Abstract

Religious exit–also known as disaffiliation, deconversion, or apostasy–is a growing phenomenon in the United States with significant individual and social consequences. In this review, I consult existing literature to clarify the relationship between the process of religious exit and the mental health of exiters I organize this literature using Ebaugh’s (1988) role-exit model to frame exiting religion as a multi-stage process of role-identity disruption, exit, anomie, and reestablishment. I situate each stage as characterized by changes in mental health, in alignment with psychological theories of the impact of self-construction and self-concept on mental health symptoms. The literature suggests that, beginning with tension between a religious system and the individual, exiters undergo a psychologically and emotionally fraught process of role-identity transformation typified by a sequence of pre-exit strains, a turning point at which exit occurs, immediate psychological and social aftermath, and a subsequent lifetime process of reconstruction. Using evidence from exiters’ narratives, I argue that the conflict inherent in the process of religious exit catalyzes psychological distress, but that exit itself provides a mechanism for role-identity reset that relieves many of the negative mental health effects associated with religious strain.

Advisor

Aaron Hoy

Committee Member

Emily Boyd

Committee Member

Sarah Epplen

Date of Degree

2023

Language

english

Document Type

APP

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Program of Study

Sociology

Department

Sociology

College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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