Building Avenues for Growth and Discovery
Beyond Mormonism

For many members of high-demand religions like Mormonism, their religious beliefs are interwoven with their identity. For that reason, it is especially difficult when a religious person experiences a faith crisis or faith transition. Many will describe it as life-altering or even life-shattering. This can be especially true for those who have felt marginalized within their faith as they start to unpack the mistreatment they have experienced and rationalized.

There has been an increase in the number of ex-Mormon communities, podcasts, retreats, etc. over the past several years. However, some of those groups fail to address the problems that have carried over from Mormonism itself. Complaints of misogyny, racism, and trauma exploitation are sometimes unaddressed because the spaces are either not led by trained mental health professionals or DEI experts, or simply do not have a solid system in place to address such issues. The goal of my research is to partner with experts to provide resources to help post-Mormons work through their transition, no matter what their individual struggles may be.

My personal experiences have driven me to do the work I am highlighting in this Capstone, and that work includes analyses of white supremacy within Mormonism, Mormon colonialism, and the Church's cultural imperialism. Additionally, I draw from some of the coursework I completed analyzing research methods, which led me to conduct my own original research on the experiences of ex-Mormons. I conducted a survey, interviews, and focus groups with ex-Mormons, discussing their experiences as a active members, members transitioning out of the Church, and as post-Mormons today. Some of my findings are showcased here in this Capstone.

Leaving a high-demand religion is challenging, especially for those who have recognized the harms they have experienced because of the religion’s policies and/or doctrine. My goal through my research is to help turn post-Mormons’ faith crises and transitions into positive experiences that facilitate growth and discovery based on their true and individual values.