Streib / Silver / Csöff Deconversion

Qualitative and Quantitative Results from Cross-Cultural Research in Germany and the United States of America
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-3-647-60439-8
Verlag: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band Band 005, 262 Seiten

Reihe: Research in Contemporary Religion

This book presents case studies and empirical data of a phenomenon which increasingly gains popularity in Western societies: deconversion. There is, the authors argue, no better word than deconversion to describe processes of disengagement from religious orientations because these have much in common with conversion. Termination of membership may eventually be the final step of deconversion, but it involves biographical and psychological dynamics which can and need to be reconstructed by qualitative approaches and analyzed by quantitative instruments.In the Bielefeld-based Cross-Cultural Study on Deconversion disengagement processes from a variety of religious backgrounds in the USA and in Germany were examined, ranging from well-established religious organizations to new religious and fundamentalist groups. Nearly 1,200 persons participated in thestudy and were interviewed from 2002 to 2005. In the focus of the study are 100 deconverts from the USA and from Germany who were examined with narrative interviews, faith development interviews and an extensive questionnaire. For case study elaboration, the study followed a research design with an innovative triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data. Four chapters, corresponding to four types of deconversion, present 21 case studies. The highlights of the research project are new data on spirituality – the deconverts in particular appear to prefer a 'more spiritual than religious' self-identification – and in-depth analyses of a variety of deconversion narratives with special focus on personality factors, motivation, attitudes, religious development, psychological well-being and growth, religious fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism. The results of this project which was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft are of special relevance for counselling and pastoral care, for religious education and for people concerned with administration and management of religious groups and churches, but also for a wider audience interested in contemporary changes in the religious fields in the USA and Germany.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Streib, Heinz

Silver, Christopher F.

Csöff, Rosina-Martha

Keller, Barbara

Hood, Ralph W.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Richardson, James T.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;Title Page;4
3;Copyright;5
4;Table of Contents;6
5;Foreword by James T. Richardson;10
6;Introduction;14
7;1 What is Deconversion? – Profiling the Concept;18
7.1;1.1 From Conversion to Deconversion;19
7.2;1.2 Conceptualizing Deconversion;22
7.3;1.3 The Religious Styles Perspective on Deconversion;24
7.4;1.4 The Variety of Deconversion Trajectories;26
7.5;1.5 Deconversion as Migration in the Religious Field;29
8;2 Empirical Studies on Deconversion;34
8.1;2.1 Deconversion in the United States: Survey Results;34
8.2;2.2 Deconversion in Germany: Survey Results;40
8.3;2.3 Deconversion in Cross-Cultural Perspective;44
8.4;2.4 Previous Interview Research on Deconversion;46
9;3 Our Study: Design, Methods and Sample Characteristics;52
9.1;3.1 The Qualitative Core of our Design;52
9.2;3.2 The Basic Unit of Research;54
9.3;3.3 Methods and Instruments;56
9.4;3.4 Sample Description and Levels of Analysis;64
9.5;3.5 Summary of Research Questions and Hypotheses;68
10;4 Characteristics and Predictors of Deconversion in Germany and the United States: Quantitative Results;70
10.1;4.1 Reliabilities and Intercorrelations among the Scales;70
10.2;4.2 How Deconverts Differ from In-Tradition Members;76
10.3;4.3 Cross-Cultural Differences: Indications of a Loss for Deconverts in Germany?;81
10.4; 4.4 “More Spiritual than Religious” Self-Identification and Deconversion;83
10.5;4.5 Summary of Scale Analyses and Group Differences;89
10.6;4.6 Regression Analysis to Predict Deconversion;91
11;5 The Variety of Deconversion Narratives: An Overview from Qualitative Results;94
11.1;5.1 Qualitative Sample Characteristics and the Evaluation Procedures;94
11.2;5.2 General Characteristics of the Deconversion Narratives;96
11.3;5.3 Where Did the Deconverts Go? – Deconversion Trajectories Quantified;98
11.4;5.4 Deconversion: Transformation in Faith Development and Religious Styles;101
11.5;5.5 Preparing for Case Study Analyses and our Typology Construction;108
12;6 Pursuit of Autonomy;114
12.1;6.1 “Church for Me right now is Non-existent:” Gina;114
12.2;6.2 “Now I’m Kind of just Exploring …:” Samantha;120
12.3;6.3 “It Took Me a Long Time after I Left the Religion to Stop Believing in God:” Timothy;125
12.4;6.4 Coming-Out and Stepping Out – Issues of (Sexual) Identity: Christoph;129
12.5;6.5 “Eventually I Became like More and More Critical of My Religion:” Mehmet;134
12.6;6.6 Conclusion;137
13;7 Debarred from Paradise;140
13.1;7.1 Love and Hate for the Guru – and a Recovery: Pia;140
13.2;7.2 “… suddenly the Frame of Reference is Missing:” Peter;144
13.3;7.3 From Feeling Sheltered to Feeling Cheated: Elisabeth;148
13.4;7.4 “… It’s like Watching when Your Relatives Die:” Adam;152
13.5;7.5 Regretting Lost Years: Franz;157
13.6;7.6 “Scientology is Very Godless …:” Fiona;160
13.7;7.7 “I ... Noticed a Lot of ... Double Standard Moral and a Lot of Dishonesty:” Celia;165
13.8;7.8 Conclusion;170
14;8 Finding a New Frame of Reference;172
14.1;8.1 “… at that Moment God Spoke to Me” – the End of the Search: Sabina;172
14.2;8.2 “Inside Myself I have this Certainty…:” Viviane;176
14.3;8.3 Discovering Intrinsic Religion: Melina;180
14.4;8.4 “I Became Orthodox … Because of that Tradition, the Holy Tradition:” Dan;184
14.5;8.5 “The Saints Things … is Really Big with Me”: Jasmin;189
14.6;8.6 Conclusion;193
15;9 Life-Long Quests – Late Revisions;196
15.1;9.1 Looking Back on a “Cult” of the Seventies: Erica;196
15.2;9.2 Midlife Revisions of a Seeker: Tom;200
15.3;9.3 Synthetic-Conventional Heresy: Gudrun;204
15.4;9.4 Ongoing Quest and Multiple Deconversions: Konrad;210
15.5;9.5 Conclusion;217
16;10 Deconversion in Biographical and Cultural Perspective: Conclusions and Discussion;218
16.1;10.1 What is Deconversion?;219
16.2;10.2 How Does Deconversion Come About? – Motivations and Causes;227
16.3;10.3 What Does One Get Out of Deconversion? – About Gains and Losses;229
16.4;10.4 Deconversion Dynamics in the Religious Field;236
16.5;10.5 Deconversion and Spiritual Quest – An Outlook;240
17;References;242
18;List of Figures and Tables;251
19;Index of Names;254
20;Index of Subjects;255
21;Author Information ;259
22;Back Cover;262

Über Autor(innen)

Silver, Christopher F.
Christopher F. Silver promoviert in Religionspädagogik und ist Lehrbeauftragter für Psychologie an der Universität von Tennessee in Chattanooga.

Hood, Ralph W.
Ralph W. Hood, Jr., PhD, ist Professor für Psychologie an der Universität von Tennessee in Chattanooga.

Streib, Heinz
Dr. theol. Heinz Streib ist Professor für Praktische Theologie, Religionspädagogik, Religionspsychologie und Biographische Religionsforschung an der Universität Bielefeld.

Csöff, Rosina-Martha
Rosina-Martha Csöff ist Diplom-Soziologin und wissenschaftliche Assistentin an der Evangelischen Fachhochschule Ludwigsburg-Reutlingen.

Keller, Barbara
Dr. Barbara Keller ist Diplom-Psychologin und arbeitet am Zentrum für Psychotraumatologie in Krefeld.