We need young people, because without them the Catholic Church will have no future. Increases in disaffiliation are seen in different races, genders, generations and countries. Using the Pew Research Center and Forum data, and Richard Osmer’s four tasks of practical theology, this paper will study first who are the disaffiliates, nones, and deconverts and then why they left the church. The Christian Church is based on a community of faith and worship, with evangelization at its heart. Christians need to participate, and evangelize to fully live as Christians. We will review several solutions on how to attract people back into church life. In becoming ‘cultural missionaries’ we can connect with modern culture, and use contemporary approaches to make the voice of the Lord accessible and comprehensible to all people. Unless we truly welcome modern culture, the young, divorced and transgendered into all parts of the Church, we are doomed to become just an anachronistic cultural curiosity.

This study aims to examine power, control, resistance, and the relationalconsequences of leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses. The analysis focused on eightnarratives from the internet forum reddit.com, /r/exjw, where authors describeprocesses in which they challenge their belonging to the organization. The materialhas been analysed using qualitative content analysis, Bromley’s theory of thedisaffiliation process and Raven and French’s theory of power/interaction andinterpersonal influence. The findings point to four tendencies about how certainmembers Jehovah’s Witnesses tried to exert control over (former) members whowant to leave the organization; by controlling resources and social relationships,inflicting harm, engaging in emotional manipulation, and surveillance. None ofthese activities led to increased engagement among those who were the target, butthese actions could slow down the exit process. The study also show thatindividual's resistance was expressed in different ways, through protest, reducedcommitment, intellectual exploration, engagement in new social networks, selfassertion and by disaffiliation. Acts of resistance that were openly expressed tendedto lead to increased control by members of the religious community. The socialconsequences for individuals who (wanted to) leave the organization weredescribed as conflicts, neglect, and rejection.

For those who were raised in a religious household, leaving one's religion of origin (religious disaffiliation) can be a significant life event that impacts a person for years to come. Similarly, coming out and living authentically as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or another sexual or gender minority (LGBTQ+) is another event that, although ongoing, shapes the course of one's life significantly. In this grounded theory study, the researcher examines LGBTQ+ women's experiences of religious disaffiliation to create an understanding of what the disaffiliation process is like for LGBTQ+ women, and what happens to family relationships during and after disaffiliation. Several themes emerged, including similarities in why they disaffiliated, how they disaffiliated, and what happened to significant relationships during and after disaffiliation. / Doctor of Philosophy / For those who were raised in a religious household, leaving the religion one was raised in (religion of origin), also called religious disaffiliation, can be a significant life event that impacts a person for years to come. Similarly, coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or another sexual minority (LGBTQ+) is another event that can shape the course of one's life significantly, especially since those who are LGBTQ+ often continue to have to come out to new people in their lives. In this study, the researcher examines what it is like for LGBTQ+ women to disaffiliate from the Christian denominations in which they were raised, as well as what happens to family relationships during and after disaffiliation. There are several common themes shared among disaffiliates, including similarities in why they disaffiliated, how they disaffiliated, and what happened to significant relationships during and after disaffiliation.

Research suggests that disaffiliation from a religious organization brings a myriad of positive and negative consequences to those who choose to disaffiliate. This is the first study to examine the specific impact of disaffiliation on how women who have disaffiliated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conceptualize womanhood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 women who voluntarily chose to disaffiliate from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology, informed by hybrid identity theory. Findings suggest that women who disaffiliate from the church undergo an intense and painful identity reconstruction where they create a hybrid identity that includes their Mormon identity and other identities they have chosen to embody. Findings outline the limitations participants felt as women in the church, the pain and mourning experienced throughout the disaffiliation process, and the empowerment and expansion of their self-concept of womanhood felt post-disaffiliation. Limitations of this study, future research, and clinical implications are discussed. / Master of Science / People are choosing to disaffiliate from religious organizations in highly increasing numbers. Individual experiences of disaffiliation vary and often bring a combination of both positive and negative consequences. This study examines the experiences of women who were raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how their choice to step away from the church impacted their self-concept of womanhood. The results of this study confirm that the disaffiliation process prompts an intense and painful identity crisis in which participants had to reconstruct how they viewed all parts of their identities. Findings outline how women felt limited by church teachings, the intense pain and mourning they experienced as they left the church, and how their ideas of womanhood expanded and felt more empowered post-disaffiliation. It is important for therapists to create space in-session for women, at any point in the disaffiliation process, to process feelings of grief and resentment, explore their identities, and reclaim themselves in an empowering and strengths-based environment.

