Sunday, April 22, 2012

Religious change terminology

Ryan Cragun has written an interesting dictionary for religious change (source).  Since this is embedded in a pdf here are the highlights broken out:

exiter any person who leaves a religion

  • disaffiliate a person who leaves a religion by formally requesting their name be removed from the membership roles of the religion
  • disidentifier a person who leaves a religion by no longer self-identifying as a member of the religion
  • apostate a person who leaves a religion and then fights against that religion
  • deserter a person who leaves a religion with no intention of returning

switcher a person who leaves a religion and joins another religion

  • within family switcher someone who leaves a religion and joins a religion that belongs to the same broad religious family (e.g., Methodist to Baptist)
  • between family switcher a person who leaves a religion and joins a religion that belongs to a different broad religious family (e.g., Catholic to Buddhist)
  • taster a person who repetitively joins and leaves religions
  • defector a person who leaves a religion with the intent of joining a rival group

convert anyone who experiences a change in religious identity

  • deconvert a person who leaves a religion

none a person who does not associate with a religion

  • re-none a person who leaves a religion and becomes a religious none
  • native none a person raised without a religious identity who has not joined a religion
  • religious independent a person with no religious affiliation
  • dropout a person who leaves a religion and becomes a religious none
  • unchurched a person raised without a religious affiliation who has never joined one

identifier a person who self-identifies as being associated with an organized religion

  • affiliate a person who claims formal membership status in an organized religion
  • stayer a person who was raised with a religious affiliation and remains religiously affiliated later in life, regardless of any changes in affiliation.
  • loyalist a person raised with a specific religious affiliation who maintains that affiliation later in life. 

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