New Transitions trailer

Transitions trailer from WIIS on Vimeo.

A new trailer has just been completed that promotes Transitions: The Mormon Migration from Religion to Relationship. This will be used in a new social media marketing campaign to increase awareness of the resource, and it will be featured in a revised form of the website at www.LDStransitions.com. Please take a look at the trailer and pass along the link to others.

"Divine Disenchantment:" Sunstone Paper Online

Last Sunday I presented my paper at Sunstone Symposium at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The paper was titled "Divine Disenchantment: Transitions, and Assisting Those in Religious Migration." The abstract:

Reliable statistical data from social science research indicates that thousands of Latter-day Saints leave the Mormon Church each year. Over time, these individuals adopt a variety of irreligious and religious pathways in reaction to their prior Mormon experience. Although much focus has been given to the study of religious affiliation, very little attention has been given to the processes of religious disaffiliation and reaffiliation (religious switching), and how this journey relates to new destinations for former Mormons. Multidisciplinary material exists that can serve in the creation of resources to those making a spiritual migration from one religious group to another.  In order to address this deficit, this seminar will discuss the background behind Transitions, a new video and workbook resource designed for immigrants shifting from Mormonism to more traditional forms of Christianity. It will consider the reality of religious disaffiliation and switching; the perspective and needs of the former LDS transitioner; the multidisciplinary perspectives, resources, and strategy that inform Transitions; and how religious institutions might better assist those making the journey from one religious tradition to another.

The paper was surprisingly well received. Although my respondent took some exception to aspects of the paper, one notable audience member pushed back as to the Sunstone audience finding aspects of the approach worthy of consideration, and another audience member shared his inner conflict over the high quality of the video.

This paper is being considered in a forthcoming volume. In the near future Sunstone should have the presentation available for purchase in MP3 and CD. It is available for download on my Academia.edu page.

Update August 7, 2012: I just discovered a presentation at the recent FAIR LDS apologetics conference that parallels my own at Sunstone. Rosemary Avance presented an interesting paper titled "Seeing the Light: Parallels in Mormon Conversion and De-Conversion Stories."

Transitions Featured in The Salt Lake Tribune

 

Transitions, a resource I helped put together as co-executive producer, is the focus of a story by Lisa Schencker in The Salt Lake Tribune with this title and byline: “The ‘ex’ factor: Videos help former Mormons find new faith. Transitions >> New videos help those leaving the LDS Church make the sometimes difficult and lonely jump to evangelical Christianity or mainline Protestantism.” The story can be read here.

"Divine Disenchantment" Session Accepted at Sunstone Symposium

Sunstone has accepted my proposed session, “Divine Disenchantment: Transitions and Assisting Those in Religious Migration,” for the 2012 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium, 25-28 July 2012 at the University of Utah. The presentation will be Saturday, July 28, 3:45-4:45 p.m.

Abstract:

Reliable statistical data from social science research indicates that thousands of Latter-day Saints leave the Mormon Church each year. Over time, these individuals adopt a variety of irreligious and religious pathways as a result of their prior Mormon experience. Although the social scientific literature includes helpful material that sheds light on religious affiliation, disaffiliation, and reaffiliation, this material is rarely consulted as an aid to assisting others in their spiritual migration.  This seminar will discuss the background behind Transitions, a new video and workbook resource designed for immigrants shifting from Mormonism to more traditional forms of Christianity. It will consider the perspective and needs of the transitioner, the multidisciplinary perspectives and resources that inform Transitions, and how religious institutions might better assist those making the journey from one religious tradition to another.

  

Topic outline:

I.               Religious shopping: disaffiliation and migration

II.             LDS religious disaffiliation narratives

III.           Need for transitional resources

IV.            Background to Transitions resource

A.     Perspective of the transitioner

B.     Multidisciplinary approach

1.     Identity theory

2.     Process of role exit

3.     Social scientific literature

4.     Religious culture considerations

V.              Application and considerations for religious institutions

Relevance to Mormon studies:

As indicated in the abstract, there is a body of scholarship that addresses the process of not only religious affiliation, but also how people leave religious traditions (disaffiliation), and how they shift to new religious commitments (reaffiliation). A consideration of the needs of those undergoing Mormon disaffiliation and reaffiliation to another tradition provides an opportunity to understand the complex personal, religious, and social dynamics related to religious migration.

Transitions completed

Readers may recall my previous post regarding my work on Transitions, an resource designed for those who have made the decision to migrate out of Mormonism and into traditional Christianity. I am pleased to announce that the video and workbook are the first three chapters are available for viewing on Vimeo.

Transitions : the Mormon migration from religion to relationship - PART 1 from WIIS on Vimeo.

Transitions Part 2 - Relationships from WIIS on Vimeo.

Transitions Part 3 - Church Culture from WIIS on Vimeo.

For more information on Transitions see the website at www.LDStransitions.com.

We are holding the first seminar related to this resource titled "Using Transitions in Congregations," September 17 from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The seminary is free and is for pastors and other coaching people to assist others using Transitions as a tool for former Mormon immigrants. This event will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 8575 South 700 East in Sandy. Email James@gslc.net for a flyer with more information and to pre-register.

"Transitions" Project: Phase I Completed

The Transitions Project : The Mormon Migration from Religion to Relationship from WIIS on Vimeo.

Religious migration occurs when someone transitions from one religious group to another. This takes place from time to time and with differing levels of "religio-cultural distance" between the religious (sub)cultures in which the journey takes place. What is not often appreciated is the difficulties that individuals can experience in making this journey.

One of the places in which religious migration takes place is between the subcultures of traditional Christianity and Mormonism. As people journey between these religious groups individuals have a need to draw upon resources that assist them with their journey. For those shifting from traditional Christianity to Mormonism new converts might draw upon Clark L. Kidd and Kathryn H. Kidd's Convert's Guide to Mormon Life (Bookcraft, 1998) or Elaine Cannon's Beyond Baptism: A Guide for New Converts (Bookcraft, 1994). For those making the journey the other direction and out of Mormonism and into traditional Christianity there are a small sampling of resources put together on a local level, but what has been needed is a large scale educational resource that can be marketed on a national level.

The Western Institute for Intercultural Studies is pleased to address this need having just completed the first phase of production for Transitions, a multimedia resource that assists those leaving Mormonism and entering traditional Christianity as they grapple with the emotional, relational, church culture, and doctrinal and worldview issues involved. Phase I was the completion of the promotional trailer which can be viewed above. For further information see the WIIS website at the Transitions page. I invite interested evangelicals and other Christians, particularly those who have made this journey of migration themselves, to get involved in this project through their prayers and financial support.