12AR17-16

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Apologia Report 17:16 (1,108)

May 2, 2012

Subject: Why people leave the Mormon church

In this issue:

ATHEISM - credit for "the worst book of 2011?"

MORMONISM - doctoral student "researches why people leave the LDS Church"

+ Jana Riess asks "Who Speaks for Mormonism?" and challenges the testimony of former members

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ATHEISM

Secular critics of "New Atheists" Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Co. often find their approach to be ironically similar to fundamentalism. Writing for the New York Times, Philip Kitcher's review (Mar 23 '12, p31) of The Atheist's Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life without Illusions, by Alex Rosenberg [1], explains how. He begins: "Unless the pursuit of dreadfulness results in a tie, each year will possess its own worst book. ... How then could Leon Wieseltier select The Atheist's Guide To Reality ... as the 'worst book' of 2011?" (See <www.bit.ly/tzDzEd> for this.)

The book is so smug, Kitcher concludes, that it simply drove Wieseltier to this observation. For according to Rosenberg, "The answers are now all in. This conviction that science can resolve all questions is known as 'scientism' - a label typically used pejoratively (as by Wieseltier), but one Rosenberg seizes as a badge of honor."

Kitcher, John Dewey professor of philosophy at Columbia University, notes that "much of Rosenberg's book is evolutionary psychology on stilts. ...

"To suppose that the sciences, as they have developed so far, answer all the Big Questions is to commit an extreme scientism. Others hold the equally staunch position that some questions are so profound that they must forever lie beyond the scope of natural science. Faith in God, or a conviction that free will exists, or that life has meaning are not subject to revision in the light of empirical evidence. But this is not the only option for those dissatisfied with the book. ...

"Scientism, whether Rosenberg's today or E. O. Wilson's a generation ago, is impatient with history (The Atheist's Guide declares it to be 'bunk'), with social science generally and with the arts and literature. ...

"History, for example, can address the Big Questions about the origin and value of ethics by drawing on a wider range of sources than scientism allows. ...

"Scientism rejects dialogue: the sciences provide the answers; the lesser provinces of the intellectual and cultural world should take instruction. ... The challenge is not to decide who has the Most Important Insights, but to comprehend the knowledge we have, finite, fallible and fragmentary as it is. We should make the most of it." <www.tinyurl.com/89rzygn>

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MORMONISM

"Cache Valley man researches why people leave the LDS Church" by Kevin Opsahl -- reports that Utah State University psychology doctoral student, John Dehlin: "has worked for the past year on the 'Understanding Mormon Disbelief' study [www.whymormonsquestion.org], which involved a survey of 3,086 disaffected Mormons who have gone through a 'crisis of faith.' ...

"According to Dehlin's research, the information about the LDS Church on the Internet is one of the reasons that's causing the number of non-believers to 'accelerate'....

"The goal of the study, he said, is to bring greater understanding to issues that lead to Mormons losing faith in the LDS Church after holding a firm belief.

"'I believe there are legitimate reasons to have doubts about the LDS Church,' Dehlin said in an interview. 'There are a lot of people who are having doubts about the church, and when they try to talk about their doubts or problems, they suffer a lot of pain. ...

"'So the reason for this study is not only so Mormons can understand their religion fully; Mormons can come to understand that the reasons for people losing their faiths are legitimate. Hopefully the church will stop punishing people for (leaving for) legitimate reasons.'

"Respondents of the study cited 15 'major factors' and 13 'minor factors' as reason for losing belief in the church. Among the major issues were a loss of faith in the Book of Mormon, problems with church history, loss of faith in Joseph Smith and conflicting theological issues.

"Factors more significant to men who were surveyed included losing faith in God/Jesus, science, anachronisms in the Book of Mormon and problems with the Book of Abraham. Issues more significant to women were the church's stance on women, women and the priesthood, the church's stance on homosexuals, polygamy/polyandry and abuse. ...

"All respondents in the final analysis reported to have believed at one time that the LDS Church was 'the only true and living church.' Hundreds of the respondents reported having once held leadership callings in the church - including within bishoprics, stake presidencies, mission presidencies and other leadership positions within respective wards." Herald Journal (Logan, UT), Mar 29 '12, <www.bit.ly/GZUeVi>

"Who Speaks for Mormonism?" by Jana Riess, Religion and American Studies professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio -- here Riess responds (Mar 26 '12) to a RNS blog inquiry about Tricia Erickson, author of Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters? [2] The bottom line according to Riess: "I think I can safely say that no, Tricia Erickson is not a reliable, unbiased witness about either Mormonism or the LDS Church. ... You can find better-executed anti-Mormon literature from Utah Lighthouse Ministry [www.utlm.org]."

Riess goes on to note: "The more interesting question is ... Who is entitled to speak for Mormonism? ...

"Right now it seems anyone with a megaphone can proclaim himself or herself an expert, which must drive the official LDS HQ a bit barmy. Erickson's bona fides include the fact that she was born into a Mormon family and her father was a bishop. My own background is that I've been an active Mormon for nearly 19 years and I have a PhD in religious history, with particular attention to 19th-century sectarian movements. ...

"In February on this blog [www.bit.ly/ylyqNS] I discussed [Salt Lake Tribune] journalist Peggy Fletcher Stack's top six mistakes reporters make about Mormonism. The last one was 'treating all former Mormons as whistleblowers who promise to reveal untold truths.'

"Peggy expressed concern that 'the New York Times and CNN seem to have given a platform to every former Mormon with a book.' ...

"Everyone who has ever been involved in Mormonism, including Tricia Erickson, has some kind of Mormon story. In that sense they - we - can and should speak for Mormonism. We do not speak for the LDS Church, however, and we can't claim expert status merely on the basis of limited involvement and cursory knowledge of Mormonism." <www.bit.ly/GRHRd7>

For more insights on Riess herself, see her recent RNS blog post "Still Here. Still Mormon. Not Going Anywhere" <www.bit.ly/JrSFO3>.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Atheist's Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life without Illusions, by Alex Rosenberg (Norton, 2011, hardcover, 368 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/73v4rb9>

2 - Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters? by Tricia Erickson (WestBow, 2011, paperback, 316 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/6njdqzt>

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