Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian
Religion News

2023-01-03T12:02:49-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Applying Behavior Analysis to Deconversion

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 12:02 pm By Joel Furches

Sometimes we want to know why people do the things they do. In my field of Behavior Analysis, we have a simple tool to figure out what drives a person to behave a particular way. The technical term is a “Functional Analysis.” Motivations for Behavior Human beings, along with most other animals, do things for one of these reasons: To gain some item (like candy, a new car, or that thing on the top shelf) To gain attention (which is... Read more

2023-01-03T12:01:37-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Going off to College and Losing Faith

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 12:01 pm By Joel Furches

It has almost become a trope among Christians that sending your kids off to college will cause them to abandon the faith. And this isn’t entirely untrue. Research done in 2020 by the researchers Łysiak, Zarzycka, Puchalska-Wasyl suggests that social ties have a lot to do with either religious fidelity or deconversion in youth. Meaning that youth who have strong ties to family and religious peers are far less likely to deconvert than those whose ties to family and church... Read more

2023-01-03T12:01:06-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Testify! The Religious Testimony Versus the Deconversion Story

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 12:01 pm By Joel Furches

CONVERSION NARRATIVES Starbuck (1866-1947) and James (1902) were pioneers in the field of Conversion studies. Both of these relied on “conversion narratives” in their studies. Later, the Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion would include a chapter exploring conversion in terms of narrative. A “narrative” in this sense is simply a story which has a definite beginning point, rises to a narrative climax, and then has a definite conclusion. In terms of conversion narratives, the standard format in people’s minds is... Read more

deconversion narrative

2023-01-03T12:00:14-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What Christian Denomination Should You Belong To? Here’s How To Choose

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 12:00 pm By Joel Furches

While the substance of this column is related to studies in religious psychology, Patheos has asked for my expertise as an approach for Christians selecting their denomination. Any writer approaching this subject as a Christian insider is liable to do so by way of theological considerations, and it seems likely that such a writer would favor his or her denomination over others. It may surprise the reader to learn that this is a question upon which psychology has much to... Read more

Uncategorized

deconversion

religion

religion and wellbeing

religious denomination

religious values

2023-01-03T11:59:19-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Comparison Between Religious Conversion and Deconversion

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 11:59 am By Joel Furches

It has long been argued in religious conversion studies whether there is a significant difference between conversion and deconversion. One line of reasoning goes something like this: every conversion to something is a deconversion away from something else. So that a person who becomes a Christian is changing a great deal of his or her worldview as a result of the conversion, and discarding old notions as a result. The reverse would also be true. A person deconverting from Christianity would be changing worldviews to adopt new standards and ideas.... Read more

2023-01-03T11:58:42-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Deconversion Crisis

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 11:58 am By Joel Furches

In his book The Variety of Religious Experiences, William James writes about multiple accounts of religious conversions, most of which occurred in the late 19th century. James observes that accounts of religious conversion seem to come primarily from adolescents, which makes sense given that this is a time of change and identity formation in a youth. Upon examination of James’s stories, however, one will be quick to note that his teenage “converts” were already living in a Christian home and... Read more

2023-01-03T11:57:52-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Doubt and Deconversion

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 11:57 am By Joel Furches

What is ‘Doubt’ It isn’t uncommon for a person to be skeptical toward a claim. “The moon landing was a hoax,” could easily be met with “I doubt it.” Additionally, most people have experienced lapses in self-confidence which may be termed “self-doubt.” And yet in all the history of psychological theory and research, when the word “doubt” is used, it is almost exclusively in a religious context. Given that psychologists rarely use the word ‘doubt’ in studies which do not... Read more

2022-09-11T17:45:47-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Five Things that Motivate Deconversion

Last updated on: September 11, 2022 at 5:45 pm By Joel Furches

Imagine eating a bag of salty chips. Before you begin to munch on the chips, a frosty glass of cold water would only be mildly tempting. But with each chip you consume, the more attractive the glass of water becomes. The act of eating the chips increases the value of the glass of water. By the same principle, for every moment one spends in a stuffy auditorium with no air conditioning, the exit door becomes more and more attractive. In... Read more

2023-01-03T11:56:20-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Losing my Religion: Deconversion or Disaffiliation?

Last updated on: January 3, 2023 at 11:56 am By Joel Furches

The first several articles in this column focused on the history of conversion research. Understanding how religious conversion works is important to understanding how deconversion works. But it has come time to dig into the features of deconversion. Deconversion research is still in its infancy in comparison to conversion research. And so the first task of the researcher is to define what “deconversion” means. The leading figure in deconversion research is currently Dr. John Marriott. In his book The Anatomy... Read more

2022-09-13T13:17:16-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Human Sacrifice and Witch Hunts

Last updated on: September 13, 2022 at 1:17 pm By Joel Furches

Because of the vast separation in time, location, and culture between the development of Judeo-Christian religion and the various religions of the Incas, Aztecs, Mayans, and other Mesoamerican civilizations, it may seem like a stretch to compare their respective religious approaches to the shameless slaying of human beings. However, the comparison and contrast of each of these people groups may say a lot about the ways in which religions interact with political powers and respond to outsiders which may seem... Read more

History and Religion

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group is known for its emphasis on "total depravity"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Orthodox Baptists Reformed (Calvinists) Methodists

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category biography Conversion Stories Deconversion Stories Historical Religious Figures Psychology Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022

TRENDING AT PATHEOS General Christian