. She was 37.

Her husband Dan, who has been writing health updates, wrote on her blog on Saturday that she had been weaned from an induced coma, but swelling in her brain was not survivable.

“This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping it’s a nightmare from which I’ll awake,” Dan Evans wrote. “I feel like I’m telling someone else’s story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachel’s presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her.”

Evans tweeted in mid-April that she was in the hospital with the flu and had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. Dan Evans wrote that she then developed seizures, so doctors put her into a medically-induced coma. The hashtag #PrayforRHE became a trending topic on Twitter earlier this month for Evans, who had two young children, ages three and almost one. Her friends set up a GoFundMe to cover medical expenses.

An Episcopalian, Evans drew a large following in the evangelical community in both progressive and conservative circles. She criticized widespread evangelical support for President Trump, encouraged women in church leadership, questioned a literal reading of the Bible, among other issues. From her home in Tennessee, she became a beloved progressive speaker at many conferences around the country.

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