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Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Identity, Social Relationships and Support, and Meaning Related to Well-Being

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Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Identity, Social Relationships and Support, and Meaning Related to Well-Being Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Spring 6-5-2018 Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Identity, Social Relationships and Support, and Meaning Related to Well-Being Andreea Alexandra Nica Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Religion Commons, Social Psychology Commons, and the Sociology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Nica, Andreea Alexandra, "Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Identity, Social Relationships and Support, and Meaning Related to Well-Being" (2018). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4404. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6288 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Exiters of Religious Fundamentalism: Reconstruction of Identity, Social Relationships and Support, and Meaning Related to Well-Being by Andreea Alexandra Nica A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Dissertation Committee: Melissa Thompson, Chair David Morgan Robert Liebman Kerth O’Brien Portland State University 2018 © 2018 Andreea Alexandra Nica Abstract Over the past decade, researchers have documented the steady growth of religious “nones” – those who do not affiliate with any organized religion. There is, however, limited research examining religious disaffiliation on health outcomes – that is, how the process of religious disaffiliation or exiting contributes to mental well-being. These trends and gap in the literature make it timely and it is important to consider the impact of leaving religion on the well-being of individuals experiencing this life transition. This qualitative study investigates a particularly understudied subgroup of exiters – individuals who have exited Christian fundamentalist religious groups. Drawing on 24 in-depth, individual interviews, this research examines how former religious participants reconstruct identity, social relationships and support, and meaning related to well-being – conceptualized as the religious exiting process for this study. I employ Iterative Thematic Inquiry or ITI, a new qualitative analytic strategy that focuses on theme development before data collection, through an initial assessment of researcher preconceptions, and that writing, versus coding, is the primary procedure for data analysis. The results demonstrate that while it is challenging in the initial stages of the exiting process to forge a new sense of identity, cultivate new relationships and support, and achieve a positive meaning outcome, over time, this reconstruction contributes to greater life satisfaction. i Dedication Dedicated to my grandmother, Elena Nica, whose spirit gave me the courage to exit and, more importantly, arrive. ii Acknowledgments My dissertation committee, Melissa Thompson, David Morgan, Robert Liebman, and Kerth O’Brien, for their invaluable contributions and support on this meaningful research project. A special thanks to David Morgan for his dedication and commitment. My gratitude to the participants who shared their life stories and the secular and nonreligious organizations that made this research project possible. Appreciation of contributions to my professional and academic development: Sona Karentz Andrews, Matthew Carlson, José A. Padín, and Jeff Robinson. Gratitude to dissertation proofreaders: Timmy Brown and Siobhan McDonald. For supporting me on a lifepath less traveled: Mark Barlow, Matthew T. Edey, Brian C. Jesse, and Vladislav O. Semenov. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... i Dedication .............................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ......................................................................................................... v List of Figures ........................................................................................................ vi Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 6 Theory .................................................................................................................. 29 Methods ................................................................................................................ 44 Results .................................................................................................................. 57 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 132 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 151 References ............................................................................................................ 159 Appendix A. Telephone Screening Questions ..................................................... 169 Appendix B. Interview Protocol .......................................................................... 170 Appendix C. Iterative Thematic Inquiry (ITI) Example ...................................... 173 iv List of Tables Table 1. Sample representation ………………………………………………….… 48 Table 2. Qualitative Data Analysis Comparison Chart ……………………………. 51 Table 3. Participant Demographics ………………………………………………... 59 Table 4. Life Satisfaction Scale …………………………………………………… 60 Table 5. Overview of Results ……………………………………………………... 127 v List of Figures Figure 1. Integrative Conceptual Model ………………………………………… 54 vi Introduction Over the past decade, the rate of religious disaffiliation has increased. According to a recent report, nearly one in five Americans (18%) who were raised in a religious faith now have no religious affiliation (and thus are considered disaffiliated; Pew Research, 2015). The same report found that nonreligious people – those who do not affiliate with any organized religion – currently account for almost one quarter (23%) of the adult population. This is an increase from 1990, when 7% of Americans were nonreligious (Pew Research, 2015). Despite the steady trend, religion continues to be a pervasive force with intersecting influences in the social, cultural and political domains (Bader & Desmond, 2006; Geertz, 1973; Turner, 2013). Moreover, religion serves as a powerful source of meaning and purpose (Silberman, 2005), offers forms of social support and coping resources (Nooney & Woodrum, 2002), and contributes to social identity development (Greenfield & Marks, 2007; Merino, 2014; Ysseldyk, Matheson, & Anisman, 2010). The documented increase in religious disaffiliation begs the exploration of societal impact and individual well-being of the rising wave of religious disaffiliates. While much of the research in the sociology of religion has documented a positive religion-health association (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001; Krause, 2015), some have found the opposite to be true across specific measures (Cragun, Hwang, & Hammer, 2009; Ellison, Burdette, & Hill, 2009; Exline, Yali, & Sanderson, 2000; Strawbridge, Shema, Cohen, Roberts, & Kaplan, 1998). Generally, the religion-health association has 1 been operationalized along measures of formal religious participation (e.g., religious attendance), physical health (e.g., hypertension, heart disease) and mental health (e.g., psychological distress, well-being). Yet, research exploring the association between religious disaffiliation and mental health is quite limited (Fenelon & Danielsen, 2016). The few who have investigated this association have discovered that there are variations of social and health consequences to leaving religious groups, namely, exiting groups that are considered “high-cost”, fundamentalist, and/or strict (Berger, 2015; Fazzino, 2014; Fenelon & Danielsen, 2016; Iannaccone, 1994). Further, although there has been a steady increase of religiously unaffiliated Americans (Pew, 2012), still nonreligious identities, such as atheists, who may also be exiters of a religious group, experience social stigma given the pervasive Western Christian ideology in the United States (Smith, 2011; Streib, Silver, Csöff, Keller, & Hood, 2009; Zuckerman, 2009). This research focuses on a subset of religious disaffiliates – exiters from fundamentalist religious groups – and, specifically, explores how this subset of exiters reconstruct identity, meaning, and social relationships and support, and how this reconstruction impacts well-being. I conceptualize social relationships and support, identity, and meaning as interrelated, but also, distinct concepts for my units of analysis – individual exiters of fundamentalist religious groups. For the purposes of this study, I conceive the “exiter” as having the following two characteristics: 1). Does not participate in “religious switching” – transitioning from one religion to another (Scheitle & Adamczyk, 2010). 2). An exiter may or may not deliberately take on
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