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Abstract

What are the reasons ex-Mormons give for why they leave their religion? This study identifies what causes Mormons to lose their religion—or to use an ex-Mormon parlance—causes their shelf to break, by analyzing online deconversion narratives posted on the exmormon subreddit forum from 2015 through 2020. Concurring with Dehlin, Brooks and Riess, ex-Mormons give a variety of historical, doctrinal, personal, and social reasons for why they left. This study additionally shows that they say they leave due to the current LDS administrative and ecclesiastical leadership and what they are learning on the internet, including ex-Mormon online communities like Reddit. This study suggests that the recent institutional changes enacted by the current LDS leaders are causing Mormons to doubt and reject these leaders. Furthermore, this study reveals that the growing influence of online media and ex-religious communities is causing a digital deconversion among Mormons.

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