Recovering Evangelicals #41 – Scratching the itch
It’s a common phenomenon: people who say they’ve left the faith, but they just keep coming back to pick at it. It left a nasty wound, which has since scabbed over, but they keep lifting the edges
We looked at the demographics behind this … not just in America, but also in Canada, the UK, and Australia (these make up a large proportion of our listening audience). And we can relate to it on a personal level. So we thought we’d look more closely at it.
We came up with four driving forces that might explain this phenomenon:
- it’s wrapped up in other things that one can’t let go of (family, friends, community)
- thinking/talking about religion is in their mental wiring, their DNA, or has become an engrained habit
- uncertainty and fear: “what if I was wrong? Am I gonna’ go to hell?”
- the stages of life: having kids, a life-threatening illness, or approaching old age tend to force this subject back to the surface of one’s consciousness
We also noticed that people who give up their faith can often tend to embark down two paths. They either become “reconstructors” (they find a substitute, even an entirely different kind of religion) because they see themselves as “spiritual but not religious. Or they become “crusaders” … they actively and loudly oppose the religion which had previously been such a central and vital part of their life.
As always, tell us what you think.
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