The Variety of Deconversion Experiences: Contours of a Concept in Respect to Empirical Research

Abstract

This article presents an outline of historical and situational arguments which suggest a focus on deconversion, an outline of conversion research and its consequences for deconversion, and a discussion of extant empirical research on deconversion. The discussion then focuses on the conceptualization of deconversion and compiles the features from which a comprehensive concept of deconversion may emerge. The core features of the deconversion concept which is suggested in this article are complemented by dimensions of diversity which also include a developmental perspective (from the religious styles perspective). This has implications for future research. Developments in Research on Conversion and DeconversionConversion has been a prominent focus of theorizing and research in the psychology of religion from its early days on. Deconversion has not. Searching for 'deconversion' in electronic data bases results in a relatively small number of books, articles or dissertations. Various names which may be regarded as referring to the same core phenomenon, may also point to its complexity: apostasy, defection, disaffiliation, falling from the faith; exit etc. The name 'deconversion' is rather new, and, because of its potential to structure the discussion in an evolving research field, we work towards a clarification.We will outline in this text perspectives for a conceptualization of deconversion-in its common features and in its diversity. Conceptual clarification structures empirical research and has to stand the test of empirical research; therefore we strive to show the merit of the

Analiza strukturalna procesów dekonwersji w okresie dojrzewania – konstrukcja Skali Dekonwersji Adolescentów

“…Zgodnie z nią dekonwersja to "zmiana w orientacji religijnej osoby w specyficznym czasie biograficznym, która pociąga za sobą przepracowanie toĪsamoĞci religijnej osoby, rewizjĊ jej systemu wierzeĔ i Ğwiatopoglądu oraz restrukturyzacjĊ jej sposobu myĞlenia, rozumowania moralnego i postĊpowania wobec autorytetu -ze specjalnym zwróceniem uwagi na akt porzucenia starej [orientacji] i poszukiwania czegoĞ innego" (Streib i in., 2009, s. 23). Streib i Keller (2004), poszerzając model dekonwersji Barboura (1994), zaproponowali 5-wymiarową strukturĊ tego zjawiska. Wymiary (okreĞlane jako kryteria) wyróĪnione przez tych autorów obejmują: (1) utratĊ swoistego doĞwiadczenia religijnego (zagubienie posiadanego uprzednio sensu i celu Īycia, utrata doĞwiadczenia Boga, a takĪe poczucia zarówno zaufania, jak i lĊku wobec Boga); (2) wątpliwoĞci intelektualne (zaprzeczenie lub brak zgody na specyficzne wierzenia, bĊdące zmianami w wymiarze ideologicznym religijnoĞci); (3) krytycyzm moralny (odrzucenie specyficznych dla danej religii nakazów moralnych lub osiągniĊcie nowego poziomu rozumowania moralnego); (4) cierpienie emocjonalne (utrata poczucia zakorzenienia, wsparcia oraz stałoĞci i bezpieczeĔstwa pochodzących z religii) oraz (5) rezygnacjĊ z przynaleĪnoĞci do wspólnoty religijnej (wycofywanie siĊ z uczestnictwa w spotkaniach społeczno-Ğci religijnej lub/i odstąpienie od wykonywania praktyk religijnych, co moĪe prowadziü do całkowitej rezygnacji z członkostwa w danej wspólnocie).…”

A structural analysis of deconversion processes in adolescence: The construction of the Adolescent Deconversion Scale

“…Expanding Barbour's (1994) model of deconversion, Streib and Keller (2004) proposed a five-dimensional structure of this phenomenon. The dimensions (referred to as criteria) distinguished by these authors are: (1) loss of specific religious experiences (a loss of the previously possessed meaning and purpose in life, a loss of the experience of God, as well as a loss of both trust in and a fear of God); (2) intellectual doubt (denial of or disagreement with specific beliefs, constituting changes in the ideological dimension of religiosity); (3) moral criticism (the rejection of the moral imperatives specific to a given religion or the achievement of a new level of moral reasoning); (4) emotional suffering (a loss of the sense of rootedness, support, stability, and security derived from religion), and (5) disaffiliation from the community (withdrawal from participation in meetings of the religious community or/and the abandonment of religious practices, which may lead to total termination of membership in a given community).…”

Deconversion and “Spirituality”—Migrations in the Religious Field

“…Preparing for the empirical assessment of deconversion, it was not only necessary to develop and profile a concept of 'deconversion'-there we have identified a set criteria such as loss of religious experience, intellectual doubt, moral criticism, emotional suffering and disaffiliation from the community (Streib & Keller, 2004;Streib et al, 2009, p. 22). It was also necessary to conceptually clarify the possible deconversion trajectories as migrations in the religious field.…”