A review and conceptual model of the research on doubt, disaffiliation, and related religious changes.

Fisher, Adam R.

doi:10.1037/rel0000088

Cited by 38 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 87 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It seems compelling, especially when we see that the available literature on the age differences in the relationship between religious doubt and well-being is ambiguous (Krause et al 1999). In fact, Fisher (2017) suggests that more research needs to be done in the areas of religious change and faith crises. Furthermore, although we found evidence for the mediating role of grateful disposition on the relationship between R/S struggles and life satisfaction, we were unable to assess causality in these associations because of the cross-sectional design assumed in the present study.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…R/S struggles might be related to extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiousness (Hill and Pargament 2008), as well. For example, in a few studies (Johnson et al 2008), quest, which expresses religious doubt, was positively related to religious struggle, hence questioning one's religious beliefs can be perceived as one type of spiritual crisis (Fisher 2017). An interesting pattern of results was also obtained by researchers exploring distinct motivations for life satisfaction and being religious (Felere and Lavrič 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Religious/Spiritual Struggles and Life Satisfaction among Young Roman Catholics: The Mediating Role of Gratitude

Szczęśniak¹,

Bielecka²,

Bajkowska³

et al. 2019

Religions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An extensive review of the psychological literature shows that interactions between religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles and other aspects of human functioning are complex and affected by “third” factors. Still, we have only a few studies that confirm R/S struggles as a source of well-being and indicate the ways in which it happens. In the present study, we aimed to verify whether the relationship between R/S struggles and life satisfaction was mediated by dispositional gratitude that seems to offer protection in times of adversity and turmoil. The sample consisted of 440 Roman Catholics (331 women) from Poland aged between 18 and 40. We applied the Religious Comfort and Strain Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Gratitude Questionnaire. In line with our hypotheses, it was confirmed that respondents with higher life satisfaction were more likely to display a higher sense of trust in God. They also declared a lower fear/guilt and perception of God as abandoning people. Gratitude correlated positively and significantly with religious comfort, and negatively with emotions towards God and social interactions surrounding religion. Moreover, it can be affirmed that dispositional gratitude mediated the relationship between three of four dimensions of religious strain and life satisfaction: religious comfort, negative emotions towards God, and negative social interactions surrounding religion.

show abstract

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious/Spiritual Struggles and Life Satisfaction among Young Roman Catholics: The Mediating Role of Gratitude

Szczęśniak¹,

Bielecka²,

Bajkowska³

et al. 2019

Religions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Therefore, we believe that work on religious change described as deidentification can be informed by research on religious deconversion. Previous theorizing on religious change suggests that questioning and reconfiguration of one's beliefs (e.g., in light of issues related to science, social concerns, and suffering) lead to doubt, which can cause individuals to oppose, disaffiliate, or deconvert from their religion (Fisher, 2017). Other theoretical work suggests that deconversion likely involves a multi-stage change in one's affiliation that unfolds over time (Jacobs, 1987).…”

Section: Liminal Religious Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We speculate that there are a variety of reasons. Perhaps for some religious de-identifiers, they have "outgrown" or changed their religious beliefs after experiencing doubt (e.g., Fisher, 2017). For others, maybe they have de-identified with their religious identity upon observing that they have discontinued engaging in religious and spiritual practices (e.g., prayer, attending religious services).…”

Section: Religious Deidentification and The Religious Residue Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

McLaughlin et al. (2020) - PRS - Who are the Religious Dones?

McLaughlin¹,

Tongeren²,

Teahan³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Identifying as nonreligious is increasingly more common in the United States. However, up until recently the field has been slow to understand differences in experience among those who have never been religious and those who have deidentified from religion. In addressing this gap, we sought to first identify differing motivations for deidentifying from religion (pilot study, n ? 153). In our primary study, we sought to explore whether there are different types of religious dones in a cross-cultural sample (United States n = 206; Netherlands n = 288; Hong Kong n = 149) and whether there are meaningful differences in behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes among these different types. Results revealed two distinct profiles of religious dones based on their experience of religious beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and affiliation: discontinuing religious dones, and still practicing religious dones. This research addressed gaps in understanding nuanced differences among those who formerly but no longer identify as religious, and also offered additional evidence to support the religious residue effect hypothesis in that many religious dones continued to demonstrate religious beliefs and behaviors (Van Tongeren, DeWall, Chen, Sibley, & Bulbulia, 2020). The discontinuing group endorsed less religious behaviors and practices as well as more neutral attitudes toward religion and religious individuals, while the still practicing engaged in more religious and spiritual behaviors and also held more positive attitudes toward religion and religious individuals. Additionally, the still practicing reported more mental health concerns related to affect, anxiety, and depression than did the discontinuing.

show abstract

“…There has been little empirical work exploring psychological processes of religious exit and how those processes could affect individual psychological wellbeing (Fisher, 2017). For many exiting religions, especially those leaving defined religious groups, leaving may result in many tangible losses, including the loss of social and familial relationships and supports (Myers, 2017).…”

Section: Examining Exit: the Roles Of Push And Pull In Leaving Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining Exit: The Roles of Push and Pull in Leaving Religion

Engelman¹,

Grubbs²,

Milstein³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The population of religious “nones,” those who do not affiliate with any religion, is continually growing. Many of those who identify as nones have exited from religious traditions. Sparse research has examined the psychological processes involved in religious exit. Although various theories of religious exit have been proposed, they have provided limited empirical utility for psychological research. Immigration psychology, with its empirically well-established paradigms, may provide a better theoretical basis with which to understand religious exit. More specifically, the push (from origin group) and pull (towards destination group) theory of migration may be useful in understanding what motivates individuals to leave religions, and the individual psychological experiences of the religious exit process. Further, the push and pull theory may inform the trajectories of disaffiliates and their psychological wellbeing and adjustment post religious exit. This study’s main aim was to empirically establish a measure of push-pull forces for religious exit. To accomplish this goal, Latent Variable Modeling was performed to reduce a larger push-pull item bank (38 items) to a brief 8-item scale. Hypothesis testing using correlation and Structural Equation Modeling demonstrated that push and pull are associated with mental health outcomes for those leaving religions.

show abstract

A review and conceptual model of the research on doubt, disaffiliation, and related religious changes.

Cited by 38 publications

References 87 publications

Religious/Spiritual Struggles and Life Satisfaction among Young Roman Catholics: The Mediating Role of Gratitude

Religious/Spiritual Struggles and Life Satisfaction among Young Roman Catholics: The Mediating Role of Gratitude

McLaughlin et al. (2020) - PRS - Who are the Religious Dones?

Examining Exit: The Roles of Push and Pull in Leaving Religion

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About