When Belief Falls Apart—Understanding and Surviving Deconstruction

Everywhere people are deconstructing their faith. How can we understand this pattern? What can be said? What can be done? And what can be saved?

There is a seismic shift happening. People are moving away from Christianity and toward other forms of faith. Many are finding traditional Christianity morally, emotionally, and rationally dissatisfying. And they are leaving.

But why are they leaving? And what can be done about it? 

Session One—Deconstruction 101: Why Are People Leaving the Faith?

Many of those who are leaving the church or leaving Christianity altogether have adopted the label “deconstruction” to describe their experiences. The difficult process of making one’s peace with Christianity is not unique to the 21st century, but the experiences and stories that have been gathered together under the heading deconstruction do have a powerful, new momentum. This opening session will look at some of these stories and place them in context.

Session Two—Belief Isn’t Binary: What is Happening When Our Beliefs Change?

Most Christians talk about belief as if it were binary—on or off, black or white, open or shut. We think of people as being in or out. We say things like, “She lost her faith” and “He’s not a Christian anymore.” Christians are the believers, everyone else is an unbeliever. But we should be more careful about how we use language; it shapes reality. And this is one area where common Christian ways of speaking of unbelief haven’t served us well. While it is certainly true that people can leave Christianity, if our basic metaphor for belief is an on/off switch, we are not living in reality. In this second session, we’ll explore how the truth is more nuanced, patchwork, and humbling. 

Session Three—Deconversion and the Modern Self: What if Your Deconstruction Is a Conversion to Modernity?

The modern self has everything to do with modern deconstruction. In this third session, we’ll see how modernity is the plausibility superstructure in which we live and move and have our being, the web in which we are caught. When you sow the seeds of the modern self, the tree bears the fruit of deconstruction. What if hard deconstruction is merely a conversion to modernity?

Session Four—Deconstruction Survival Kit: What to Do If Someone You Love is Losing Their Faith?

The catch to loving someone who is deconstructing is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to the problems they are facing. Sometimes it seems like nothing helps at all. On top of that, like the old adage about the drowning person reminds us, sometimes when you jump in the water to try to help, you only make things worse. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to say to those experiencing deconstruction, rather, our words and actions can do them a world of good. We will close the course with a discussion of how to respond.