You have no idea the mental gymnastics zealots can get up to.
My grandmother was a fanatical roman catholic and she swore that all the stories about priests diddling little kids were a conspiracy by the rest of the world to discredit Catholicism.
I’ll add that there’s an element of denial and fear at losing community. For most ex-Christians I know, losing that familiar community is the last thing to go during their deconstruction. They might not believe in anything that’s taught anymore, but leaving behind that community means isolation for a while and having to build new friendships and support systems.
So zealotry is definitely a component, but don’t discount fear of being an outcast, either.
It is amazing that there are people still coming after that story got public.
Honestly I’m more surprised that so many didn’t show up. That’s never been my experience.
If only I could upvote this twice!
You have no idea the mental gymnastics zealots can get up to.
My grandmother was a fanatical roman catholic and she swore that all the stories about priests diddling little kids were a conspiracy by the rest of the world to discredit Catholicism.
I’ll add that there’s an element of denial and fear at losing community. For most ex-Christians I know, losing that familiar community is the last thing to go during their deconstruction. They might not believe in anything that’s taught anymore, but leaving behind that community means isolation for a while and having to build new friendships and support systems.
So zealotry is definitely a component, but don’t discount fear of being an outcast, either.
Absolutely true, but in my grandmother’s case she was just a fanatic. She didn’t socialize with anyone from the church anyway.
Lol, fair. Weird that she kept going, then.
Some people are just incapable of escaping the brainwashing I guess.