Internal Conflict Associated with Disaffiliation from the Roman Catholic Church

In modern Western societies, disaffiliation frequently occurs within the field of religion. To date, many studies have analysed what motivates people to leave religious institutions. However, whether they face internal conflicts during this process has not been intensely studied. Based on Festinger’s concept of cognitive dissonance, this paper re-analyses 27 interviews of persons who left the Catholic Church in the diocese of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. In 12 out of 27 interviews, such internal conflicts could be reconstructed, indicating that leaving religious institutions is not always an easy process. These conflicts are related to four characteristic core issues evoking dissonant emotions, namely belonging, the social environment, belief, and identity. The analysis also illustrates that disaffiliation not only solves such internal conflicts but sometimes causes new ones. More research is needed to fully understand people’s inner struggles when disaffiliating from religious institutions.