Life after Social Death: Leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Identity Transition and Recovery

Abstract

It is well documented that religiosity is linked with positive indicators of well-being, but less research has examined the psychosocial impacts of leaving “high-control” religions. Theoretically situated in recovery and desistance literature underpinned by the social identity approach, the current study examined cross-sectionally the extent to which ‘disfellowshipped’ former Jehovah’s Witnesses’ experiences of ostracism and post-exit identification with others are associated with diminished psychological well-being and identity transition success. It also examined the extent to which the type of exit (forced vs. voluntary) and prior religious commitment shaped these outcomes. The authors recruited 554 adults (62% female; M age = 37.26, SD age = 12.82) via online social support networks for former Jehovah’s Witnesses. Path analysis tested the mediating and moderating functions of exit method (forced vs. voluntary), commitment level during membership, and post-exit group identification with groups on outcomes of identity transition, recovery identity, self-esteem, and well-being. Results indicate that individuals who voluntarily left the Jehovah’s Witnesses reported more ostracism than those who were disfellowshipped (forced out) and that a higher level of prior religious commitment was associated with post-religious identity transition success and diminished self-esteem. Findings further suggest that distinct aspects of respondents’ social identity were related differentially to outcomes in partial support of the theoretical framework. Future research and theory development efforts are deemed necessary to better understand the etiology of how exiting high-control religions impacts psychosocial outcomes.

Grieving the Living: The Social Death of Former Jehovah’s Witnesses

“…Building on previous research documenting how the process of exiting from high control religious communities may be associated with ostracism and feelings of abandonment (Friedson 2015 ; Holden 2002 ; Hookway and Habibis 2015 ; Lalich and McLaren 2010 ; Ransom et al 2020 ; Testoni et al 2019 ), this study examined how the leaving process impacted former members of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Analysis of the narratives yielded common themes documenting respondents’ sense-making through the process of “transitioning out”, which impacted adversely their sense of self, belonging, self-worth and mental well-being.…”

“…attendance at JW services) and activities such as public preaching. In the past, fading was not met with mandated ostracism, making it a preferred exit method; however, recent research indicates that former JWs who exited in this way also report experiences of social “shunning” (Ransom et al 2020 ).…”

“…Regardless of whether leaving the JWs was voluntary or not, former members often report being ostracised and rejected by the religious community they had previously been a part of (Holden 2002 ; Ransom et al 2020 ). The wider psychological literature provides evidence with regard to how this can impact individuals adversely (Case and Williams 2004 ; Williams 2001 , 2008 ).…”

Religious norms, norm conflict, and religious identification.

“…Another possibility is that identification is not as strong among religious majority group members as religious minority group members. Denominational differences in identification within faiths (e.g., greater Christian identification in stricter denominations; Ransom et al, 2020) may also be explored in future research.…”

“…In general, moderators would be expected to operate across contexts in the effectiveness of different strategies, regardless of which religious group is studied. For example, there might be higher levels of intolerance of norm challenge by other faith members in more conservative contexts, or when the group is under threat, which might strengthen the association of challenge with lower identification or well-being (Ransom et al, 2020; Stavrova et al, 2013; see also, Wibisono et al, 2019). Some religions may also be more challenging to integrate with other contemporary identities, for example, stricter religious faiths or denominations may give rise to more norm conflict in Western permissive societies, or be more punitive to those who do not conform (Ransom et al, 2020; Scheitle & Adamczyk, 2010; Testoni et al, 2019).…”