When Certainty Cracks: Early Identity-Change Work among Women Exiting High-Cost Religion

Abstract

This chapter will explore themes that emerged in exploring the process of high-cost religious role exit among twenty women, former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormon). How do they first come to the decision to exit the role of “high-cost religious adherent?” How do they narrate their exit journeys? What strategies do they use to build new religious/spiritual/irreligious roles for themselves? Using Mead’s work on the self as a process and a perspective and Goffman’s writings on the management of stigma and discreditable/discredited identities, I will examine how LDS exiters manage the process of redefining their religious selves in the United States, a country with traditionally high levels of expressed religious belief and belonging as well as an growing rejection of institutionalized religion and a increasing population of religious “nones.” I begin with a review of the literature on religious identity, focusing on what has been written on religious identity change. I then move onto exploring the exit experiences of these ex-LDS interviewees. The chapter ends with a discussion of what these women’s exit narratives can tell us about high-cost religious identity change in contemporary society and suggest directions for future research in this area.