The Origins and Correlates of Religious Adherence and Apostasy Among Mental Health Professionals

This paper examines the socio-cultural sources and personal correlates of specific types of religious adherence and apostasy among mental health professionals in three metropolitan communities. Data are presented to demonstrate the following: three types of apostasy are prevalent and clearly differentiated; apostates are neither atypical nor “deviant” and apostasy is not simply the result of individual psychological dynamics but also the result of structural processes; renunciation of religious faith is differentially associated with major cultural traditions. Based on these findings, three general conclusions are drawn: 1) apostasy and religion are both belief systems which can most profitably be examined from the perspective of group level variables and structural analysis; 2) apostasy is prevalent among highly educated and professionalized groups in metropolitan communities, such as mental health therapists, who are becoming increasingly influntial in setting societal trends; 3) the conceptual frameworks used to study religion in modern societies must be expanded to include all fundamental belief systems including religious apostasy.