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Dissertation Research

My dissertation, “A Corrupted Faith: The Role of Power in the Process of Christian Disaffiliation and the Rise of the Religious Nones” centers the lived experiences of diverse ex-Christians. Like all social institutions, U.S. Christianity maintains and reproduces systems of inequality which has been exacerbated in the past several decades. My dissertation explores this reality by examining former Christian’s process of religious deconstruction and political and social identity reformation after religion. Preliminary data suggests that while specific experiences are varied and highly personal to each ex-Christian, the use of Christianity to reinforce race, gender, and sexual hierarchies and the marriage of Christianity to a conservative politic, is a common catalyst of religious exiting in the United States. 

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If you are interested in participating or seeking support resources in your deconstruction journey, check out the following information:

To Participate:

Thank you for your interest in participating in this study! This study seeks participants who have left Christianity in the last 10 years (anytime since approximately 2014), are 18 years or older, and are U.S residents. If you believe you are eligible and would like to participate, please reach out to me at tess.starman@bison.howard.edu.  

Resources:

Deconstruction, disaffiliation, exiting (or your preferred terminology) is a complex and multifaceted process, which involves more than leaving a group, but also an identity, a worldview, a community, and so much more. Thinking or discussing departure from religion can bring up many emotions and the process often feels isolating. One of the goals of this research is to show that while every experience of religious exiting and deconstruction is unique, there are so many threads of continuity in the experience between those who have gone through it. Many people are working to build communities to support those grappling with their deconstruction. Here are a few of those communities as well as other resources that may be beneficial should you desire support and further spaces for dialogue. 

 

Books:

  • The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leading the White Evangelical Church, by Sarah McCammon 

  • When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion, by Dr. Laura E. Anderson 

  • Done: How to Flourish After Leaving Religion, by Dr. Daryl R. Van Tongeren 

  • You Are Your Own: A Reckoning with the Religious Trauma of Evangelical Christianity, by Jamie Lee Finch

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Online Spaces, Conversations & Thinkers:

  • hello_deconstructionists, social media and podcast

  • Dr. Laura E Anderson, social media 

  • Straight White American Jesus, podcast 

  • Deconversion "therapy" podcast, social media and podcast 

  • Deconstructionist, podcast 

  • Sunday School Dropouts, podcast

  • Ear Biscuits, Rhett and Link, youtube 

  • Reddit communities: r/deconstruction, r/exchristian, r/exvangelical 

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