Disenchanted Lives: Apostasy and Ex-Mormonism among the Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons), often heralded as the fastest growing religion in American history, is facing a crisis of apostasy. Rather than strengthening their faith, the study of church history and scriptures by many members pushes them away from Mormonism and into a growing community of secular ex-Mormons. In Disenchanted Lives, E. Marshall Brooks provides an intimate, in-depth ethnography of religious disenchantment among ex-Mormons in Utah. Showing that former church members were once deeply embedded in their religious life, Brooks argues that disenchantment unfolds as a struggle to overcome the spiritual, social, and ideological devotion ex-Mormons had to the religious community and not out of a lack of dedication as prominently portrayed in religious and scholarly writing on apostasy.

Reviews of Disenchanted Lives: Apostasy and Ex-Mormonism among the Latter-day Saints

"Brooks has written a must-read for anyone interested in the LDS Church or the formerly religious. His ethnography is a well-researched and deeply informative study of the ties that bind ex-Mormons to the religion they've left behind–and the tremendous work they undertake to cut them. His focus on apostasy fills a clear gap in the growing literature on secular people, and his measured account of the challenges facing the Mormon Church is an important contribution to Mormon Studies."–Joseph Blankholm "assistant professor of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara " "An extremely frank, thoughtful, compelling, and analytically rich exploration of contemporary apostasy and religious defection within a Mormon context. As more and more people walk away from their religion, it is essential that we understand the various dynamics at play–and Brooks's investigation on this front is not only highly readable, but extremely insightful. One of the best in-depth studies of apostasy I've ever encountered. Brooks's Disenchanted Lives is excellent. Highly recommended."–Phil Zuckerman "author of Living the Secular Life "