Join our Newsletter
If you like The NakedJournal, you'll enjoy my weekly newsletter about deconstruction, freedom, and life in general.
Have You Ever Been Shunned After Leaving The Church?
I’ve experienced this a few times after leaving the church, and I know many others have too. It’s called shunning. Some churches openly acknowledge it as “shunning,” while others shy away from the term because they believe it sounds unkind. Instead, they cut people out of their lives completely, leaving them with no connection or support.
What’s the difference? Just a matter of semantics.
Two women pass each other in the grocery store. One says, “Sally?! What do you mean, “Excuse me, who are you?”? I only left the church last month!
When I’ve left the church, I often felt like they viewed me as someone who had catastrophically and cataclysmically backslidden into unforgivable error. They seemed to think I had demons or that I was contagious.
Has this happened to you? If you want to read more about the emotional impact of losing church friends, check out my post, “Have You Struggled With The Pain Of Losing Church Friends?”.
1 comment
Yes, this really hits home with me. This has been confusing and painful when churches full of people that I have known for years have shunned me. This is why I don’t go to church and avoid congregations in general.