Where do former Mormons go?

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truthseeker32

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I found this interesting set of datum in an essay about former Mormons leaving for other faiths:
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“Crapo includes these under the category of affiliations of the disengaged, with a breakdown of 26,554 (42.00%) choosing no belief, 21,496 (34.00%) choosing Protestantism, 13,909 (22.00%) choosing Roman Catholicism, and 1,264 (2.00%) choosing Eastern Orthodoxy.”*

These numbers are from 2007.
 
I’m actually not surprised by the numbers. People’s will to do what they want and believe what they want is prevalent in the world today, which explains why non-theists and protestants come out on top. Non-theists don’t have to believe anything and can go on to do whatever they want without the thought of regret. Protestants get to choose what they believe based on their own interpretation of their version of the Bible. And the 2% Eastern Orthodoxy doesn’t surprise me because I’m assuming this poll was done in America and we have a Western culture.
 
truthseeker32 said:
I found this interesting set of datum in an essay about former Mormons leaving for other faiths:
*
“Crapo includes these under the category of affiliations of the disengaged, with a breakdown of 26,554 (42.00%) choosing no belief, 21,496 (34.00%) choosing Protestantism, 13,909 (22.00%) choosing Roman Catholicism, and 1,264 (2.00%) choosing Eastern Orthodoxy*.”

These numbers are from 2007.
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CFR I would like to read this entire article but I can find no reference to it on the net. Do you have a link for this information?
 
ByzCathCantor said:
Interesting. Where did you end up when you left?
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Nowhere yet. A couple years ago I was set on becoming Catholic and attending RCIA, but then I started learning about Eastern Orthodoxy and feel moved in that direction. I am taking it slow and steady. Maybe too slow.
 
truthseeker32 said:
Nowhere yet. A couple years ago I was set on becoming Catholic and attending RCIA, but then I started learning about Eastern Orthodoxy and feel moved in that direction. I am taking it slow and steady. Maybe too slow.
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We’ll pray for you and your discernment.

Interesting that you chose to look into the least likely path, per the survey you shared in the OP.
 
ByzCathCantor said:
We’ll pray for you and your discernment.

Interesting that you chose to look into the least likely path, per the survey you shared in the OP.
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By personality I favor truth over convenience or personal preference. When I left the LDS church I decided I would join the faith that seemed the most true, regardless of how uncomfortable it seemed. Until a year ago or so Orthodox Christianity was completely off my radar. I can’t even recall exactly how I discovered it. I only know that it was by learning about Roman Catholicism that I eventually discovered the other half of Christian history and tradition. As bzkoss236 stated, I think that the reason so few Mormons, and Americans in general, overlook Orthodoxy is because it is off the radar in both a cultural and geographical sense in the West.
 
truthseeker32 said:
By personality I favor truth over convenience or personal preference.
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That’s a great way of looking at it.
truthseeker32 said:
As bzkoss236 stated, I think that the reason so few Mormons, and Americans in general, overlook Orthodoxy is because it is off the radar in both a cultural and geographical sense in the West.
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It likely depends on where you live. As an Eastern Catholic, I enjoy a heightened awareness of Orthodoxy, and know that both are less geographically dispersed in the U.S. than Roman Catholicism. Yet, I am somehow not surprised that someone who has left Mormonism would seek the Truth as perceived rather clearly in the focused context of Orthodoxy.

Again, prayers for your discernment, and if opportunity arises, I’d urge you to consider visiting an Eastern Catholic church, as well, if there is one nearby.
 
Most that I know become atheists or agnostics (I was agnostic for many years post-Mormon)

In part is because they put the Bible thru the same scrutiny that they do with the BoM.

It easy, very easy, to become skeptical post-Mormon.

It’s why I believe that it’s only God’s grace that can heal a person of it’s effects.
 
Marie5890 said:
Most that I know become atheists or agnostics (I was agnostic for many years post-Mormon)

In part is because they put the Bible thru the same scrutiny that they do with the BoM.

It easy, very easy, to become skeptical post-Mormon.

It’s why I believe that it’s only God’s grace that can heal a person of it’s effects.
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This is a very interesting observation. Can you explain what you mean by “put the Bible thru the same scrutiny as they do with the Book of Mormon”. Is this a common observation or is this something you noted from your experience.
 
truthseeker32 said:
I found this interesting set of datum in an essay about former Mormons leaving for other faiths:
*
“Crapo includes these under the category of affiliations of the disengaged, with a breakdown of 26,554 (42.00%) choosing no belief, 21,496 (34.00%) choosing Protestantism, 13,909 (22.00%) choosing Roman Catholicism, and 1,264 (2.00%) choosing Eastern Orthodoxy*.”

These numbers are from 2007.
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From my own experience, I’d say the low percentage of Orthodox is cultural. Here where I live the eastern churches, Orthodox and Catholic, are culturally not my own. I’m not Greek or Lebanese. Roman Catholicism itself is not my culture (Western American/Mormon), but it is closer than the eastern churches. It has been difficult at times adjusting to Catholic culture, at first I felt like I had landed in a foreign country where I didnt know the language or customs. I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would be to have additional cultural layers to learn and figure out. Might be easier if you’re younger. 🙂

As for the “truthiness” of one or the other, I seriously could not say one is less true than the other. We are the same one, holy, catholic and apostolic church…in schism.
 
Marie5890 said:
Most that I know become atheists or agnostics (I was agnostic for many years post-Mormon)
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That’s been my experience, I lived near a large Mormon temple for a year, and I met a lot of former Mormons all of whom became atheists or agnostics. I don’t have any official stats, just the people I’ve met. The converts I’ve met to Catholicism generally came from straight atheisim or other Protestant groups. Haven’t met any Mormon to Catholic converts in real life.

It is an interesting question, though.
 
I am wondering about what I call a latency period. In other words, Mormons who leave the church become deists, agnostics, or atheists for a number of years, disillusioned with all religions, and later realize that there are other, better religions. Direct conversion from Mormonism to Catholicism probably isn’t all that frequent, and might result in people becoming “Mormo-Catholic.”

As for BoM criticism techniques being applied to the Bible, influencing people to toss the Bible, that is specious reasoning. The Bible is undeniably an ancient text. Part of the BoM was originally written as a parody of the Bible. Both the Bible and the BoM can be read with sensitivity to allegory. We Catholics interpret many passages in the Bible as being both allegory and literal truth, as logic and reason dictate-- no problem. Few Mormons convert to Biblical fundamentalist churches-- although some from jack-Mormon families drift into such churches for obvious reasons. Finally, because the BoM is based on the Bible, the best of that book condemns Mormonism.
 
I wandered. Losing my testimony in the LDS Prophets and ever-changing doctrines did not cause me to lose my faith or belief in God. I left the LDS Church in November of 89 and wandered looking for home until 2002.
 
A couple friends of mine were LDS…when they left they joined the RLDS, now Community of Christ.
 
Publisher said:
A couple friends of mine were LDS…when they left they joined the RLDS, now Community of Christ.
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That is also a reasonable option for those who recognize that the BoM is anti-Mormon literature. :DIt also does not require a radical cultural transformation.
 
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