No description available.

Religious disaffiliation among Millennials has increased significantly in the past decade alongside rapidly changing social relationships amplified by social media applications. In the United States, many Millennials claim no religious identity with many leaving their religion for a variety of reasons. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of religiously disaffiliated Millennials regarding their psychological health and well-being. Self-determination theory fulfilled the theoretical framework for examining the lived experiences of young adults regarding their well-being after religious disaffiliation. A purposive sample of 12 male and female religiously disaffiliated Millennials was recruited for semistructured interviews. Content analysis was used to code interviews, identify themes, and explore the lived experiences of disaffiliated young adults. Six themes emerged from the data analysis that included religious disaffiliates inherited their childhood religion; contradictory experiences highlighted a need to disaffiliate; after disaffiliation, individuals stopped attending the church with no other actions; after disaffiliation, participants appeared to be able to connect with their authentic self; participants had negative connotations of religion after disaffiliating; and families accepted disaffiliation after it occurred. The implications for social change include providing better understanding of the psychological health and well-being of Millennials who have disaffiliated, as well as demonstrating a need for future research that focuses on future generational cohorts and how religious organizations and churches are accounting for disaffiliation within their congregations.

This paper explores the crucial role of language in understanding the spiritual lives of young people today, commonly known as “Gen Z.” Though significant disaffiliation rates among young people often cause alarm within faith communities, this paper argues that listening carefully to the language of young people provides a more nuanced, in-depth picture that statistics on religious affiliation do not capture, which is critical in developing effective pastoral care for young adults. This paper opens with a sociocultural approach to Gen Z, drawing upon generational analysis and sociological data to demonstrate how different types of research yield varied results in their findings on young people’s spiritual lives. The exploration section is followed by a Christian perspective on finding faith in unexpected voices through exegesis of Matthew 15:21-28. This portion of the paper argues that, when we encounter people whose worldview differs from our own, language is integral to challenging and transforming our viewpoint. As a response to this matter of taking young people’s spiritual language seriously, the final part of this paper proposes a listening session for teens and their families in the context of a high school Confirmation program. Ultimately, the goal of this paper is to emphasize the rich interior lives that are already active in young people, even if on paper they may describe themselves as unaffiliated, and that the best way to become part of those ongoing spiritual journeys is through a pastoral ministry that is grounded in accompaniment and listening.

