Why People Leave the Church

Dallas Theological Seminary

A discussion with The Table, the podcast of Dallas Theological Seminary.

A Recipe For Disaster Episode #1: Introduction

Dr. John Marriott introduces the Recipe for Disaster, a combination of ingredients, methods of preparation and cooking environments that often lead to a crisis of faith and that can result in the loss of faith. 

How and Why People Lose Their Faith

A Recipe for Disaster and a Prescription for Hope

Why do some who once identified as followers of Jesus renounce him and turn away from the faith? In this discussion I lay out four ways that the church and parents unwittingly contribute to the the loss of faith. 

Why I Don't Always Trust My Feelings

How Culture Can Make Faith Difficult to Maintain

Culture is the air we breathe. It also determines what we take to be reasonable to believe. Many of our most important and deeply held beliefs originate not in our heads, but in our guts. We just "feel" a certain way about something. I maintain that culture is a major contributing factor in what we feel and that our culture makes belief in God "feel" foolish.  

Secular Salvation Narratives

Why Former Believers Feel Free

A Presentation given at the Evangelical Missiological Society's regional conference, Biola University, March 2018.

Episode 1: What is Deconversion?

In this first episode of the series, John introduces the concept of deconversion and the startling statistics of deconversion from Christianity to atheism. 

Episode 2: What Does the Bible Say About Deconversion?

In this episode, John investigates the question of what the biblical data on apostasy, or deconversion is. 

Episode 3: Why Do people Lose Their Faith?

A look at the most common reasons that individuals give for why they no longer believe.  

Episode 4: The Five Stages of Deconversion

What does the process of deconversion look like and? In this episode John identifies the five stages that former believers go through on their journey out of relious faith. 

Episode 5: The Context of Deconversion

What role do upbringing and religious commitment play in the loss of faith? In this episode, John points out how certain expressions of Christianity can contribute to deconversion.