Purposeful Strangers: Examining Ex-Mormon Narratives and Reasons People Give for Leaving the Church This dual-paper session looks at the issue of why people leave the Church and the paths they often take upon their exit. Seth Payne’s presentation offers the results of research he has conducted on the exit narratives of so-called Mormon apostates. It places the narratives in an appropriate sociological framework and identifies common trends and structure for the narratives as a literary subgenre. Ryan Wimmer concentrates more on the directions Mormon dissenters take following their decision to leave Mormonism. Have many been able to assimilate into other faiths? Why do most modern dissenters seem to become atheistic or agnostic rather than finding another faith? Have they met in other traditions the same issues that troubled them about Mormonism?

Seth Payne, Ryan Wimmer