Shouldn't Churches Learn from Deconversion Stories?

First, I don't think most fundamental churches can study their deconverts without concluding their deconverts' minds and souls have been taken by the devil and the only way to fight that is to go out and make more converts. They are disposed to supernatural explanations already and we already know a major theme in most such churches is that anything "bad," like deconversion, hurricanes and Democrats, is Satan's work.Second, even if some progressive science-minded church were to make such a study, what are they going to do with the information? Change their core beliefs? Renounce creationism, the rapture, the literal bible, papal infallibility, the trinity, whatever their study shows as major causes in deconversion?What I would expect in this progressive case is an increase in emotional appeals and mis-information campaigns targeted to overcome deconversion thinking.Finally, I'm not sure we should be giving advice of things that may strengthen a religious community. Humanity has suffered enough under the yoke of false belief. But to now package it, make it pretty as a result of focus-group marketing schemes, will make lifting that yoke that much harder.Edited by AZPaul3, : consistent metaphor.

I'm not so sure of this. I've known more than a few atheists in my day and I do not know of one who left a church with intent to become a "sociopath in the atheistic tradition." What I have seen is that those with the strength of intellect to leave faith behind did so because, as you said, they have outgrown the church. And all these were angry at having been lied to and resented being treated like a mindless drone. dwise1, there is only one "reason" to be an atheist. We do not believe. This is what is in (or lacking in) one's heart. Unlike religious indoctrination it cannot be forced. As you yourself well know, when one loses faith ones core morality does not change. Only the perceived incentive to be "moral" changes from external to internal, which, I would argue, is where it always was anyway.I do not think there can be a "wrong" reason to leave the world of faith behind.