How Do Religious People Become Atheists? Applying a Grounded Theory Approach to Propose a Model of Deconversion

Pérez, Sergio Andrés; Vallières, Frédérique

doi:10.5334/snr.108

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The themes that we found to constitute the mechanisms of belief change are compatible with the work by Perez and Vallières (2019) and their model of religious deconversion: 'reason and enquiry'; (inquisitive personalities, critical thinking, scientific inquiry and wider curiosity); 'criticism and discontent' (moral disparities against religion, societal isolation); and 'personal development' (moving away, pivotal life changes). This consistency in research increases the reliability of belief change as a significant psychological process.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Novel to Perez and Vallières (2019), our research suggests a predisposing nature to belief change based on inquisitive, curious and critical personalities of our participants. This relates to findings suggesting that openness personality traits (such as inquisitiveness) correlate negatively with religious continuation (Saroglou & Munoz-Garcia, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Qualitative techniques are useful to generate hypotheses on such less well-defined phenomena. These methods have been previously used to investigate some of the reasons behind apostasy, including described 'personal growth' and 'reservations of the religion' (Perez & Vallières, 2019). This work by Perez and Vallières (2019) provides a stable foundation for investigating the psychological processes of apostasy, however, it was limited in its scope and methodology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods have been previously used to investigate some of the reasons behind apostasy, including described 'personal growth' and 'reservations of the religion' (Perez & Vallières, 2019). This work by Perez and Vallières (2019) provides a stable foundation for investigating the psychological processes of apostasy, however, it was limited in its scope and methodology. The samples used were restricted to primarily previous Christian backgrounds, with a large majority of these being former clergy members, from US or Irish backgrounds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Consequences of Apostasy: How Changing Core Social and Personal Religious Beliefs Affect Sense of Self, Mental Health, and Identity.

Bolton¹,

AoB²,

Fonseca³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Though previous research has highlighted the significant and typically positive ‘religion-health’ relationships, little attention has been paid to the psychological and social factors involved in, and resulting from absconding from religion, known as apostasy. This is despite popular culture referencing apostasy as a lonely and distressing experience. Our study qualitatively investigated the experiences and perceptions of those undergoing religious belief change and whether this made participants more vulnerable to poorer mental health. Using grounded theory and semi-structured interviews, we explored these experiences in 13 members of the UK-based Association of Black Humanists, including how they arrived at their belief change and how they felt that this may have impacted their social relationships. Thematic analysis determined a dynamic interaction between perceived predisposing factors, triggers and maintenance. Furthermore, the data suggest the relationship between apostasy and one’s sense of self and mental health to be influenced by identity crises and moderated by protective factors, such as social support. Findings are discussed against previous research and recommendations are made for future investigation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Consequences of Apostasy: How Changing Core Social and Personal Religious Beliefs Affect Sense of Self, Mental Health, and Identity.

Bolton¹,

AoB²,

Fonseca³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite their increasing numbers, non-believers have so far received little attention in the psychology of religion (Pérez & Vallières, 2019). Furthermore, research This is an original manuscript / preprint of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion on 30 Jul 2020, available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10508619.2020 typically contrasts atheism with religiosity, but the existing literature has so far not unpacked the conceptualisation of atheism (Streib & Klein, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Attitudes of Deconverted and Lifelong Atheists towards Religious Groups: The Role of Religious and Spiritual Identity

Pauha¹,

Renvik²,

Eskelinen³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Increasing atheism, or the view that there is no God, is a major trend affecting the Western religious landscape. Scholarly interest in atheists has grown together with their number, but unanswered questions abound. In this study, we present survey data (N = 758) collected from deconverted and lifelong atheists in four countries (Australia, Finland, Germany, and Norway), and investigate the relationships between deconversion, religious/spiritual identity, and attitudes towards the national religious majority, religious minorities in general, and Muslims in particular. We show that having a religious or spiritual identity is more typical for deconverts than life-long atheists. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the higher religious or spiritual identity among deconverts is associated with more positive attitudes towards different religious groups (national religious majority, religious minorities in general, and Muslims specifically).

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Deconversion from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Quest for Identity

Jindra

2022

Pastoral Psychol

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Deconversion from the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is often an arduous process and can lead to a sense of losing one's identity. This article describes the stories of people who deconvert from the LDS church while making sense of the link between deconversion and identity. The manuscript is based on 18 interviews with people leaving the LDS church. While some of the deconverts had achieved a stable sense of identity at the time of the interview, others were still struggling with this task. This article attempts to understand these differences while also paying attention to the role of gender. The study also has implications for pastoral care and social work practice.

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How Do Religious People Become Atheists? Applying a Grounded Theory Approach to Propose a Model of Deconversion

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

The Consequences of Apostasy: How Changing Core Social and Personal Religious Beliefs Affect Sense of Self, Mental Health, and Identity.

The Consequences of Apostasy: How Changing Core Social and Personal Religious Beliefs Affect Sense of Self, Mental Health, and Identity.

The Attitudes of Deconverted and Lifelong Atheists towards Religious Groups: The Role of Religious and Spiritual Identity

Deconversion from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Quest for Identity

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