Internal Conflict Associated with Disaffiliation from the Roman Catholic Church

In modern Western societies, disaffiliation frequently occurs within the field of religion. To date, many studies have analysed what motivates people to leave religious institutions. However, whether they face internal conflicts during this process has not been intensely studied. Based on Festinger’...

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Authors: Riegel, Ulrich 1966- (Author) ; Jäckel, Marie (Author) ; Faix, Tobias 1969- (Author)
格式: 電子 Article
語言:English
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出版: Brill 2022
In: Journal of empirical theology
Year: 2022, 卷: 35, 發布: 1, Pages: 76-94
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B 天主教會, Diözese Essen / 脫離教會 / 心理衝突
IxTheo Classification:CH Christianity and Society
KBB German language area
KDB Roman Catholic Church
RB Church office; congregation
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Internal conflict
B Cognitive Dissonance
B Disaffiliation
B Qualitative Research
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總結:In modern Western societies, disaffiliation frequently occurs within the field of religion. To date, many studies have analysed what motivates people to leave religious institutions. However, whether they face internal conflicts during this process has not been intensely studied. Based on Festinger’s concept of cognitive dissonance, this paper re-analyses 27 interviews of persons who left the Catholic Church in the diocese of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. In 12 out of 27 interviews, such internal conflicts could be reconstructed, indicating that leaving religious institutions is not always an easy process. These conflicts are related to four characteristic core issues evoking dissonant emotions, namely belonging, the social environment, belief, and identity. The analysis also illustrates that disaffiliation not only solves such internal conflicts but sometimes causes new ones. More research is needed to fully understand people’s inner struggles when disaffiliating from religious institutions.
ISSN:1570-9256
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of empirical theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15709256-20221428