Leaving My Religion: How Ex-Fundamentalists Reconstruct Identity Related to Well-Being
There is a well-established, steady trend of religious disaffiliates in the USA. However, little qualitative research has been devoted to documenting the experience of religious disaffiliation or “exiting,” specifically in the context of identity reconstruction and well-being. This study investigate...
| Published in: | Journal of religion and health |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
[2020]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and health
Year: 2020, Volume: 59, Issue: 4, Pages: 2120-2134 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | There is a well-established, steady trend of religious disaffiliates in the USA. However, little qualitative research has been devoted to documenting the experience of religious disaffiliation or “exiting,” specifically in the context of identity reconstruction and well-being. This study investigates an understudied subgroup of exiters—individuals who have left Christian fundamentalist religions. Drawing on 24 in-depth interviews, this research reveals the social psychological processes through which former religious participants reconstruct their identity and self-concepts related to their well-being. The results demonstrate that while it is challenging in the beginning stages of the exiting process to develop a new identity and improve self-concepts, over time the construction of a nonreligious identity eventually contributed to participants’ greater well-being. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-6571 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00975-8 |