Born again: Narrating the mental health journeys of religious exiters

Abstract

AbstractReligious exit–also known as disaffiliation, deconversion, or apostasy–from religion 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, each of which are characterized by changes in mental health. 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 provides a mechanism for role‐identity reset that relieves many of the negative mental health effects associated with religious strain.