Identity formation and re-formation within and beyond Christian Fundamentalism: a post-structural narrative analysis of power and resistance Josie McSkimming A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social Sciences Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences July 2014 i Abstract The process of Christian apostasy or disaffiliation, with its associated identity changes, is an under-researched area within the sociology and psychology of religion. The researcher’s encounter with such disaffiliation was originally from the point of view of a social worker and psychotherapist, providing assistance to people navigating this process. This study has its significance in aiming to situate such a journey of disaffiliation from Christian Fundamentalism (CF) within a relational framework of power, using the theory of Michel Foucault and post-Foucauldian scholars. Power is not understood in a repressive or dominating sense, but as a ‘net-like’ structure in which individuals simultaneously undergo and exercise power as ‘identity projects’. The qualitative study uses a four-tiered analysis of the interviews of 20 people who have exited CF and moved to more diverse positions of belief. Firstly, dialogical narrative analysis is used to create a typology of plotlines of the process of identity re-formation out of CF. Secondly, a Foucauldian genealogy maps the subjectification of the Christian subject along the axes of truth, power and the self, illustrating the power apparatus of the ‘Christian normalising gaze’. Thirdly, a Bakhtinian lens refracts the data to analyse performed identity within a multi- voiced world. Finally, a reflexive explication of the co-construction of the story with the researcher examines power within the research relationship as well as the research participants’ self-placement on the ‘insider/outsider continuum’ of CF. The findings suggest that former participants of fundamentalist churches tell potent stories of interiorised and self-monitored Christian identities. The process of exit occurs over years, with resistance being exercised through such ‘technologies of the self’ as counterstories of self- definition and re-formed ethical substance; the double life of internal protest, leading to an integration of the submerged self; alternative positioning, reading and independent thinking in regard to authoritative discourses. Implications for social work and psychotherapy following disaffiliation suggest a post-structural therapy may be useful. This study considers the individual stories of change as responses to relationships of power and discourse, even as acts of resistance, refusal and anti-pastoral revolt. ii Dedication To James, my partner and dearest friend iii Acknowledgements Undertaking a thesis about Christian apostasy would have been almost unthinkable for me some ten years ago—such has been my own journey of change and identity transformation. What was originally just a seed of an idea was helped to grow and come to fruition by the constant encouragement of my supervisors, Associate Professor Carmel Flaskas and Dr Michael Wearing. I thank Carmel for her irrepressible sense of humour, searing intelligence, and for always keeping me focussed on the story, the structure and the big picture. I thank Michael for his painstaking attention to detail, his extraordinary knowledge of philosophy and social theory, and his unfailing belief in the project. I also would like to thank Associate Professor Leanne Dowse for her encouragement to consider qualitative research so comprehensively, as well as guiding me towards a computer software program well suited to my project. For my own changes, I have my late sister, the renowned poet Dorothy Porter, to thank for always encouraging me to challenge and subvert orthodoxy in its many guises, particularly religious. She has left me with a lasting legacy of being brave in the face of injustice, and being particularly alert to bullies and fakes. I hope she would be proud of me for completing this work. And big thanks to her partner, my dear sister-in-law Andrea Goldsmith, for her support, provocative questions and suggested reading along the way. My Anglican-high-church-Jewish parents (yes, quite a hybridisation) and my dear sister Mary have coped patiently with my rampant evangelicalism over the years. Forgive me for any excesses or slights endured—you are unfailingly loving and always interested in my next ambitious venture. I also have many dear friends to thank—including Rick, Wendie, Sue, Petrina, Tracy, Kerry and Lisa—who have supported and encouraged me through the rigours and rewards of leaving the church. I also thank my remarkable children and their partners, Sam and Rachel, Alex and Jaime, and Emily, who have taught me much more than they realise about life outside the church gaze. And the hugest thanks are reserved for my husband James, for his constant love and companionship on the disaffiliation journey. It has been very rough at times, and I thank him for being my partner and inspiration along the way. And how can I forget his unfailing and iv meticulous technical support in the face of my Luddite tendencies. Without his help and love, this thesis would never have even got off the ground. And finally, this project only exists because twenty generous and open-hearted people were willing to share their stories of disaffiliation with me. I hope this project truly reflects their stories faithfully and bears authentic testimony to all their journeys. My most sincere thanks to them all. And of course, any errors are all my own. v Publications and Presentations arising from the writing of this thesis MCSKIMMING, J. (2013a) Shared passion within a diversity of interests: a credible and stimulating alternative: the interdisciplinary conference ‘Storytelling: global reflections on narrative’. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 2, 84–87. MCSKIMMING, J. (2013b) The storying, re-storying and de-storying of the Christian Fundamentalist self: the migration of identity of people who leave fundamentalist and evangelical Christian communities and the stories that inform the change process. 4th Global Conference - Storytelling: global reflections on narrative. Prague: Inter-disciplinary.net. MCSKIMMING, J. (2014) Identity formation and re-formation within Christian Fundamentalism: journeys of faith—interrupted. In: REID, H. & WEST, L. (eds.) Constructing narratives of continuity and change: a transdisciplinary approach to researching lives. Oxford: Routledge. Please note that the spelling used in this thesis follows The Macquarie Dictionary (2009) Sydney: Macquarie Dictionary Publishers All poems by Dorothy Porter are taken from: Porter, D. (2013) The best 100 poems of Dorothy Porter. Collingwood, Vic., Black Inc. vi Table of Contents Page Declarations ..................................................................... Error! 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Abstract..........................................................................................................................ii Dedication ......................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements........................................................................................................iv Publications and Presentations arising from the writing of this thesis...................vi Part One .........................................................................................................................2 Introduction...................................................................................................................2 Identity, change and this study............................................................................................ 3 Christian Fundamentalism .................................................................................................. 5 The study of former members of fundamentalist churches................................................. 6 The insider/outsider continuum .......................................................................................... 9 The structure ....................................................................................................................... 9 Final considerations: the significance of the study ........................................................... 11 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 1 .....................................................................................................................14 The historical emergence of Christian Fundamentalism and Christian Evangelicalism, and the cultural milieu of the research project ................................................................ 14 Introduction and definition of fundamentalism................................................................. 14 Focus on the Protestant Reformation tradition within CF, rather than Roman Catholicism, or cults and sects ............................................................................................................... 17 Christian Fundamentalism (CF) and Christian Evangelicalism (CE) ............................... 18 The Sydney Experience .................................................................................................... 19 Growth of CF as a Social Movement...............................................................................