deconverting
Abandoning religious belief
Deconverting is the process of leaving a religious faith or belief system one previously held.
It is the opposite of converting.
Someone who is deconverting may be questioning doctrines, distancing themselves from religious community, or actively rejecting beliefs they once embraced.
After years of doubt, she finally admitted she was deconverting from the faith she grew up in.
The term is especially common in online communities where former believers share their experiences.
A person who has completed this process is sometimes called a deconvert.
Renunciation of former beliefs
- renounceFormally give up
- disavowDeny any association
- repudiateReject as having no authority
- recantFormally withdraw a statement
abjure · defect · disaffiliate · forsake · reject · leave · withdraw · dissent
Separation of faith, state
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- atheismRejection of deities
- naturalismWorldview excluding the supernatural
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
rationalism · nontheism · secular humanism · spiritual but not religious · nones · ex-believer · freethinker · religious trauma
Lack of firm belief
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
- disbeliefRejection of truth claims
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
critical thinking · reason · evidence · logic · empiricism · rationality · freethought · scrutiny
Travel from place to place
- transformationThorough change in form
- shiftMovement or work period
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- awakeningReturn to consciousness
deconstruction · reassessment · reinvention · turning point · metamorphosis · progression · redefinition · identity crisis
apostasy
Renunciation of former beliefs
recant · abjure · defect · disaffiliate · forsake · reject · leave · withdraw · dissent · heresy
secularism
Separation of faith, state
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
- atheismRejection of deities
- naturalismWorldview excluding the supernatural
materialism · rationalism · nontheism · secular humanism · spiritual but not religious · nones · ex-believer · freethinker · religious trauma · purity culture
doubt
Lack of firm belief
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
- disbeliefRejection of truth claims
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
agnosticism · critical thinking · reason · evidence · logic · empiricism · rationality · freethought · scrutiny · inquiry
journey
Travel from place to place
- transformationThorough change in form
- shiftMovement or work period
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
awakening · deconstruction · reassessment · reinvention · turning point · metamorphosis · progression · redefinition · identity crisis · liminal
liberate
Set free from captivity
- emancipateGrant freedom to
- freeWithout payment or restriction
- unshackleRemove bonds from
unbind · unfetter · unburden · disengage · extricate · disentangle · detach · release · autonomy · authenticity
deconvertingconverting
Changing form or function
joining · coming to faith · finding faith · spiritual conversion · accepting Christ
deconvertingreconverting
Changing back again
radicalizing · recommitting · reviving · rededicating · doubling down
convert, conversion, converted, convertible, converting, conversions, unconverted, converter, converters