Deconversion from Religious Movements: An Analysis of Charismatic Bonding and Spiritual Commitment

Jacobs, Janet

doi:10.2307/1386433

Cited by 60 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…There are some studies (e.g., Brent, 1994;Bahr & Albercht, 1989;Buxant & Saroglou, 2008;Davidman & Greil, 2007;Fazzino, 2014;Herzbrun, 1999;Jacobs, 1987;Moyers, 1994;Smith, 2011;Zuckerman, 2012) that explore the psychological experience of deconversion from various religious traditions. These studies have shown that loss of faith can be a difficult part of a person's life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking up with Jesus: a phenomenological exploration of the experience of deconversion from an Evangelical Christian faith to Atheism

Lee¹,

Gubi

2019

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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This study examines the experience of deconversion from an Evangelical Christian faith to Atheism in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants and the data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The resulting superordinate themes emerged: Process of Deconversion; Post Deconversion Issues; What Helped and Did Not Help. The findings are supportive of similar research conducted on deconversion but are from a UK, rather than from a largely American, perspective. The underlying reason for deconversion is found to be cognitive dissonance and, as such, deconversion is a rational and intellectual process. Helping professionals need to convey a non-judgemental attitude, being understanding, sympathetic, supportive and kind.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking up with Jesus: a phenomenological exploration of the experience of deconversion from an Evangelical Christian faith to Atheism

Lee¹,

Gubi

2019

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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“…But it didn't work... as I moved forward in my "spiritual progress," I moved backward in my ability to reason. 8 This captivity is the result of the encapsulation (Greil and Rudy 1984;Jacobs 1987) in which the apostates feel they live: I think one of the main difficulties for those who are "inside"-and which makes it very hard to leave the group-is not being able to see good alternatives to the Congregation: leaving the "sect" is like jumping into the abyss of the "evil world" whose only prospect is to be destroyed. You live in a separate reality, barely touching the real world; and so time goes by, year after year; the "theocracy" is a thing apart, made up of "friendships," social life, relationships you have only among Witnesses (you can't be friends with "worldly people"; the only reasons you see them are for work, school or preaching).…”

Section: Interdictions: the Conditions Preceding Apostasymentioning

confidence: 99%

Exes speak out, Narratives of apostasy

Pannofino

2018

IJSNR

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The paper presents a study of the trajectories of apostasy from three religious movements, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Soka Gakkai Buddhist institute and the Church of Scientology, through the analysis of a body of autobiographical narratives posted online by Italian apostates. Even more than being the account of a past religious experience, these narratives are the last stage in the gradual articulation of a voice with which the disaffected believers publicly express a critical view of the organizations they have left, charging them with using practices of interdiction to prevent dissent by their members. The common theme that emerges from these stories is not the loss of faith, but the discovery of a hidden deception, the breach of the implicit pact of trust that bound the narrator to the religious group. The field of apostasy Apostasy, together with conversion, is one of the most visible of the life transitions affecting religious identity and mobility. Hence the importance of investigating apostasy in order to understand the specific nature of the contemporary spiritual experience (Hervieu-Léger 1999), where the religious actor is a seeker at large in a pluralistic religious landscape who chooses the religious option that best meets his/her personal needs (Wuthnow 2005; Barro et al. 2010). Apostasy, as the moment in which the relationship between the member and the group to which s/he belongs is broken off, is thus played out against the backdrop of a broader socioreligious field (Bourdieu 1971

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“…Of course, not all charismatic leaders are disproportionately approved of by women, but a number of researchers have proposed that charismatic religious leaders may have a special appeal to women (e.g., Stark and Bainbridge 1985:413; Wright 1992). The easiest explanation is that the women are literally “falling in love” with charismatic male leaders, an explanation supported by a fair amount of research, but one that does not explain the gender difference because male followers also seem to describe the process of becoming affiliated (and disaffiliated) with such a leader in terms of falling in (and out of) love (Jacobs 1987). Although women's greater participation in religious groups may in many cases be explained according to ideas of deprivation—that women are, in Haywood's (1983:163) apt phrase, “seekers and sufferers”—groups led by charismatic leaders do not necessarily recruit from the deprived, though they may still be disproportionately attractive to women (Stark 1996:43, 128).…”

Section: Charisma and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

Charisma, Status, and Gender in Groups With and Without Gurus

Martin

Gunten

Zablocki

2012

Scientific Study of Religion

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A number of studies have noted that small religious groups with charismatic leaders seem to have different gender dynamics than do groups without. We argue that the presence of such a leader changes what charisma “means” in such a group. Without such a leader, strong personalities may appear charismatic and lead to positions of high status—and such dynamics historically have tended to be associated with a positional advantage to males. With such a leader, however, charisma is more likely to be compatible with receptivity and decoupled from gender characteristics that tend to disadvantage women, leading charismatic women to have greater status than they would otherwise have.

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Deconversion from Religious Movements: An Analysis of Charismatic Bonding and Spiritual Commitment

Cited by 60 publications

References 17 publications

Breaking up with Jesus: a phenomenological exploration of the experience of deconversion from an Evangelical Christian faith to Atheism

Breaking up with Jesus: a phenomenological exploration of the experience of deconversion from an Evangelical Christian faith to Atheism

Exes speak out, Narratives of apostasy

Charisma, Status, and Gender in Groups With and Without Gurus

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