deconversion
Leaving one's religion
Deconversion is the process of losing or abandoning a religious faith, the reverse of conversion.
Where conversion describes coming to believe, deconversion describes ceasing to believe: Her deconversion from Catholicism was gradual.
The term appears most often in discussions of people leaving evangelical Christianity or other high-commitment religious traditions.
Someone who has undergone this process is a deconvert.
Renunciation of former beliefs
- atheismRejection of deities
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
- unbeliefLack of faith
- nonbeliefLack of religious faith
irreligion · secularism · skepticism · heresy · deconvert · ex-believer · freethought · rationalism
Seeking answers through inquiry
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- misgivingsFeelings of doubt
incredulity · reconsideration · wavering · scrutiny · disputation · reexamination · challenging · unraveling
Complete self-transformation
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
- transformationThorough change in form
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
- redefinitionAltering established meaning
reorientation · transition · awakening · growth · reassessment · rebuilding · reimagining · emergence
Absence of constraint
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- independenceFreedom from external control
- unshacklingRemoving fetters or constraints
release · disentanglement · self-determination · authenticity · unburdening · relief · empowerment · free-thinking
Analysis exposing self-contradiction
- journeyTravel from place to place
- gradualDeveloping slowly over time
- stagesDistinct periods or platforms
- progressionSequential forward movement
unlearning · detachment · withdrawal · disengagement · distancing · fading · drifting · liminal
Person who renounced Christianity
- ex-MuslimOne who left Islam
- recoveringRegaining health or strength
- testimonialStatement praising someone's qualities
- isolationComplete separation from others
apostasy
Renunciation of former beliefs
- atheismRejection of deities
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
- unbeliefLack of faith
nonbelief · irreligion · secularism · skepticism · heresy · deconvert · ex-believer · freethought · rationalism · humanism
questioning
Seeking answers through inquiry
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
misgivings · incredulity · reconsideration · wavering · scrutiny · disputation · reexamination · challenging · unraveling · destabilization
reinvention
Complete self-transformation
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
- transformationThorough change in form
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
redefinition · reorientation · transition · awakening · growth · reassessment · rebuilding · reimagining · emergence
freedom
Absence of constraint
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- independenceFreedom from external control
unshackling · release · disentanglement · self-determination · authenticity · unburdening · relief · empowerment · free-thinking · escape
deconstruction
Analysis exposing self-contradiction
- journeyTravel from place to place
- gradualDeveloping slowly over time
- stagesDistinct periods or platforms
progression · unlearning · detachment · withdrawal · disengagement · distancing · fading · drifting · liminal · threshold
ex-Christian
Person who renounced Christianity
- ex-MuslimOne who left Islam
- recoveringRegaining health or strength
- testimonialStatement praising someone's qualities
- life changesmarriage, death, divorce, birth, graduation
- conversionsexchange rate, encoding, transcoding, reformatting, digitization
- faith crisisfaith crisis, doubt, questioning faith, spiritual struggle, religious doubt
- Unbeliefatheism, agnosticism, irreligion, nonbelief, disbelief
- church trendschurch growth, church attendance, church membership, megachurches, megachurch
- ex-believersapostate, ex-believer, former believer, lapsed, deconvert
deconversionconversion
Act of changing states
religious conversion · coming to faith · finding God · faith journey · spiritual awakening
deconversionfaith
Trust without proof
belief · devotion · piety · faithfulness · conviction
convert, conversion, converted, convertible, converts, unconverted, converter, reconvert, convertibility