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The Identity Of Leave-Taking: A Multi-Methodological Qualitative Sensemaking Explanation, Janice Nadine Hersey

MSU Graduate Theses

Many church organizations require women to adhere to a strict code of conduct and dress that affects every area of their lives. While some women choose to create a narrative that validates these guidelines, others choose to leave the church. The purpose of this study is to explicate how women who have left the United Pentecostal Church (UPC), a legalistic splinter group of Pentecostalism, make sense of that decision, redefine their language, and construct new identities in and through the leave-taking process. Current research on women in gendered faith-based organizations focuses on feminist theory and folklore, often ignoring the voices …