This research uses a questionnaire and a bridge drawing directive to explore the lived experience of transitioning out of a high-demand religion. Subjects include disaffiliated Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Fundamentalist Protestants who were recruited through a dedicated website via limited promotion in online communities for disaffiliates. Visual and textual responses are analyzed through qualitative coding, with additional analysis performed on the artwork using Hays and Lyons’ (1981) bridge drawing criteria. Results reveal the psychological, social, behavioral, identity, and existential effects of disaffiliation. Results also produce seven emergent themes: ambivalence; embracing uncertainty; social justice; simultaneous transitions; freedom and constraint; growth; and remaining ties. The paper then explores the subjects’ lived experiences, latent content in the artwork, and the role and value of artmaking in healing from these difficult transitions. Lastly, this paper discusses treatment considerations, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research on religious struggles and disaffiliation.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a vida de alguns Moradores de Rua no encontro com a Casa de Apoio Casa da Solidariedade ACASO, percebendo o que dessas vidas pode servir como analisador de nossas próprias vidas, analisando também a produção de assistencialismo, não autonomia e outros efeitos que uma prática deste tipo pode vir a causar. Em tempos de biopoder como estamos vivendo nos dias de hoje, em que a vida vale como uma mercadoria e Moradores de Rua são desqualificados como pessoas e estão sendo expulsos e vitimados pela força bruta do Estado, ousamos afirmar que a vida vale por si mesma. Esta tese também pretende analisar a Política para a Inclusão da População em Situação de Rua e enfrentar o tema da criminalização da pobreza, bem como a produção de vitimização desta população. Partindo dos conceitos de biopoder em Michel Foucault e Peter Pál Pelbart, bem como o de desfiliação em Robert Castel, analisa as tramas dos que escolhem a rua como lar. Um importante aspecto, também ressaltado pela tese, é a forma como a ACASO exerce suas práticas através da religião como forma de cuidado e acolhida ao diferente e àqueles e àquelas que se encontram excluídos da sociedade de consumo. Outro importante viés desta tese é a discussão de dois estereótipos da vida dos Moradores de Rua que os marcam cotidianamente, o de vítima e de criminoso / This research aims to analyze the lives of some homeless citizens, and their encounter with the "House of Solidarity" Support House ACASO, realizing what of these lives can serve as analyzers of our own lives, and also analyzing the production of welfare dependency, non-autonomy and other effects that this type of practice may cause. In times of bio-power, as the ones we are living today, in which life is seen as a commodity, and where Homeless People are disqualified as human beings and are being expelled and victimized by the State violence, we dare to affirm that life is worthwhile in itself. This thesis also intends to analyze the Policy for the Inclusion of the Street Population and address the issue of the criminalization of poverty, as well as the production of the victimization of this population. Based on the concepts of bio-power in Michel Foucault and Peter Pál Pelbart, as well as the concept of disaffiliationin Robert Castel, this thesis analyzes the stories of those who choose the street as a home. An important aspect, also emphasized by this thesis, is how ACASO performs its practices through religion as a form of care and receptivity to the different and those who are excluded from the consumer society. Another important aspect of this thesis is the discussion of two stereotypes that are constantlyfixed on Street dwellers, being the victim and the criminal

abstract: This study investigated how young adults communicate their decision to religiously disaffiliate to their parents. Both the context in which the religious disaffiliation conversation took place and the communicative behaviors used during the religious disaffiliation conversation were studied. Research questions and hypotheses were guided by Family Communication Patterns Theory and Face Negotiation Theory. A partially mixed sequential quantitative dominate status design was employed to answer the research questions and hypotheses. Interviews were conducted with 10 young adults who had either disaffiliated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Watch Tower Society. During the interviews, the survey instrument was refined; ultimately, it was completed by 298 religiously disaffiliated young adults. For the religious disaffiliation conversation’s context, results indicate that disaffiliated Jehovah’s Witnesses had higher conformity orientations than disaffiliated Latter-day Saints. Additionally, disaffiliated Jehovah’s Witnesses experienced more stress than disaffiliated Latter-day Saints. Planning the conversation in advance did lead to the disaffiliation conversation being less stressful for young adults. Furthermore, the analysis found that having three to five conversations reduced stress significantly more than having one or two conversations. For the communicative behaviors during the religious disaffiliation conversation, few differences were found in regard to prevalence of the facework behaviors between the two groups. Of the 14 facework behaviors, four were used more often by disaffiliated JW than disaffiliated LDS—abuse, passive aggressive, pretend, and defend self. In terms of effectiveness, the top five facework behaviors were talk about the problem, consider the other, have a private discussion, remain calm, and defend self. Overall, this study begins the conversation on how religious disaffiliation occurs between young adults and their parents and extends Family Communication Patterns Theory and Face Negotiation Theory to a new context. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2015