Cape Fear Chapters: Local author explores leaving religious movement in ‘American Made Volume 2’

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A local author is sharing his experience growing up in and eventually leaving a religious movement in his new book, “American Made Volume 2.”

Jon Anderson discussed the book and the personal experiences behind it during an appearance on WWAY’s Cape Fear Chapters.

Anderson said he was raised in the religious movement from an early age, describing a childhood that included frequent services, charismatic influences and repeated teachings throughout the week.

“Before we left, we were going to service like five times a week,” Anderson said. “So it was a lot.”

Anderson said he began questioning the beliefs he had grown up with after his wife started researching the movement and shared what she found with him.

“She was the first one to start collecting data and looking at the evidence, and she shared it with me and I started to look at it as well,” Anderson said.

He said that research led him to question aspects of the movement from both historical and theological perspectives.

Leaving also meant reconsidering beliefs that had shaped much of his life. Anderson described the experience as having the foundation of his reality pulled out from underneath him.

“The first step is like, what even is the truth? How do I trust that truth?” Anderson said.

He said the process involved learning how to evaluate information for himself, rebuilding his identity and determining how he viewed the world outside the belief system in which he was raised.

Those experiences eventually became the foundation for “American Made Volume 2.” Anderson said his initial research was personal, but he later decided to turn what he learned into a resource for people who remain in the movement or are questioning it.

“We need a book that can help people get out and can help people see that,” Anderson said.

Anderson described the book as an exploration of his questions about Christianity, the religious movement he grew up in and how the two relate or conflict.

“American Made Volume 2” launched Friday and is available on Amazon. Anderson said information about free versions of the book is also available through his social media and Linktree.