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Believing Again: Stories of Leaving and Returning to Faith
The numbers are alarming--at least to people of faith. Many, especially the young, are leaving the church and abandoning faith in God. Social scientists have for decades been documenting with numbers what church leaders and families have experienced directly.
What is much less noted and evaluated is the substantial number of those who leave faith and the church and eventually come back to both. Why people leave is an important question, but so is why people return--a question much less often addressed. Once people have made a clear and conscious break with their religious convictions and practice, what leads many to return?
This book explores this important question primarily through listening to the stories these people tell. It relies on stories, not numbers, allowing people to tell their own stories in their own words--both why they left and why they returned.
One discovers from listening to their stories that there are recurring patterns. People leave faith for common reasons and they also return for common reasons. In fact, many return for the flip side of why they left. The shared factor in all returns is God's relentless love for each of them.
What is much less noted and evaluated is the substantial number of those who leave faith and the church and eventually come back to both. Why people leave is an important question, but so is why people return--a question much less often addressed. Once people have made a clear and conscious break with their religious convictions and practice, what leads many to return?
This book explores this important question primarily through listening to the stories these people tell. It relies on stories, not numbers, allowing people to tell their own stories in their own words--both why they left and why they returned.
One discovers from listening to their stories that there are recurring patterns. People leave faith for common reasons and they also return for common reasons. In fact, many return for the flip side of why they left. The shared factor in all returns is God's relentless love for each of them.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 4, 2025
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Taylor
153 books62 followersDaniel Taylor (Ph.D., Emory University) is the author of eighteen books, including The Myth of Certainty, Letters to My Children, Tell Me A Story: The Life-Shaping Power of Our Stories, Creating a Spiritual Legacy, The Skeptical Believer: Telling Stories to Your Inner Atheist, Believing Again: Stories of Leaving and Returning to Faith, and a four novel mystery series, beginning with Death Comes for the Decontructionist and ending with The Mystery of Iniquity. His most recent novel, The Prodigal of Leningrad, is set in that city during the Nazi siege of World War II. He has also worked on a number of Bible translations. He speaks frequently at conferences, colleges, retreats, and churches on a variety of topics. Dr. Taylor is also co-founder of The Legacy Center, an organization devoted to helping individuals and organizations identify and preserve the values and stories that have shaped their lives. He was a contributing editor for Books and Culture. Dr. Taylor is married and the father of four adult children. Website: www.WordTaylor.com
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