Date of Award:

5-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Sociology and Anthropology

Department name when degree awarded

Sociology

Committee Chair(s)

John C. Allen

Committee

John C. Allen

Committee

Peggy Petrzelka

Committee

Phillip Barlow

Abstract

As with every religion, the LDS (Mormon) Church suffers from attrition of membership. This study looks at the experiences of 21 individuals who have left the LDS church, asking about the reasons for leaving the church and about the consequences of making such a decision.

Unlike many other studies concerning religious apostasy, this research takes a strictly qualitative approach to examining the causes and consequences for leaving the LDS Church. Instead of focusing on demographic characteristics such as race, class, or gender as indicators for apostasy, this research asks a small group of individuals in-depth questions to gain a deeper understanding of apostasy on an individual level. This type of data collection and analysis allowed for the identification of previously unknown reasons for apostasy not discussed in prior literature. Additional benefits of this research is it's contribution to the greater body of knowledge concerning apostasy by looking at a topic that has been largely ignored for the last 10 years, and by changing the focus from large scale quantitative data collection and analysis to a more exploratory approach that offers and deeper understanding of apostasy.

Ultimately 14 individual reasons for leaving the LDS church were identified in this research, in addition to 17 diverse consequences for leaving. The individual reasons for apostasy from the LDS church were often intellectual in orientation; some of the reasons included polygamy in church history, concerns over the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, and gay rights, among others. The consequences for leaving the church were both negative and positive, including the loss of a sense of community, negative impacts to family relationships, and an increased sense of happiness. Finally, this study revealed that every participant interviewed has refrained from joining another organized religion, leading to additional questions about apostasy, including the degree to which other apostates remain independent of organized religion.

Checksum

bf442f3057e10f9fe57bba74a34d0193

Download

Included in

Sociology Commons

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .