Full Description
This book draws from cutting-edge psychological research to provide advice for people who are undergoing religious change.
Americans today are leaving religion in record numbers. For many, the faith, practices, and institutions that once provided comfort and guidance no longer fit their beliefs and values. This shift often comes with a price, however. While turning away from religion can bring about freedom, awe, and wonder, it can also engender a profound loss of meaning, purpose, community, and identity. It can threaten our relationships with friends and family. And it can pose a significant challenge to the mental health of even the most resilient among us.
How can people who are no longer served by traditional religion find new meaning and purpose? How can they process the grief that often accompanies religious or spiritual change? And how can they address challenging interpersonal relationships with people who do not support or understand their religious change? In this book, psychologist Daryl Van Tongeren draws from psychological theories and research to examine the emotional and social processes involved with religious change and offers science-based guidance for building a new life-with or without religion.
If you are rethinking your religious beliefs, have experienced religious loss or struggle, or have undergone a significant religious change, you are not alone. By understanding how people before us have left or transformed their religion, we can discover new ways of finding peace, experiencing meaning, and, if desired, engaging with the transcendent. Let their wisdom-and this book-be your guide.
Contents
Introduction. The Great Disillusionment
Chapter . Why People Leave: The Four Horsemen
Chapter 2. After Religious Trauma
Chapter 3. Walking Away from Religion
Chapter 4. Religious Residue
Chapter 5. Searching for Meaning in the Existential Chasm
Chapter . Crafting a New Identity
Chapter 7. Navigating Relationships
Chapter 8. Post-Religious Spirituality
Conclusion. Moving Forward
References
