Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Farberman, Harvey A. | Blau, D.S.W., Joel | Farrington, Ph.D., Jack | Vidal, Ph.D., Carlos.
Date
2015-12-01
Keywords
Religion | Altruism, Atheist, Deconversion, Discrimination, Mental Health, Religion
Department
Department of Social Welfare.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76787
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
There are two experiences that atheists have which are not yet well understood: discrimination and deconversion. Through semi-structured interviews, designed to better understand the deconversion process and the relationships of 35 American atheists living in both the Northeast and Southern regions of the United States, a better understanding of these experiences emerged. These individuals had damaging histories, which included abuse, abandonment and/or outsider status. These elements combined with religious teachings yielded a sense of self-as-bad in which respondents experienced feelings of shame, depression, anxiety, and in some cases suicidality. The 25 males, 9 females and 1 transwoman in this study used avoidance techniques in response to their damaging histories. One such response was that of self-sacrificing altruism, in which they either worked or volunteered in helping professions. This self-sacrificing altruism combined with their damaging histories, ultimately led to fatigue and a breakpoint event that, in the end, culminated in loss of belief. | 194 pages
Recommended Citation
Phillips, Amy, "The Resurrection of Self: How Deconversion from Religious Belief to Atheism Healed a History of Rejection, Trauma, and Shame" (2015). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2665.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2665