The Search for Meaning and Belonging After Leaving a High-Cost Religion

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Individuals who deidentify from religion commonly experience loneliness and a loss of social support as they navigate interpersonal difficulties and a change in who they are. Post-exit, many are pulled to explore their new place in society, including integration into or building a new community that helps them feel a greater sense of meaning. However, it can be a stark challenge to find a similar level of belonging without being part of a religious group with comparably high demand for participation. In an online survey of 781 primarily Israeli and American individuals who pulled away from ultra-Orthodox Judaism, we investigated how sense of belonging may look after religious deidentification. Regression analyses showed that a lower sense of belonging was largely explained by spiritual struggles, most notably ultimate meaning struggles, and is also associated with depression and anxiety. Enduring the deidentification process with a partner showed a mild association with reduced depression. Time since exit and length of disaffiliation do not associate with a sense of belonging. These results provide an understanding of how those who exit an all-consuming religious organization may grapple with rebuilding belonging as they embark on a new path in life. Finding a way to work through these challenges may be important for psychological adjustment.