Hur börjar man leva när man är redo att dö? En kvalitativ studie om människor som lämnat Jehovas vittnen

Abstract

The aim of this study was to create a greater understanding of apostates, by analyzing narratives of five ex-members regarding their exit from Jehovah´s Witnesses. I conducted interviews to gather descriptions from specific individuals in relation to their experiences, mainly focusing on the role of an ex-member of a specific group. The informants in the study were 38-73 years old, three women and two men. The empirical data I collected was later coded through qualitative content analysis, where central topics and themes formed the basis for the analysis of the results. The analysis was further based on Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh's theory about the exit process, as well as Erwing Goffman's various role theories, with a focus on role formation. The results showed that ex-members of Jehovah's Witnesses were affected in a various way by the process of leaving – that is to say before, during and after the apostasy. The informants explicitly made it known that leaving the church led to great consequences for them, not least because of the psychological and mental suffering it entailed when close relatives broke contact with them through the practice of shunning. For all interviewees it had also been a long process to leaving religion (both the church and the belief system, which does not necessarily have to happen in close connection). The results further showed that the membership of Jehovah's Witnesses - with an implemented "Truth" in response to existential questions - led to practical and emotional difficulties for the informants. This, likewise, affected the re-creation of identity in connection to the exit process and resulted in an altered view of the world and themselves. In conclusion the study showed that an "us-and-them" mentality was produced between the ex-member and former group. It is, however, important to realize that apostates in support groups, e.g. on various Internet forums, can constitute a homogeneous clientele. This is why a more polarized narrative can be brought forward from the ex-member in a construction of "the other".