Losing the rapture: escaping from fundamentalist Christian belief

ABSTRACT

Exiting fundamentalist groups can create great difficulties, sometimes affecting the mental health of those who leave or attempt to leave. Four examples are discussed. Edmund Gosse (1849–1928) left the Plymouth Brethren in young adulthood and wrote his book Father and Son in 1907. Jeanette Winterson (b. 1959) left the Elim Pentecostal Church in Accrington aged 16 and wrote a fictionalised autobiography and a memoir of her early life. Rebecca Stott (b. 1964) left the Exclusive Brethren in her teenage years and wrote a biography of herself and her father In the Days of Rain (2017). Tara Westover (b. 1986) grew up in a Mormon family in rural Idaho and after a tumultuous childhood went to university and wrote an account of her early life, Educated (2018). All four have gone on to become notable writers. The experience of the process of exiting their religion was achieved at heavy cost to their psychological development.

KEYWORDS:

• Religion
• fundamentalist
• Christian
• apostasy
• psychological cost

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.